the guiding question to build wealth as an artist
in order to receive wealth from the world, you must give your wealth. this is the continued thought thread of, “the way of the artist-entrepreneur.”
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while walking Luna one morning this week I heard a question resonate in my being — the question that has been wanting to rise to the surface for a very long time, a question which is the ANSWER to this very tricky puzzle of solving the problem of ART vs. MONEY — how to make both in a way that feels truly, deeply aligned; how to make art and money in a way that doesn’t make me miserable and resentful, and drained… (for background on the mindset and journey that got me here, read the post linked here).
here is the question:
how can my creative superpowers as an artist be channeled into giving extraordinary value and service to others, while sharing my ethos & philosophy along the way?
let’s break this down.
as an artist, you have creative superpowers. these are your gifts. truly acknowledge it, see it, be grateful for it. be proud of it, instead of constantly second-guessing yourself. don’t take it for granted or feel awkward around friends with money — or feel like your creativity/sensitivity can be an alienating barrier between you and the world (and no one understands you, etc etc… I’ve so been there).
extraordinary value and service — in the deep flow of my art, I’ve always felt extremely detached/removed from “the world,” like I was existing on a different dimension than the here-and-now. I made art primarily for me. that’s still true. but. what if I deliberately committed (at least part of the time) to being IN the world, OF the world — in service FOR the world? that is a very different mindset than “why won’t anyone acknowledge/see me/validate me for my art.”
sharing vision, ethos, and philosophy — I believe the greatest gift we have to offer is not our creative skills or even our work, but our vision — our perspective. vision is a way of seeing possibility for the future; it is the starting seed for anything we create — from a painting, a poem, a book, to a business, organization, or country. this is something so deeply valuable that we can offer — in trusting and standing for our vision.
versions of this question have been rolling around me for months, now, but only today have I been able to so clearly articulate it into a question — which is also a directive, a challenge, a commitment.
I felt the piercing clarity of this question — the way it restructures all of my thinking around art & business, because it proposes a way of integration; integration between my inner artist world + the material, external world.
this question paves a way for artists to build wealth — true wealth, which is the act of giving and recieving value to the world. not a little trickle, but a flood of value; deluges of creativity.
wealth comes from inspired giving
this question is what will help the artist bridge the gap between SELF + WORLD. this is what will help us expand beyond the self-absorbed, hermit-vortex of our inner artist worlds — which, for me, is a black hole — AND nourish its richness by allowing it nourishment, air, purpose, commitment — to something greater, outside of ourselves.
I believe that we can meet our greater artistic potential by taking a role of leadership in the world; by being in a generous act of service for the world.
I’m challenging the paradigm that wealth comes from forcing ourselves to do business — when we don’t really want to.
wealth comes from artistic inspiration.
wealth comes from our aligned creativity.
there are many less soulful ways of accumulating wealth — but here I define wealth (the kind of wealth I want to build) as a signifier of value — transformation, healing, creative solutions — in the world. and thus, to recieve value, first you give value. the mathematics of this is quite simple. the universe always wants to be in balance.
why artists are meant to be in service
this might sound — grandiose, sure — but I think as artists, we are connected so intimately with the essence of life; more deeply than any other profession, other than the spiritual/religious.
I’m not referring to art as a means of purely aesthetics or creative labor (particularly now in the age of AI) — but art as an ongoing life process; both creative and spiritual, of being in tune with the cycles of life and death. art as a way of channeling creative energy, moving it through systems, things, the world — in a way that can transform the very felt experience of being alive.
challenging old paradigms of being an artist
this way of thinking challenges a lot of old programming of what art is for (which I’ll untangle in a later post); art as luxury or signifier of status or, of celebrity-artists ordained by gatekeepers, or, martyr-artists, who embrace being poor as an act of holiness. I’m proposing something completely different: that worldly success and wealth as an artist can come by being more deeply IN the world, by showing up and serving the world with the magical, exquisite gifts that you have.
this is what it means to me to be an artist-entrepreneur. to upgrade from purely being a self-absorbed (no drop of disparagement intended!) artist, to asking how I can channel my creative superpowers to heal, transform, solve, expand, support, nurture, uplift, inspire — to be of value to those I wish to serve.
the follow-up questions are:
WHAT are my creative superpowers??
WHO am I meant to serve?
HOW do I give extraordinary value to them?
WHAT is my philosophy/ethos/vision?
I’ll write about those questions in more depth on another day.
but, I think that once you know the core guiding question — like a path opening up in the forest, lighting up the way — then, the questions that follow are simply stepping stones, leading you deeper and deeper into resonance with your life’s work.
maybe, you start with a commitment:
“I commit to using my creative superpowers as an artist to give extraordinary value and service to those I deeply wish to serve; while sharing my vision, ethos, and philosophy along the journey.”