Artists Who Thrive

Alright so I am here to confront your bullshit excuses for why you're not "good" at math. I won't blame you if you've been successfully avoiding numbers and finances, since it's not at the top of your list as a right brained human. But, Math is a necessary evil, guys and gals. If you don't want to be good at numbers and money how on Earth do you expect to become wealthy or thrive? The people in this world who've figured out the money game got good at certain functions of financial goal setting, analyzing their expenses and pricing their products and services appropriately. So, I'm here to teach you how to Look, See, and Tell the Truth about your thoughts on MATH! And maybe get curious to find ways to get better at it so that your business can prosper.

The topic of Book Club* this week was MONEY. This word is so potent and controversial and gives some of us the hives to take a closer look at. But, it is a necessary and important and crucial part of becoming the boss of your destiny. So, we are digging deep this week in the podcast to discover what the fuck is wrong with your relationship to money, how to fix it and how to creatively navigate new forms of income so you can start thriving instead of just surviving.  Your money mindset sucks. You are probably not making as much money as you should. You probably had crappy role models who didn't teach you how to become wealthy, because let's face it-- If you did, you would not need to listen to this episode. I am here to teach you about 6 different ways you could be making more money. How to let go of feelings and thoughts that might be getting in the way of seeing things more clearly.  And how to leverage your imagination as the number one tool for how to succeed at turning your art into a profitable business. It's gonna take some shifting around inside ye' old brain. Listen to find out more about why money needs to work for you instead of you working for money. How to think like a millionaire, imagine the feeling of it and make small steps towards it instead of sitting on your ass and expecting you can "manifest" that shit. It's work to be financially free, but nothing an artist can't handle.  Oh, and join the Book Club. You won't regret it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/artistswhothrive

In this episode, I talk about the cults we subscribe to and the dogmas they preach. In building my own brand, I've had to focus on what my message is, who my ideal audience is and what rituals we practice to rally together. It's an interesting parallel between several subcultures I was introduced to in my adolescence growing up in SLC, Utah. As a non-Mormon kid I got an earful about how I was going to hell because I didn't go to church. As a vegan, I banded together to protest animal rights and some of my friends went to jail for throwing bricks through the windows of fur shops. A parallel subgroup were the straight edge kids who had pretty similar goals as the Mormons but a very different set of rituals to preach their gospel.  What they have in common is rigid rules they apply and an IN or OUT mentality for belonging and righteousness. Listen on to hear more about the ways we rebel and stand out from the crowd and whether or not that is helping us get ahead. Bonus material: You can learn how to start your own cult too!  Join my cult on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artistswhothrive subscribe and like the Podcast damnit. 

The theme for February was “Optimistically Ballsy.” I chose this term with my coach as a way to channel my risky, ADHD, don’t give a fuck mentality that says “This will work out. It has to.” And then I jump into the ice barrel of life and hope my internal organs don’t implode. I took on a job with another company as a consultant and when they'd paid me, they switched my role. I was to do cold calls and sales emails all day every day instead of create content for their website and social media. WHAT? My heart was like a raisin after working at this soul sucking online e-commerce situation where everyone is just a statistic on an analytics presentation that the CEO was drilling into her staff about growth and momentum and… My heart of hearts told me… slow your roll. Maybe if you care so goddamn much about relationships and supportive environments where everyone is seen as a hero, whole and complete and storytelling is king… You need to go back home and center yourself. See optimism gets me in a lot of trouble. I have impulse control issues. I just go for things sometimes without having the wherewithal to say “Is this right for me?” or “Am I going to have an opportunity to really serve the values that I hold dear in this position?” But Optimism isn’t blind. I don’t jump into the deep end without some proof that I have done it before, without some swim lessons, or without telling someone,,,”If you don’t hear from me in three minutes, rescue my limp body from the pool, okay?” I’m smoking the Hopium pipe again and I have faith in myself, even if I’m not killing it financially. I’m outside my comfort zone. I’m busy working on some new shit. That’s really something amazing. And it’s going to work out. It has to. There is no other option. Ballsy is when you don’t take the first thing that comes to you. Just because a man says he wants to support me forever and thinks I’m beautiful, doesn’t mean that I should be in a relationship with him. Just because a job offer can cover my rent and living expenses, doesn’t mean I go for it. I mean, hell! This is the life of an entrepreneur. We figure shit out. We take a class, call a mentor, get a loan and MOVE the FUCK forward in life. Later in the month, I gave up an amazing opportunity that so many designers in Chicago may covet called a Showcase House. I exhaled a breath of confidence because I knew that I knew saying "NO" was the right decision. That something else more incredible would come my way. That I now had time to decide what I wanted to spend energy working on that really allowed me freedom of expression, form and function. I refuse to dilute my art so that it appeals to the masses . I also refuse to be put into a role where my skills are underutilized. Not for any amount of publicity or money. Because the money will come and it will be more abundant if I used my entire creative and compassionate BEING to make it. It will be more gratifying. It will last longer if I build it myself. So, this week, with optimism and big balls, I suggest you all remind yourself “I am up to the task.” And move forward with courage, not confidence. Determination, not motivation. And a really strong knowing of WHO you are. Because that matters a lot more than what other people want you to be.

Here is the most important rule when taking a trip outside your comfort zone. I mean any leap of faith, whether it’s going on a first date with a stranger you met online, or if you start putting feelers out on LinkedIn for work. You don’t know what potential romantic partner or employer, job or salary await you. But you pull your backpack out of your closet with high hopes. Now... What should you pack? As a logical person and data analyst, you may begin the list with a worst case scenario way of thinking. You bring a life preserver, an epipen, a flare, a first aid kit, a beacon or bear repellent. Think about times in your life when you step out into the unknown and you start running through ways that a situation could go south. The human brain is such an interesting place because it is trying to protect us from harm. It’s trying to control the outcomes and prepare us for danger. In less than five seconds, our brain literally can talk us out of a good idea. What then can we do instead? If we don’t want to prep for the worst? If we are unsatisfied with always imagining the catastrophic demise that we will be met with if we try something new? You pack for the best. The idea that the trip will result in a favorable and peaceful outcome begins with what you pack. It begins with how you imagine things will go. If you use the power of the mind to begin to imagine yourself on the beach somewhere enjoying your vacation, you can see yourself there with your money belt, full of foreign currency. Buying yourself some street tacos or a piña colada. Wearing your favorite dress that smells like the dryer sheet you packed with it, in the ziplock bags you put out. Things are favorable. The weather is good. Your tiny umbrella is in your purse just in case, but it turns out you didn’t need that parka or rain boots at all! What a waste of space in your suitcase!  Listen for more.

If you want to take charge of your life, you are going to have to refine your resume. The job title you’re going to insert at the top of the document is CEO. You are the Chief Executive Officer of the company/business called “your life.” You’re not only responsible for hiring all the staff that will make the company run, but you’re in charge of finances, marketing and operations. This sounds like a LOT to someone who’s never stepped foot inside a corporate setting. But, even for those of you who have, it is a lot of work. It’s the only way to change around your life is to reframe yourself as the boss. The freedom and positive outcome of all the work in store for you is this: You can run your business however you want. If you want to only work three days a week, fine. If you want to work only 4 hours a week, there’s a book for that. But, the reframing we’ve been scaffolding up to in the first two sections of this book are going to come to a head. And it starts, like any fairy tale does, with a little magic. The Mission Statement of every business is written earnestly in the early days of developing a business plan and perhaps posted on a website or a physical plaque in the office. If a visual artist writes their Artist Statement it is usually as a cover letter or addendum to a resume. It shows the breadth of the ideas behind the work and gives a brief bio of their life’s path. In some cases it may divulge the process by which their artwork is made, but only if that is a central focus of the conceptual thrust of their work. This allows the viewer to interpret your work knowing all the facts and details behind the work that then informs the meaning you hope the viewer receives. There is something special deep inside you that you were born with. Your kindergartner self embraced it and your parents applauded you for it. You did it without much effort and it brought you joy. You spent zero time doubting yourself when you were in your creative prime (yes, you were 5 so it’s been a long time). This magic? Is where we start. You could create a get rich scheme for creating a business with your art, but over time you will burn out or grow less excited about it. I thought running a business would give me “free time” to draw and paint but really, I just gave myself a job and became a slave to my own brand. Chances are you’re not doing the most magical thing you are capable of. Chances are, you know the one thing in this lifetime you are not maximizing your fullest super power. So let’s cut to the chase here and make some lists. This episode has a little bit of homework at the end. Have fun!

The image I came up with to describe your brain, this week, is an old school boombox. Take it back to the days of the sage green carpet in my bedroom in 6th grade, the Mariah Carey tape ended on side one, so I have to take it out and flip it over and put the cassette back into the player. There is a right speaker and a left speaker, and if you had a really cool set up you could detach each one and set them in different spots in your room and have “surround sound.” So let’s pretend that this boom box is your brain. It’s playing music and you can’t quite differentiate between the left speaker’s sound and the right speaker’s sound because it all blends together when you’re laying on your floral bedspread. The analogy is this. As your thoughts are playing automatically in your mind and you are sorting out something complex, like your game plan for your next move in life, career, relationships, etc. You begin to notice that there are certain lines repeating that weren’t necessarily your own voice. The left speaker, then is the voice of other people. Whether it’s negative or positive feedback, you are hearing their praise, their criticisms and that sound is just mixed in with the right speaker. The right side is your own voice of wisdom. It says “I don’t want to be a tattoo artist. Even if everyone says I’d be so good at it, I don’t like needles! Or people!” The right speaker knows who you are better than the left speaker. Now, don’t get me wrong, the right speaker has all kinds of feedback too. When you’re looking in the mirror and your love handles are hanging over your jeans, be sure that it’s your own critical voice going “Wow, looks like it’s time to lay off the Oreo’s, girl.” There are good and bad thoughts coming from both speakers. But, at least we can conquer our own negative thoughts and tell ourself it’s not true.

Do you get caught up in thinking that it is everyone else who’s life is so easy and supported that that is why they look so successful? We are filtering reality through the lens of Facebook and Instagram and people only post the best of their lives, the successes and the days where they’re perfectly manicured. But, if you were to hang around long enough, eventually you will see that 'real life' is messy. People have deep issues and complicated lives. Their families are screwed up and they carry baggage from prior hurts. Their businesses look like they’re thriving but you don’t see their bottom line. My life took a serious turn for the worse in April and I had to put the podcast down. Want to know what I'm gonna do about it?  The lesson then that I am illustrating for you in this episode, through vulnerability and self-compassion, is that nobody is perfect. No one is winning all the time. No one's story was easy. But, even greater than my own come-to-Jesus moment is: Through it all, you still have to pursue your life’s work. Through it all, you have to create. Or at least be creative every day. You have to keep your eyes on the prize. You have to speak to yourself kindly and build narratives that are uplifting. My mantra right now is “Eyes on the Prize.” because I am focused on providing for my family and fulfilling my destiny as an artist.  We can easily get bogged down in the flat tires and unexpected bumps in the road. But the GPS has to stay on, giving us directions for how to get to the destination. Nevertheless, we must be willing to trudge on. It might happen slower than I want. It might happen messier than I’d dreamed it would. It might be really, really challenging. What gets me through is when I imagine conquering my goals. I imagine every man who’s ever turned me down seeing the new me, hot as hell. I imagine one day looking back to tell the story of how I survived this moment in time and how it built character. I imagine my kids thanking me later for protecting them now from anything even mildly dangerous. But, right now, it’s a slog. And that is okay.

I spent $90,000 on my graduate school education. With that amount of money I could've sailed around the world in a yacht, drinking champagne. Instead, I collected random wisdoms about what *not* to do as an artist. The lesson this week is that skill and technique are overrated. Storytelling is the one thing that will keep your audience interested in your work. Facts tell, stories sell. In a critique session in grad school one of my peers put up a white sheet of paper with nothing on it and called it a painting. I almost lost my sh*t. How could he call this art!? What I learned is that 30 minutes can be devoted to the most earnestly made, finely rendered drawing but people will look at anything and discuss anything. We formulate opinions fast. So, you need to get good at talking about your work and having a cool idea to share rather than get better at drawing. Perfectionism is likely ruining your career. Just start showing your work and telling your story. See what happens.

Suffering, struggle and helplessness come from an idea that it won’t get better, no matter how hard we try. Artists are stopped every day by these attitudes. We think that the only solution is to work in a day job that will pay us enough to get by, and hopefully at the end of the day there will be enough time and leftover energy to do something for ourselves, like self care or creativity. This type of thinking needs to end if you want to improve your life. I'm here to teach you some Positive Psychology tricks from a well known pyschologist Dr. Martin Seligman. He describes life like a garden; we all have weeds and we all have flowers. Let's water and really appreciate the beautiful, positive aspects of each day by journaling three successes rather than constantly focus on all the weeds. They're gonna exist no matter what, but the less energy we focus on them, the easier it is to become an Artist Who Thrives.