Well-meaning, yet woefully misguided, advice from parents, teachers and other loved ones such as "You'll never make a living as an artist" has become the foundational belief and mantra of the artist's Inner Critic. What's worse is that this also woefully misguided Inner Critic loves to be right and will serve up proof and evidence of this belief and beat you up with it day in and day out to make sure that you do, or not do, what it takes to keep this foundational belief in place. Acting upon the Inner Critic mantra of "You'll never make a living as an artist." your thoughts and actions create the outcome of the starving artist. And the Inner Critic is pleased. This supreme inner entity, this 'knower of all', is doing its job of keeping you safe and small and right!
Except for one thing.......he's WRONG!
Think about it. Look around you. Instead of focusing upon your lack of desired financial resources look to all the actors, artists, writers and musicians who are making boat loads of money! Julian Schnabel, Bono, Annie Leibowitz, Steven Spielburg, Rita Ackerman, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Stephen King, Dave Barry, Mick Jagger, Dave Matthews - the list of wildly successful and wealthy artists of every kind can easily go on and on and on.
What's the difference between the abundantly rich artist and the starving artist? One thing and one thing only: Self-Mastery.
Self-Mastery as the key to financial freedom is not some airy fairy metaphysical woo-woo concept. From the ancient Greeks to modern day philosophers to modern day celebrity icons, all have recognized that the key to whatever you want in life, including wealth, comes from within. How you show up in your life, what the foundational beliefs that motivate you are based upon, deliver the outcomes you experience.
From Socrates:
- "Know thyself."
- "The unexamined life is not worth living."
- "Give me beauty in the inward soul; may the outward and the inward man be at one."
From others throughout the centuries:
- "If money be not they servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him." - Francis Bacon, British Philosopher
- "All riches have their origin in mind. Wealth is in ideas -- not money." - Robert Collier, American Writer/Publisher
- "I have about concluded that wealth is a state of mind, and that anyone can acquire a wealthy state of mind by thinking rich thoughts."- Andrew Young, Civil Rights Activist
- "Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think." - Ayn Rand, Russian Writer, Philosopher
- "All the breaks you need in life wait within your imagination, Imagination is the workshop of your mind, capable of turning mind energy into accomplishment and wealth." - Napoleon Hill
And:
"Wealth is the ability to fully experience life." - Henry David Thoreau
Where you hold back your fullest expression of your potential as an artist of any kind is where you struggle. Where you doubt your self, your dreams, your worthiness is where you create your poverty. Where you resist your purpose in life, the special gifts that are your birthright, is where you suffer your anxiety.
You are as free, financially and otherwise, as the extent of your ability to acknowledge, honor and master your authenticity and take full responsibility for all of your experiences, good and bad, rich or poor. Those who do not govern themselves are condemned to find other masters to govern over them, including their own Inner Critic.
"I stand for freedom of expression, doing what you believe in, and going after your dreams." - Madonna
Copyright (c) 2009 Valery Satterwhite
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Valery is an Artist Mindset Mentor who helps creative people get out of their own way so that they can overcome the struggles that often come packaged with the life of a visual & performing artist. Clients learn how to express their full potential deliberately & responsibly to create more passionately, profoundly, productively and profitably. Empower the Wizard Within to actualize full creative potential. http://www.InnerWizard.com Free tips!
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
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