Unraveling the Uncomfortable: Artists and Our Relationship with Money

Episode Transcript:

[00:00:00] It's great to set financial goals for yourself. I like to think of my goals as realistic. What do I need, and then my dream goals of what would I absolutely love. The other goals that I love to set are the feeling goals, and this is where I try to focus my energy rather than becoming obsessed with the monetary goals I focus in on how would I like to feel.

[00:00:29] And then spend my attention really living in that space. This is Art is podcast for artists where we brainstorm the future of the art world and the creative industries.

[00:00:47] Hello and welcome back to The Art Is Podcast. A podcast for artists. We are here in beautiful Los Angeles. I am Lauren Hill from Curated Splash. I am worthy regardless of what happens in my business. This is a power thought that I'd like to gift to you to take with you throughout your day to refer back to, to remind yourself that the results of your business are separate from your inherent worthiness.

[00:01:21] A lot of times because of societal programming, growing up, going to school, trying to get good grades, and then being told, oh, you're a good girl. We have this codependent or enmeshed relationship with our job. The money that we receive from our job or our career and how it relates to our worthiness. As artists, I think that this relationship with money is even more complex and complicated.

[00:01:57] Starting to think about your art as a business can be exciting and also very challenging because the art you make is vast and some of it will fall under the category of your art business and some of it won't. And understanding when to draw the line on those two different categories. Is a journey that I myself am just embarking on and beginning to understand the complexity of.

[00:02:22] But as Lauren so astutely said, the value of your business doesn't equate to your personal value. And for artists, the value of your art doesn't correspond to the cost it sells for if you're selling it. It only comes from an internal validation, and so understanding how to compartmentalize all of the feelings that come along with separating art and business, separating art, business, and life is so complex.

[00:02:58] It's an evolving journey, or it's an evolving state of consciousness. I am really early in my professional art practice and. Every day and every week, my thoughts and feelings change on how I wanna show up and where I wanna sell and who I wanna sell to are all things that are constantly changing For me, it's an incredibly hard thing to talk about because it's something we've never really learned how to talk about and something we probably weren't ever encouraged to share.

[00:03:28] Validating your self-worth off of the amount of money you make, whether that's from your art practice or any other job. Is always gonna be a slippery slope, and recognizing that the only opinion that matters is your own, is the first step in terms of liberating yourself from fear. We've all heard more money, more problems, but I think a better interpretation of that would be more money, more responsibility, and that's not always what everyone seeks.

[00:04:03] So just like in previous episodes, It's important to discover what you desire for your life so that you can set expectations accordingly and feel more in alignment when taking action. And the point of this conversation really isn't to try to teach or distill any particular message. All Lauren and I are trying to do is, De-stigmatize dialogue around this topic and recognize that if we choose to engage in a professional practice that involves selling, embarking on a solo journey can be incredibly isolating.

[00:04:51] Yeah. And you know, it's messed up that we don't talk about it more and all we're trying to do is create some food for thought for you. And for other creatives around the world grappling with this process. So Lauren, so one of the things that I'm beginning to think about is understanding financial goals in my professional art practice.

[00:05:14] What would your advice be to somebody early on in their professional art journey? Setting financial goals for themself. Yeah, so understanding how much you need to survive from day-to-day at a baseline, and understanding that maybe you won't be making this from your art right away, and that it's okay to have money come to you from multiple paths.

[00:05:41] It doesn't have to be just one source. This is something that I've had to really open up to. Because I came from the background of my mom was a teacher and my dad was a truck driver, and they had the same job for pretty much their whole life. So that was one revenue stream coming in that they were committed to.

[00:06:05] And so that's what my modeling was. Whereas now we live in a world where a lot of creative people have multiple jobs, even in within one year and wear a lot of different hats. I feel it's really important to open yourself up to the idea that it's amazing to have revenue coming in from multiple areas.

[00:06:28] Some people want to create art as a hobby, and that's okay too. So it's not a one size fits all path. When you do start creating money within your art or creative business, it's great to set financial goals for yourself. I like to think of my goals as realistic. What do I need, and then my dream goals of what would I absolutely love.

[00:06:59] The other goals that I love to set are the feeling goals. And this is where I try to focus my energy rather than becoming obsessed with the monetary goals. I focus in on how would I like to feel and then spend my attention really living in that space. I'd love to hear in more detail your thoughts and advice for those really at the beginning of their creative business journey around.

[00:07:32] Subverting the negative emotion that comes up with feeling like you're not on track and that kind of visceral bodily reaction you can feel of anxiety and stress that can then greatly impact your creative flow and focus and completely derail your progress. There's so much that can disrupt that flow when your nervous system is in fight or flight because you're worried about how you're gonna pay your next bill.

[00:08:11] One of the tools that I use is to imagine worst case scenario, really go into what would happen. If you completely ran outta money, just to kind of figure out what steps you would take and realize that you probably would not end up on the street. And I think that most people, that's like the deepest fear is like, oh, I'm gonna be homeless.

[00:08:42] I'm gonna be out on the street. I'm not gonna have a place to live. I'm not gonna have anything to eat. When realistically, you probably have friends or family that could help you out. Or you could come up with a solution as to how to bring in a little more money to be able to pay for your food or your rent.

[00:09:05] So when you go to worst case scenario, what happens is you realize that you have options. So that's really the idea of this practice, is to realize that you have options. You're a creative person. You can come up with solutions. That's how your brain works. It's just a matter of allowing your, your focus to shift and really, you know, be with those feelings for a little bit if you are in that fight or flight, sometimes you just need to be with your body and like we've said in previous episodes, hold it like a sweet baby.

[00:09:48] Give it the comfort it needs. The reassurance it needs. Recently, I have been recognizing how much constructed negative emotion I have around certain things or certain decisions that I need to make. But recognizing that, you know, all of these decisions in a few weeks or months might not have any bearing anymore and that, you know, the things that were keeping me up at night last year, I can't even remember right now.

[00:10:17] So I've been going through this process of. Starting to take myself less seriously and accepting the temporality of all of these issues. I was listening to the Art newspapers end of year summary of 2022, discussing their thoughts on how the year went, and it was really interesting. For the first time ever, I think Art World Commentary recognized that.

[00:10:46] Art is art and it's as much or as little, you know, it's like as much as as little as we want it to be. You know, it's like art is a construction of our own making, and it's been around for centuries, and that's why when people even have told me that, you know, becoming an artist is a risky business model.

[00:11:02] I've often found myself distraught by those comments. But after talking to friends and people from my community, I've realized that actually art is one of the oldest, most proven business models in the entire world. And that the complexity of daily life now has just made us lose sight of that. Keeping a humorous, not so serious attitude about your work sometimes can be the most helpful thing of all, and recognizing when to let go and just let things happen.

[00:11:32] Susan Hensel, the multimedia artist, is really the best example of that. She has pivoted and reinvented herself so many times and has consistently maintained an incredible business. She. Has also defied all of the tropes in terms of both being an artist and being a gallerist and a curator, and also constantly improving and upleveling her skills.

[00:11:55] You know, she started in painting and in ceramics and then moved to weaving and tapestries and then into digital practice with digital arts and digital tapestries as well, like on the patience front. It's so funny, like when I graduated in 2020 and I heard that for the first time. You know, I was so annoyed by that comment.

[00:12:15] I just wanted things to happen now, you know, happen immediately, but by being patient and by just not giving as much of a shit, it's crazy how much your, your world changes. You know, like I was talking to someone yesterday, um, who is, who was telling me about how, um, with increasing responsibility in your life, whether caring for a parent or caring for a child, or you know, any kind of responsibility that goes beyond yourself.

[00:12:42] You don't have as much time to think about decisions in your work, and you just end up relying more on your instincts and just making, making the choice easier and recognizing whether okay, it was a good choice or a bad choice. At least you've done something and now you can learn from that experience and not be so hard on yourself because it's not that big of a deal.

[00:13:05] The experimentation process, you're gonna learn from everything that you take action essentially. And really, I mean, you have everything you need to be successful right now. We tend to compare ourselves to everyone around us and what we see on social media, and everyone's posting their best selves, their highlight reel when really the only comparison I think that is helpful is comparing yourself to maybe yourself yesterday or.

[00:13:39] Looking back 10 years ago and saying, who was the person that I was then, and how have I grown and evolved and changed and become the person I am today? And maybe that person doesn't have the same number in their bank account, but maybe that person enjoys a different experience in their life than they would have before.

[00:14:05] It's not that helpful to make a podcast about making money as an artist. When everyone's journey is so unique, and just as Lauren was saying, the only people we have to be comparing ourselves to is ourself. You know, you today versus you last year, or you today versus you last month, and don't shame yourself for.

[00:14:25] The amount of money you have in the bank, it really doesn't mean what you think it means. What are you making it mean about yourself? And I wanna reiterate, the number in your bank account does not reflect your inherent worth. We are all at different points on our journey. And shaming yourself for where you're at is just not helpful.

[00:14:46] And like we said, it's also not helpful to compare yourself to others. My advice, Is to just look back at a younger version of yourself and evaluate where you are now compared to that younger self. Sometimes our values and goals change at different points in our life and we. Pivot, or we like to experiment with different things and so we're just at different phases and money isn't always flowing in.

[00:15:17] Being human is freaking hard, and although I think it's important to be grounded in reality and have measurable goals, it's also important to sometimes be a risk taker and follow your heart. I've noticed this fixation on. 10 K months and making a hundred K annually, especially in your business, specifically in your business, it takes years or even decades for some people, for most small businesses, really to get to that point and to sustain it.

[00:15:58] And many business owners give up before even getting close. I think a good question to ask yourself is why do you want to be banking X amount of money? And if the answer is, then you'll be happy because you're making X amount of money. You might wanna check in with what you expect. Happiness to be because it's not exactly the money that is going to make you feel happy and fulfilled.

[00:16:26] Happiness and fulfillment is found in this present moment, and yes, there are a lot of outside factors that can affect our mood and our happiness. And yes, having money is amazing, but if you rely on outside circumstances to make you feel a certain way. You will be forever at the whim of those circumstances.

[00:16:49] The real gift is when you can cultivate that joy and fulfillment within yourself here and now in this present moment, and inquire within about the characteristics of what that joy and for fulfillment looks like specifically for you, not just in a dollar amount. This kind of goes back to what I was talking about earlier as the feeling goals.

[00:17:11] So rather than hyper focusing on those external goals, like 10 to 20 K months, or 50,000 followers on Instagram, zeroing in on how you want to feel. Then taking steps to create a life and career that is in alignment with those feeling goals. So for example, you wanna feel more in flow and be creative, helps you feel more in flow, then going out and finding a job or a business that.

[00:17:40] Is more creative or maybe you want to feel more connected and inspired. So maybe finding work where you get to be around other like-minded who can, you know, help you feel connected and having a mentor that can help you feel inspired. This episode is one of the most uncomfortable topics to discuss. You know, along with sex, your diet money is just a uncomfortable topic sometimes, and I think it's fun to talk about these uncomfortable topics, but they, they're, they're difficult to talk about.

[00:18:15] So another good question to ask yourself is, what does financial freedom look like for you? And I want to leave you with something that I've created to help you unlock more. Wealth and abundance in your life. It's called the three Fundamental Principles to transform your Relationship with Money. So the first.

[00:18:36] Fundamental principle is shifting to the mindset that money can come to you from anywhere. So this first principle really invites you to expand your mindset, embrace the idea that money can flow to you from unexpected places and in unimaginable ways. Yes, please, by releasing. Your limiting beliefs and opening up your mind to the vast possibilities, you really can allow the universe to surprise you.

[00:19:10] With its abundant offerings. Have you ever done this before? Opened up to like, Hmm, maybe money can find me in different ways, and then received an unexpected check. Well, this shift really requires a conscious effort to let go of scarcity thinking and replace it with the mindset of. Abundance and infinite potential.

[00:19:32] And as you tap into this mindset, you begin to attract other opportunities. You start seeing other synchronicities and just more resources that align with your desires and your financial goals. Embracing this mindset involves cultivating a sense of gratitude, that attitude of gratitude. You know, a lot of spiritual teachings talk about this gratitude.

[00:19:59] Appreciation and just checking in with like appreciating the money that you already have, the abundance that you already have, as well as the wealth that is yet to come. by acknowledging and appreciating the abundance present in your life, you create a more positive, energetic flow that attracts even more abundance into your life.

[00:20:22] So the second. Fundamental principle is slowing down and connecting with the present moment. The second principle really emphasizes the importance of slowing down very difficult for a lot of people, and connecting into this present moment and processing those negative emotions that we were talking about in our fast paced society.

[00:20:46] It's really easy to get caught up in chaotic thoughts and all the anxieties. Surrounding money. However, by taking the time to pause and really breathe and be fully present, you can gain clarity and access to that inner wisdom, right? Doing that self-inquiry. And when those negative emotions arise, it's really essential to acknowledge them and honor them.

[00:21:15] Rather than suppressing them, ignoring them, eating, running away from them, binging on TV shows instead of honoring them. Because by allowing yourself to feel and process those emotions, you create a space for healing and transformation. And you can do this through a lot of different practices. Practices like meditation, mindfulness, journaling.

[00:21:40] Somatic work, dance, even self pleasure or sex I believe you can really transform these negative energies through so many different tools. We have so many different tools out there and just experimenting with what works for you because as you transform these negative energies into more neutral or positive vibrations, You align with that flow of abundance.

[00:22:06] So connecting in with the present moment really enables you to tap into your intuition and inner knowing as well as you quiet the mind and you listen to your inner guidance, you can take the aligned action that leads you towards financial success and fulfillment, right? The third fundamental principle is giving value and being of service.

[00:22:32] This principle really highlights the power of sharing value and being of service to others. When you shift your focus from that self-centered mindset, you move into the mindset of contribution, and you open yourself up to new opportunities and elevate your sense of purpose in the world. You can do this by asking yourself, how can I be of service to humanity?

[00:23:01] How can I be of service to my fellow human beings? And when you do this, you break free from that victim Mentality or any self pity, and you embrace empowerment and more of that self responsibility, the control that you have within, when you provide value and genuinely seek to help others, you become a magnet for success and abundance.

[00:23:23] It's pretty magical, and this principle really encourages us to share our unique gifts. We each have such unique gifts that need to be shared with the world. Whether it's through your work, you know, other relationships that you have, or even community involvement by creating a positive impact on others' lives, we, we align ourselves with that universal flow of abundance.

[00:23:50] And it helps us attract in the wealth and the fulfillment. So by integrating these three fundamental principles into your life, you can unlock a deeper connection with wealth on abundance. Shifting your mindset to embrace the idea that money can come from anywhere. Expands the possibilities and invites miracles into your life.

[00:24:14] Slowing down and connecting with the present moment allows you to transmute those negative emotions, transform them into a different substance, just like the alchemist and access that inner guidance. That has always been there, but sometimes we're just too fast paced. We're just around too much noise to really hear.

[00:24:38] And by focusing on that giving value and being of service, you align yourself with the abundance that the universe has and the open doors and the limitless opportunities. That are available to us. So if you embrace these three principles with an open heart and a willingness to grow, you know, willingness to try something different, I trust that you will expect to witness your relationship with money transform.

[00:25:08] I've seen it myself. I've seen it in the clients that I've coached, and transforming that relationship will bring a greater sense of peace and abundance into your life. And to continue this conversation about money and abundance. I'm super excited for next week's episode where I interview the financial coach, Ryan Roy.

[00:25:33] He's a tattoo artist, turned financial coach, it's gonna be such a great episode. You're gonna learn a lot from Ryan. I can't wait for you to hear it. And I just wanna emphasize that I, you know, at this point in my life too, I continue to learn from a lot of different coaches, a lot of different places.

[00:25:57] It's kind of that beginner's mindset, right? I don't know if you've ever heard of that concept from Zen Buddhism, where having the beginner's mind, you know, having this attitude of openness and an eagerness to just be a beginner. And be open to what other people can teach you. So as you continue listening to these episodes, maybe approaching the episodes with this mindset and seeing what else you can learn.

[00:26:30] Even if you're much farther advanced. So be sure to tune in next week to our continued conversation around abundance and finances. with Ryan Roy,

[00:26:48] thank you for listening to Art is a podcast for artists. Be sure to check out the show notes for any resources mentioned in this episode. To access the episode transcript and more info on the themes outlined in season five, go to art is podcast.com. This episode was created by me Isotta Page and Lauren Hill from Curated Splash with original music by Black Wonder Twins.

[00:27:13] You can find them on all streaming platforms and on YouTube and Instagram under the same handle. Okay, that's it for now. See you next Thursday.