There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.
I went to dance classes from 9 in the morning until 1, then to school from 3 to 10 at night, always under the threat that if I failed a single course I could forget about dancing.
Everyone is of course free to interpret the work in his own way. I think seeing a picture is one thing and interpreting it is another.