Steven Pressfield wrote an eye-opening book titled, The War of Art. An appropriate sequel might be titled The War Between Art and Business.
Creatives are great at their art but they are often terrible at business. They are also the first to be taken advantage of by people who are shrewd on the business side. Creatives will work extra, or for free, or for discounted prices under the guise of “doing work that they love.” They figure that, since they truly enjoy doing the art, that they don’t need to be compensated well for it.
And even if they feel like they want to- and should- be paid well for it, often they aren’t taught or trained on how to do the business side well.
In my days as a photojournalist, it was beaten into our brains that the quality of our art is what mattered, and we should be willing to put in extra hours each week simply to get the highest quality of work. We were young, passionate and stupid, and most of us bought into it. I recall how we would actually psych each other up with that.
“He said we should put ten hours a week of our own time into this if we really want to be the best,” I pleaded to some co-workers about a statement that my boss said to us.
I was too passionate about my art to see that that business chewed up artists, spit them out and left them with little money or understanding how to be financially free. And this is common in so many respects where art and business combine.
I grew up in the era of the 80’s hair metal bands. One of the bands that was a part of that was Dokken. Dokken never reached the stratospheric success that Guns N’ Roses, Metallica and AC/DC achieved, but they were big enough to be a complimentary part of that major music scene.
A big reason for their success was the ripping guitar work of George Lynch, who was ranked 47th in the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” by Guitar World magazine. Lynch’s unique and influential style was easily recognizable to metal heads across the world. Lynch’s work was a huge part of numerous hit singles, successful albums, as well as being featured in major motion pictures and playing to adoring, sold out audiences around the world.
Lynch achieved, in his field, what many would consider the ultimate creative and artistic success. So what do you think he considers the highlight of his career?
“Well, I’m going to be a hundred thousand percent honest with you here,” Lynch said on the Copper Talk podcast. “ The highlights of the career weren’t musical things; the highlights of the career were financial things.”
Lynch said that he gets sick of people talking about the purity of the art when it comes to the business side. He said that he loves the game and the business side of it, and that he has been grinding with a solid work ethic since he was a little kid.
“So, when I get to the point in my life where I can actually breathe and I don’t have to be climbing every mountain uphill both ways carrying a hundred-pound load of rocks in the winter, I can actually enjoy the process rather than just grinding and grinding. That’s when I felt that I achieved something,” Lynch explained.
Financial freedom gave Lynch something that he never had during all of the “glory years” of grinding. He basks in the fact that he has more flexibility, more freedom and more security for his family. He added that it allows him to play better and relax where in the past he couldn’t do that.
“When you are poor and desperate,” Lynch states, “ you are not playing at your best.”
He reminisced on those times and how he was never relaxed. He felt like he always had to get things right because everything was always on the line.
Pressure, stress and anxiety was how he described it. But with financial security, he’s thrilled by how he gets to live his life and do his work. He’s still passionate about the art- very much so- but it’s not the do-or-die situation that he had lived in for so long.
“That comes from the security,” he said. “And that security comes from money. So when people say that money doesn’t matter, I say, yeah, it does. Up to a point,” Lynch said.
As creative, entrepreneurial artists, it’s essential for us to value what financial security brings to us. And to focus on the steps to get there.
Imagine doing the work you love, without the financial stress and anxiety that so many artists deal with. The financial freedom aspect of this is integral to the creative entrepreneurial plan.
If you are a creative who is looking to build a business towards financial freedom, we have created a program that will guide you step by step. Check out Total Life Freedom School and get the first two weeks for only a $1 trial!
Have an AMAZING week!
Vincent
