Artistic Innervision

What does it mean to be an artist? We are all aware that everyone has their own opinion on what art is and what it means to be an artist which is why this topic is controversial and difficult to describe. However, if we look a little deeper we will begin to see a commonality in the essence and validation of being an artist. The most common definition and answer people give of an artist is a person who produces paintings or drawings or drawings as a profession or a hobby, but does this mean that to be an artist you have to draw or paint? I think not.