Why didn't anybody point out I had two tip #10's???
Renumbered correctly today. Again, courtesy of Lori Parch's article ("Secrets of Thin People") in the April 2006 issue of MORE magazine.
Thin poeple do what works.
This last tip points out that roughly one third of all Americans are on a diet, but two-thirds of all Americans are overweight.
"Something doesn't add up", says Parch.
The answer is absurdly simple.
Those people who successfully lose weight, and successfully KEEP IT OFF, have found something that works for them.
And it's not a certain "something".
It's something that works FOR THEM.
I know at this point I'm preaching to the choir. We all know HOW to lose weight. What we need is is a strategy that will work for US.
And then we need to do it.
We need to find the exercise we enjoy, and then do it--whether we feel like it that day or not. I hate aerobics class. I love kickboxing. So I kickbox. We need make time to eat healthy--and do it. I've figured out a healthy breakfast and a healthy lunch--and I stick to those two meals religiously every day. I'm working on evenings--I'll get back to you on that!
The point is, to ACT on that belief--that there is some process that will work FOR US.
The same in our art business. You must figure out what works for YOU. And DO it long enough, hard enough, for it to pay off.
As I said earlier in this series, I LOVE to tell people what to do. But I'm learning not to.
It's more important to ask people what they WANT to do. And then help them get there (while gently correcting any gross misinformation they're carrying in their head about it.)
I've learned that we all have vastly different needs to be satisfied from our artwork.
Money--Some people need to pay the mortgage. Others need enough cash to take the next step. Others only need a little to pay for their expenses.
Recognition--Some people want prestige. Some people will be happy with their name in the paper once in awhile. Others simply want their mother-in-law to quit referring to their art as "your little hobby..."
Fulfillment--Some people want to constantly challenge themselves and the limits of their medium. Some people just want to make more stuff to sell. And some people are perfectly happy making cards for their family and friends.
Sales--Some people want every home in America to own one of their widgets. Some people want a highly privileged few to own one of their pieces. And some people find keeping one store supplied with their work challenge enough.
Self-worth--Some people have a burning need to create. Some people find it rewarding and satisfying. And some people just love to play in their studio.
It's ALL good. If you are happy with where you are, that's all we need to know.
If you want to get to the next step, that's good, too. But that's also where it gets hard.
Because although there are some tried-and-true methods of getting to each next step, they aren't a sure thing for everyone.
Sometimes wacky "next steps" work. Usually "shortcuts" look good but end bad. But not always. Sometimes you just get lucky and can leapfrog ahead of the pack, for awhile at least.
Mostly it's just a mess of decisions you make every day, without being able to see the end result. But you make them with your best intentions and your best ability, and see where they take you.
Yesterday I cleared a desk surface. Okay, I went through a paper bag filled with papers. I came across a print-out of feedback I'd solicited from friends and fellow professionals. It was about running an expensive ad to coincide with a show last year. I'd asked for everyone's opinion on whether or not I should buy adspace.
As I looked over the response, I realized the advice was good, well-articulated, thoughtful--and evenly divided on the issue. In fact, the advice was so good, I could use it for THIS year's decision about the ad....
For every reason TO run the ad, there was an equally good reason NOT to run the ad.
In the end, I went with my gut feeling and didn't run the ad.
Of course, one of the most successful artists at the show DID go with the ad.
Was I wrong?
I STILL don't know! The artist attributed their success to the ad, but a little bird told me otherwise. On the other hand, it was a huge show--it might have made a difference.
And that's how this biz works. You have to make a choice, you weigh your options and outcomes, you make a decision--and then you still never know if it was the right decision or not.
The very first time my work appeared in a bigtime newspaper, it had no results. Or so I thought. Eight years later--EIGHT YEARS LATER--a woman walked into my booth and said, "Ohmigod, I've found you!! I have a clipping from the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine on you! I saw it and I fell in love with your work. I've kept it FOREVER, hoping I'd see your work in person one day..." A major part of me was deeply moved. A tiny part of me wondered if she'd ever heard of Google...
Let me put it another way--it ends up being the right decision, because the minute you decide, the other decision and its outcome disappears. If things work out, well, you made the right decision. If it doesn't, then you do something different.
Your decision should always be made with enough information to make a good decision (without so much information you're overwhelmed); made with enough self-knowledge to understand what's right for YOU (and not so much self-knowledge that you're paralzyed with indecision); and based on work that's good enough to get you to the next step.
And when you are wracked with self-doubt ("I can't sell my own work!" "I can't do a big show like that!!" "I can't write a press release!!!") because you've never done that before, remember:
No one is born knowing how to play the piano.
Even someone who is fabulously talented had to LEARN how to play. And then PRACTICE.
Then they either became good because they WANT to or they felt they HAD to.
You can be fabulously talented and hate playing the piano.
Or play well enough, and LOVE playing the piano.
I know a woman who played an instrument beautifully. But she didn't feel she was "the best". Or "concert quality". So she quit. Forever.
Her talent is lost to the world.
I know a woman who wrote music, played instruments and sang so beautifully it gave me shivers down my spine. She didn't feel she deserved to take up so much time or energy for this in her marriage. So she took it no further.
Her song is lost to the world.
We all have a song in us. It doesn't matter where we fall on the continuum--beautiful song, mediocre song, beautiful voice, so-so voice.
If we don't sing it, it is lost.
Sing your song.
All you're ultimately left with is the path you've chosen, and the story you tell about it.
