If there’s one thing that Covid taught us all is that life is full of uncertainty.
Some days may seem predictable but when we stand on a high tower and look at our life we don’t know where it’ll go exactly.
Scary.
Lucky for you this is where Artists thrive naturally.
Don’t believe me?
Ask any creative: a painter, an entrepreneur, an engineer, a writer. What do they look at first before creating?
Nothing.
A Blank Canvas.
no topic, no direction, no requirement, no mentor, no colors, no purpose, no guarantee pay (hah).
All they have in front of them is their greatest weapon in the world: their minds.
And a strong desire to create.
The future is uncertain…but this uncertainty is at the very heart of human creativity — Hya Prigogine
They just can’t help it! Any window of time an artist has to create, they will.
They always want to make things.
It’s IN their blood.
Here’s a couple ways how you can face your blank canvas too —
Be Imaginative.
Great artists have this convoluted visual roaming around in their minds. It might be an animation idea for their website, a painting they’ve been wanting to do, or a writing piece they’ve been dying to share.
Whatever it may be, it’s been swirling in their minds not quite fully formed yet, waiting to be tinkered with.
Personally, my waves of imagination look like unfinished blobs, energy rings of lavender or red (depending on my mood), with random flashes of scenes from my constructed future.
A dream waiting to live in reality.
It doesn’t really make a lot of sense at first until I take the risk of learning how to build it.
It’s like a puzzle piece, almost.
Every idea painted on a puzzle piece with protruding connections, looking to find a connecting group of puzzles. It’s quite a thrill finding what works and how it’ll work outside of our mind.
More importantly, it’s exciting to see how it might inspire others or even ourselves to build another piece!
As artists do, imagination is key to solving our everyday problems.
For instance, as a business owner working through covid, there may be quite a lot of uncertainty in revenue not only to sustain the business but to keep employees working. But imagine tapping into our imagination and thinking about a new business idea for your existing company.
Clearly, covid truly accelerated companies to do this and to utilize technology as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
Event planning turned virtual live events.
Dine-in restaurants turned take out only.
Technical jobs now all work from home only.
Retail stores boosting their website for online sales. (Amazon definitely skyrocketed during Covid)
These pivots, some a hard swallow are simply opportunities to grow and to learn.
In situations like this, I’m reminded of scenes from pursuit of happyness where Chris Gardner (Will Smith) was evicted from his home and was struggling to provide for his son (Jaden Smith).
With no home and no means of income he took his son somewhere in a subway bathroom, locked it to stay safe while sleeping. He then told his son that they were playing a game and to use their imagination to turn those dirty bathroom stalls to an exciting new adventure.
As a child it’s exciting to imagine a new adventure and play a game. So, it became a much needed change of scenery that was well created for his son.
As a parent, it was an incredibly emotional scene to watch but it took a hopeful turn when Chris decided to make the most of his situation.
This great scene teaches us about the power of acceptance and imagination. Two quality traits that can allow us to pivot when confronting unexpected changes.
We may not see the affects of our new ideas right away, but soon enough you’ll see your ideas come to life with great patience and trust.
Believe in its potential and tap into your imagination.
Stay Versatile.
Most artists aren’t just writers, designers, or Etsy shop owners. Most of the time, they enjoy a variety of hobbies and paths of creativity. Lucky for them, there are a multitude of opportunities too flourish these days.
Here’s a list of income generating places anyone could do:
- Fiverr — here you can post a service on practically anything like graphic design, writing, tutoring, or coaching. You name it!
- Set your rate
- Post your listing
- Share everywhere
& watch it grow!
2. Medium — Did you know you can also get paid to write on here?
If you’re a writer, start today! Check out the details on medium and start posting.
Personally, the convenience of writing on my phone with the ability to quickly stylize a post is incredibly easy.
3. Etsy — like fiverr it’s a marketplace where you can practically post any service you’d like but now its more geared towards customizable products.
This wonderful website can ignite the artists in all of us and the listing price is only 20 cents.
And, honestly there are TONS of other sites where practically anyone can learn to get paid for a service.
Point is, that having versatility can bring new opportunities to helps us grow, build passive income, or even pivot your business faster. It can also allow yourself to adjust much quicker because of the variety of skills that you may have.
Maybe your current job didn’t make it through covid, but you have other skills that you are willing to grow into for a new type of job or even a business.
Maybe you are lucky to have a secondary job or a passive income source.
Maybe you’re starting fresh and completely changing course in your career.
Either way, staying versatile in relationships and careers can brings about unexpected opportunities for success.
Take a Risk.
If there’s one very bold aspect of Artists is that they take risks.
Well, calculated risks at times.
Think of Beyoncé, although she is an incredibly powerful singer, when she began her career she took a risk to be different.
And when creating her music, she is constantly taking many risks into crafting music that hopefully people will enjoy.
She’s clearly done an incredible job of pouring her love of music through her work and life. However, this isn’t guaranteed at all.
She kept working on herself, on her music, and dangerously put her life out on the line for scrutiny.
Her success was not guaranteed, but by putting her vulnerabilities on the forefront she’s been blessed a beautiful life.
So, take the risk of changing your company’s primary service. Take the risk of moving to a new city, a new country. Take the risk of learning a new skill or getting your hands dirty through physical labor. Take the risk of putting your ideas out there.
As a great man once said:
In order to be dangerous you must learn to be vulnerable.
So, take the leap of faith. It’ll be worth it in the end.
Listen to feedback.
If there’s one thing artists have to constantly wrap themselves around is: feedback
The price most artists pay is that anxiety driven meeting where the managers scrutinize their design or creative solution. It’s when posting pieces of writing and art not knowing if it’s something people would actually enjoy.
For instance, YouTubers.
Channels on Youtube are well adjusted to understanding feedback. Especially, because they receive feedback almost instantaneously.
Although, it’s mentally draining at times, it also allows YouTubers to adjust their content very quickly. They take the time to see what people say and make an adjustment by simply listening.
Building this healthy relationship with feedback they receive, allows them to create accordingly. It also helps their channels analyze, track, and dictate future content.
This dynamically powerful skill helps when creating a business or navigating problems in a relationship. It may sound very simple but often times when we’re in the meat of our business or in our heads about our issues we forget to listen to the world around us.
In fact, our world is constantly giving us feedback for us to better understand ourselves.
Open your ears! Get inspired.
Hopefully, this ignites the inner Artist in you to better tackle everyday challenges.
Your ideas are needed, make the move.
An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all
