As I sat with my friend and author Jonathan Fields over lunch last December in Manhattan we discussed the topic of taking full responsibility for your own success and turning your fear into fuel, the subject of his latest book, Uncertainty, a must read.
As we were discussing our coaching and consulting with creatives we both said, almost in unison, “Most people just don’t want to do what it’s going take to succeed.”
Think that you’re going to be discovered? Think again. It’s just not going to happen. No one is coming to save you, to discover you, or to make you successful.
You’re going to get breaks now and again but there is no formula that doesn’t involve hard work as the main ingredient.
I know you know this, but too many artists maintain an unconscious yearning to be discovered. And who wouldn’t want this to happen? But you might win the lottery jackpot too.
I believe that as long as you harbor this conscious or unconscious desire you will not direct your full attention towards what is really within your control.
The place you can start to take control is to understand that to be a thriving artist you are also a savvy entrepreneur. Unless you a commercial artist or you are teaching there is not a JOB for you to have.
Being an artist, in the broad sense of the word, is also being an entrepreneur. And not only is this not taught in art school, it is actually regarded as an appalling notion.
This disdain for business is an emotional response born out of a dark undermining denial of the economic reality art students will each have to face.
Media exposure is indeed helpful and it can help catapult you towards success but only if you have the systems in place to leverage your platform and the products to provide you with revenue streams.
When I met with famed chef Michael Chiarello company’s VP, he quoted Michael’s formula for success, content + community = revenue. Brilliant!
I know of a few New York Times best selling authors who were regulars on national television and because they saw themselves only as artists/authors and not entrepreneurs they are struggling financially and their enthusiasm and creativity is compromised.
Of course you must first craft your talent and find your voice as an artist but then it’s all business.
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