Thin people limit their options.
The strategy here is to avoid eating for excitement and stimulation. The less variety in our diet, the sooner we are sated. More variety, more eating. (Again, with moderation--no one can live forever eating Rice Krispies, bananas and walnuts.)
This concept of limiting options may seem to contradict THIN SECRET FOR SUCCESS No. 6 (Thin people enjoy their food.) That principle involves eating foods you enjoy, eating slowly to truly savor each bite, and learning to love the foods that are healthy choices.
This is about when you're full of salad, but you could still go for a piece of cake. Don't go there, girlfriend.
In art and craft, it's about disappating your creative energy by taking on too many creative outlets and options.
Boy, this tip has got to be THE hardest one for artists. We're CREATIVE, dammit! We see the creative potential in EVERYTHING, and we're excited by it. We want to do it all, and do it all ourselves. What's wrong with that?!
Well, just that. If EVERYTHING has creative potential, and EVERYTHING demands--and gets--our full creative attention and energy, how will any one thing ever get the focus it needs to rise to the top? And how will you--one person--handle it all?
Even then, it's not a bad thing--UNLESS IT'S GETTING IN THE WAY OF WHAT YOU REALLY WANT. If what you REALLY want is to get a bigger income,to get into better shows, to sell to stores outside your local area, or to build a bigger reputation, then this lack of focus is going to work against you.
Here are some ways creative people overload and overreach themselves.
The first example is the craftsperson who simply does too many crafts. She does a little knitting, she does a little sewing. She makes earrings. She makes polymer clay buttons. She also likes to cross-stitch and make dolls.
What do you tell this person?
F*O*C*U*S
How do I know?
That person was me.
I was lucky. I found a way to combine many of my interests (embroidery, polymer clay artifacts, sewing, stamping and dyeing) to create an entirely new "thing". The different media add interest, but each is subordinate to the look of the end product. That gestalt thing.
Not everyone can do this with their interests, but it's a solution.
I see this a lot when I'm in mentoring sessions with artists at ABI workshops (www.artsbusinessinstitute.org) Artists--especially new artists--have a hard time narrowing down their creative bent to a few strong choices.
Sometimes it turns out the person just wants some validation. Once they realize that mastering one media looks much more professional than a booth filled with "a little bit of this, a little bit of that", that's all the insight they need to cull their product lines and bring a new coherence to their display.
But sometimes, even if they see why they SHOULD, it's hard for them to figure out HOW.
I start with a few questions:
Which of these do YOU like best?
It's amazing how people hate to admit this. It must feel like choosing your favorite child. Trust me, the other media you don't choose? Their feelings will not be hurt.
Which of these are you best at?
I can help a little here. Industry perspective and all that. If your heart lies in jewelry-making, but you're making mediocre work, or work that is not distinctive, or work that is easily copied, you're going to have to really dig deep to turn that around.
Which of these do you feel is the most distinctive?
Often there's one line or item that just jumps out. It's unusual, it's quirky, it's...distinctive. And with a little more energy, refinement, focus it could be their "big thing."
Sometimes the person likes them all, but it turns out what they REALLY love is TEACHING. In which case, they only need to make and sell enough to improve their skills and establish themselves as a working artist. Their real energy will go into marketing themselves as teachers.
But the most important question is:
What do you want to achieve out of all this?
If they're having fun doing a little bit of everything, and it's working for them, and they don't need to get any bigger--why, then, not focusing is fine.
The minute you find you want to go somewhere, and all this baggage is not going in the car, that's when our focus will help us through.
This "Thin Secret" will be continued tomorrow, so stay tuned. We'll look at other ways artists lose their way with too many options.
