“Our sense of value and self-worth is often tied to how much money we make,” says Michael Zwell, human capital expert and author of “Six-Figure Salary Negotiation.” “There is an illusion that we live with and believe that a bigger paycheck makes us happier and more valuable.”
In fact, research shows otherwise. Studies have shown most people feel happier in a five-figure job where they are earning more than the majority of other people in the company than they do in a six-figure job where they are making significantly less than others, says Stan Smith, founder and CEO of Smith Economics Group Ltd., in Zwell’s book. Ultimately, he says, people can’t rely on short-lived salaries, promotions and raises to keep them happy but rather the contributions they make in the long run. From CNN
Image by Summer Pierre
I’ve known Summer Pierre for a few years. She was kind enough to be profiled on Another Girl at Play and dish with me on several occasions in both Palo Alto CA & New York. With each visit she’s inspired me and her blog is a never ending visual treat. She’s an amazing, highly creative artist… with a day job.
I once wrote about the highly acclaimed artist Dai Giang who had art showings around the world and sold paintings for thousands of dollars. Yet during the day he worked in the manufacturing plant at Mountain Safety Research – an outdoor gear company. Anything but creative!
Summer shares a lot of thoughts about having a day job (the reasons, the good, the bad, the ugly) that I think everyone can relate to. She’s even made a zine out of it (The Artist in the Office). Why I love these discussions is because I think sometimes some artists feel a sense of “shame” if they have a “day job” or any job that isn’t 100% based on their creativity. But they shouldn’t as long as they’re creating and living the way they want – who cares how it gets done. There is no generic “Right Way.” One way doesn’t make you a real artist. There’s just life and living it the best way for you.
Personally, I’m the most creative when I have a million things going on. If I had nothing to do all day but write and paint I’d do anything but. I believe firmly in the Thoreau quote, “How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” So because of this, I am on the go a lot, I do a lot of things – some creative, some not. But everything is piece that makes up the larger picture of who I am. Everything I do are things I want to do whether it’s for business or pleasure. This way, despite being tired I’m never drained – and always creating.
The world judges only the outcome but we forget this because we tend to judge the process. We judge the title, the outfit, the company, the paycheque, the right answer, the wrong answer. But really, all that matters is that you do something that satisfies you – whatever and however.
After all, that’s all that should matter, right?
“In a survey of more than 150,000 entrepreneurs in 40 regions around the world, women in low- and middle-income nations were found to be more than twice as likely to be involved in early-stage business start-ups as those in high-income nations, researchers at Babson College and the London Business School said.” From Inc. via Sheep Dog PR.
My take on this is because if you have nothing you don’t have fear of losing anything. All you know is you want something so bad you’ll do whatever you can to get it. The more desire you have, the less questions you ask and the more actions you take – this is true of anything.
Comfort is something so many of us strive for yet can become a sort of prison if we’re not careful. It can breed fear and laziness by tricking us into thinking we can’t risk. When it’s at that very moment we should.
Women today make up nearly half of the total workforce in [the U.S.]. Over the past thirty years, women’s income has soared a dramatic 63 percent. Forty-nine percent of all professional – and managerial – level workers are women. Women bring in half or more of the income in the majority of U.S. households – a growing trend that made the cover of Newsweek and was front-page news in many of the nation’s newspapers. Women-owned businesses comprise 40 percent of all companies in the United States. There are more women than ever before who can count themselves among the country’s millionaires, more women in upper management, and more women in positions of power in the government.
Ninety percent of women who participated in a 2006 survey commissioned by Allianz Insurance rated themselves as feeling insecure when it came to their finances. In the same survey, nearly half the respondents said that the prospect of ending up a bag lady has crossed their minds. A 2006 Prudential financial poll found that only 1 percent of the women surveyed gave themselves an A in rating their knowledge of financial products and services. Two-thirds of women have not talked with their husbands about such things as life insurance and preparing a will. Nearly 80 percent of women said they would depend on Social Security in their golden years. Did you know that women are nearly twice as likely as men to retire in poverty? – Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny by Suze Orman
So there you have it – both the good and bad news about women and money. We’re making more of it, there’s more opportunity out there for us, it’s just when it comes to keeping it, making it grow, or getting more of so many are failing.
Often when there’s talk of making a living as an artist, the focus is on how you feel, the journey, the blessings. Art and money seem to be exclusive of each other for so many people. Not for me. I want to be creative but I also want to make a great financial living as well as have a great retirement income. Being happy drives me, doing what I love drives me, but if I do not financially make it, if I do not look after the money I make and invest it wisely, than I will not be happy and I will most likely lose the ability to choose what I do for a living. I think a lot of women – especially creative women – don’t look at it that way.
Money is a funny thing – so many people want it, few seem to have it and even fewer want to talk about it. I’m not sure why so many people are so tightly lipped about money but I think being quiet contributes so much to why people don’t understand it, are afraid of it or simply don’t have it. I think people should be taught fiscal management in schools instead of about the French revolution (and I’m half French) and I think people should really talk about money so they can learn whether or not they should be self-employed.
How I financially survive is probably the second most common question I’m asked. I do not have a sugar daddy (you wouldn’t believe how many people think this!), I do not have a trust fund, I do not have parents, and I don’t have lotto winnings. So how do I survive financially?
Here it goes:
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin
Every few months I seem to develop a theme that encompasses a lesson I need to learn. It usually takes awhile for me to discover that I�m in the midst of a theme and what it is, but once aware, I notice examples of the theme all over.
My current theme is learning how to be ok with being shiny as my friend Julie Valentine calls it. But I’ve discovered a second theme which really isn’t for me, it’s for whoever needs it, and it’s based on an idea I’ve been talking about over and over on this site the last month.
It has to do with beginning something in any way you can despite any fear that may be there. It�s to become the butterfly, become the forest, become the blossom. It’s going in the direction of your creative dream because the pain of standing still is greater than the fear of moving forward. It�s believing that a dream mixed with action equals reality.
Mostly, it’s the theme of being who you really are meant to be.
I firmly believe that in each of us lies an authentic self that is happy only when we unleash our dreams and become who we should be. Happiness isn’t based on how much money you make, how many fans you have or all the limo rides you get to take. It’s about going to bed content because you know you’ll wake up tomorrow with a life that you want (even during rough patches).
People often hold back because they want to know how to pay the rent and that’s one of the worst reasons to hold back. If money is a concern, work around it. Keep a regular job and paint at night. Go part time at the office and full time as a writer. Get a grant, a loan, a patron. Save your pennies whilst figuring out your dream at night. Cut back on shopping, get a smaller flat, explore free galleries instead of renting 7 movies a week. Get creative about money but don’t get creative with excuses as to why you’re holding back.
Speak your truth and bloom, right now. It’s spring and you’re ready.
I’ve spent most of the day finishing up some projects and sending the last of my revisions off to editors. After tonight, work will be set aside until January so that I can indulge myself in the sweet simplicity and quiet of the holidays.
This year I’ve taken a lot of time off; there was 6 weeks out of the summer I closed my work doors, a two week fall break and now comes the winter one. I find it essential to give myself as many of these breaks as possible so that I can continue to enjoy writing but also, so I can continue to renew myself.
There was a point when I first started that I was so afraid to stop that I worked myself into oblivion. But I realise now what I do is a lifestyle which means to me that I don’t have to do everything right now. It can wait.
Waiting is hard at first but when you’ve been at it for awhile patience kicks in when you gain a certain sense of accomplishment and calm from your work. Also, this year has been wildly successful for me, which I think helps me to feel as though I’ve earned every break I take.
I should, however, like to share what my definition of success is.
Although I was published like mad this year, sold over 200 prints (this after failing art 3 times in school!), created several web sites, had drawings published in newspapers, was up for a huge design award, made good money throughout the year and created a book (details to follow at a later date), those things (while wonderful and wanted) aren’t what made me feel successful.
What made me feel successful this year was the fact that each day I was in love with my life; even during the messy and overwhelming bits. I was able to bring dreams to fruition and realise new ones. I became involved in an amazing community of women and met a whole bunch of fabulous new ones. I was able to give back with mentoring, volunteering and donating money. I created a beautiful and massive painting that hangs in my living room � something I had always wanted to do but was terrified. I learned to garden and spent a great deal of time outdoors. I feel like I woke up each day and did what I could do and went to sleep rather satisfied. I travelled a lot and realised a new direction for my writing. I overcame writing challenges and ideas. I sought out help and received it. But most of all, I think I was successful this year because this year I felt particularly useful to others which is my goal.
Most people who write me want to know how they, too, can be successful but what they�re really asking is, “How can I make a gob of money and have a flashy lifestyle?” Truth is, you can do that with writing and art if you want to. There are many books on writing that show you the ways to sell your articles and books for the biggest buck. However, for me, that is not important. I have a quiet, simple, happy lifestyle which affords me lots of luxuries that don’t require money and so my needs are different. Besides, I think when you do something for the sole purpose of money, you miss the point of living and growing.
And this year, I grew a whole lot which I think is also a good way of measuring success.
I’d like to share a poem which I think sums up this long-winded entry rather nicely:
Success by Ralph Waldo Emerson
To laugh often and much,
To win the respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children,
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
And endure the betrayal of false friends,
To appreciate beauty,
To find the best in others,
To leave the world a bit better,
Whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,
Or a redeemed social condition,
To know that even one life has breathed
Better because you have lived,
This is to have succeeded.
Often, I hear people complain how they too, wish they could be an artist but fear they couldn’t make a living at it. These same people then fail to buy from artists (sometimes citing “it’s not worth it”) and instead, plunk down lots of money on useless trinkets from Wal-Mart.
I’m a firm believer that you must support others who do what you wish to do. For me, that means that supporting small artists, writers and magazines instead of large chains. I find that by buying goods from these places, I help keep the industry going so that I can continue to thrive in it. Also, it means something to feel connected to something when I buy it, rather just mindless stocking up on things I don’t need or have no benefit.
Recently I went through this process when I purchased two beautiful designed and made Christmas stockings from my friend, Alicia who runs a fabulous little boutique in Portland OR called Posie: Rosy Little Things. In need of a pair of stockings to hang, I didn’t want to buy a generic red felt stocking from the local chain shop. Christmas, for me, has lots of meaning, tradition and ceremony and is a very simple, sweet and restful time. I wanted something that would add to that, not take away. When I saw Alicia’s stockings, I knew they were perfect. Knowing that someone would sit to make them for me and knowing that person to boot, made it easy to make the purchase.
Yes they might be a little bit more than one’s found in the store but the return on the value is so much more. Because when I look at the stocking when they hang in my flat, I’ll smile. I’ll know where they came from, I’ll understand the meaning behind them and I’ll know that I supported something I want to participate in. Instead of having something in my home that has no meaning, I have something that does, and that is almost priceless.
This is the same reason why I’ll be heading down to Portland to celebrate her special Holiday Bizarre come December. Wading through artist’s goods, chatting them up and perhaps indulging myself in an item or too, is just a brilliant way to spend an afternoon. It certainly beats rushing in and out of chain stores, fighting lines filled with cranky souls and checking off lists of gifts that don’t mean anything.
Other great artist shoppings sites/lists:
A woman on a mailing list I run was excited about creating a book and wanted to collaborate with someone else. Yet she held back because of fear of sharing. She thought if she shared her idea, someone could steal it and do it first. She asked for advice on how to keep a project rather secret.
I know I used to be afraid of talking about projects for this very reason until I had ideas and projects used despite trying hard to hold them in. I realised that in order for something to take wings, you have to give it room to move. Holding on too tight doesn’t work.
I wrote a response to her question and this is what I wrote:
It’s true that sometimes if you share an idea or your work, people will “steal it” or “copy it.” I’ve had this happen twice; first when I submitted a query to a magazine and was told they couldn’t accept it because they only used staff writers. Four months later my article appeared in the magazine, written by someone else. I also shared ideas and information with a friend who took these ideas and made a book and used phrases I use for my sites as the title of her book. I was really shocked and hurt by this but when I spoke with other writers and artists, they told me that, unfortunately, these things happen.
However on the flip side, I’ve shared so many other ideas with people and had nothing but positive come from it. I received amazing feedback, encouragement and ideas that helped me more than trying to figure it out all myself could. Sharing also helped me to relax about my stuff rather than worrying about who would steal it, take it or whatnot. I’ve learned that also sometimes I’m working on a project, out of pure coincidence a friend can be working on a very similar project. It’s not that either was copying or stealing, it just happens that we both had similar ideas at the same time. I don’t worry about this because I know that we will each bring a different and authentic viewpoint which will make each project unique. There’s really no original art or story to be told anyway, all that is new is the view your bring.
If you’re working on a project you know is brilliant and would be popular, there might be a chance someone, somewhere has also thought of this. Don’t worry about this. It can be a good thing because when you have to make a case for your book, you can site other examples and that other books are entering the market because of a need. A good example of this is Andrea Scher’s Photobooth Book; at first, the Amelie movie and the outpour of Photobooks that came out after deterred her because she didn’t think she could bring something new. But what it did was show there was an interest in these kinds of books and that she could make a book on this topic, but in a very different way.
So then, I would say don’t worry so much about trying to keep it all secret and worry about who will steal it. Put that energy into creating what you can and trust that when you’re done creating, there will be a place for it.
A good resource for information on privacy and collaborating: Writing-World.com.
