Publication Tip #18 15 Tips for Artists and Sensitive People from Christine Kane
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I came across musician Christine Kane's advice, and thought it would be great to share with you all. You can see her full-version of advice here. Views expressed here are not necessarily representative of this blogger's (aka Julie Ann Shahin) views.
Here are Christine’s Fifteen pieces of business advice for artists and sensitive types alike. May we all prosper.
1 - Learn how to say no.
This is the first one because it’s the biggest one. If it’s not an absolute yes, it’s a no. So many people are fueled by the desire for money or the need to please everyone that they say yes to everything. Read more here.
2 - People don’t need to know how you feel about everything.
Lots of times, emotional types think that they have to let everyone around them know how they feel because otherwise they’re being inauthentic.Read more here.
3 - Most people assume you know what you’re doing. Let them.
Many young performers will get on stage and start apologizing for their mistakes or for their next song or for the fact that they messed up in the last song. Here’s a secret: The audience wants you to succeed, and they want you to be confident because they don’t want to feel sorry for you. That’s just plain uncomfortable.Read more here.
4 - Find your values and live by them.
A lot of people ask themselves what they want before they even get clear about what they value. This can compel people to do things they never really wanted to do. For instance, I value time, silence, and space. I absolutely must work that into my schedule.Read more here.
5 - Segment intend.
This technique is from Ask and It is Given. I’ve been practicing “segment intending” for months now, and I’m amazed at the results. If you’re an artist and you’re about to do your art, then intend that the next 3 hours (or whatever) is dedicated solely to that. And that it’s fun and creative and productive and you love it.Read more here.
6 - Bathe in Seth Godin. Then rinse. And repeat.
If you feel like “there’s no use” or “I’ll never be huge” or “Wal-Mart rules everything so why bother,” you need Seth Godin. If you ridicule yourself because your success is only tiny, and your sister-in-law has made millions as a consultant for BigExpensiveThings-R-Us, then you need Seth Godin. If you conjure up the same lame ideas over and over again, you need Seth Godin. I recommend that you listen to him because he’s a GREAT reader.Read more here.
7 - Create a business alter ego.
Make up a name. Then make up an identity for that name. (Pamela R. Stinson. MBA from Wharton. Valedictorian at Columbia, 1993. Great business mind, sexual preference undetermined, doesn’t take no for an answer.)Read more here.
8 - Grok good customer service.
Go to Nordstrom. Buy something. Watch how you’re treated. Then, go to Macy’s. Do the same thing. Witness the difference. Apply that lesson in whatever way you can to your own customer service.Read more here.
9 - Learn how to think.
Emotional people believe that their feelings are the facts. This will always get you in trouble. Learn how to think about your career. Take two hours every Sunday to drive and think. Or just to sit in the office and think. At first, you might feel totally stupid, but you’ll start to get it soon enough. Experiment, analyze and don’t go into massive drama when something doesn’t work. Just think again.Read more here.
10 - Never send an email when you are emotional.
Email is a volatile communication form. I have received (and probably sent) some of the most damaging messages from people who had gotten my intentions all wrong, and then fired off a response filled with venom and vitriol. The danger (and the advantage) of email is that it’s immediate. If someone emails you something that triggers you, wait AT LEAST 24 HOURS before responding.Read more here.
11 - Never do ANYTHING when you are emotional.
See above. And say to yourself often, “I respond. I don’t react.”
12 - Be clear up front with anyone you hire
Is this you?
“Oh my GOD! I met the COOLEST graphic designer and we’re going to do a trade! And we just totally clicked, and we laughed a lot, and we’re both Leo with Aries rising! I can just tell it’s a great match!”
Expectations, desired outcome, hourly wage, estimates — these are things that emotional people forget to be clear about right up front. They want to have that “cool connection!” And then it all falls apart because neither person expressed her true expectations.
This isn’t to say that cool connections can’t happen. They can. But boundaries are essential up front.Read more here.
13 - Focus on what you want.
This may seem obvious. But I’m amazed at how easy it is for the sensitive artist types in the world to fall prey to the hardship stories. And there are lots of them going around. In my line of work, there are people out there begging for gigs. They’ll do anything. They’ll play for free. They say, “It’s so hard to be a musician.”
Here’s my advice�Ķ “Step AWAY from the stories!” Focus on what you want. And stay with that.Read more here.
14 - Get very very very clear before you do your finances
If finances are ever scary for you, here’s what to do before you log on to your on-line account, before you open your bills, before you open Quicken�Ķ
Pray over your checkbook. Know that you are abundant. See your dreams coming true. Make up an amount that’s in your account. Say thank you for all that is perfect and wonderful in your life. Say thank you for the tiniest progress you have made.
Then proceed with your finances.Read more here.
15 - Only YOU get to decide if “You’ll Never Work in this Town Again!”
Everyone has an opinion about who’s through, who has had it, who’s washed up, etc. This kind of talk can run through your head and keep you in a constant state of anxiety about “the end of the line.” I had a dramatic experience when I broke up with someone who was also in the music business. The break up was not a good one. And in an apparent rage that lasted, oh, about eight months, this former partner of mine called clubs, bars, record labels, agents, and, from what I hear, did his best to encourage them never to book me or work with me. Whereas I’m sure some of them took his advice, and whereas I was really dumb and believed he could “ruin” me (this was even before I had gotten my office in order), I kept “minding my own business.” And guess what? I wasn’t ruined. My end did not come. You know why? Because I didn’t agree that it could or would. You have the power. Yes, the obstacles may seem insurmountable at times. But only you get to decide when to call it quits. Your emotions may scream at you that you’re ruined. But that’s just your emotions.
And if it weren’t for all of those emotions, you wouldn’t have to be reading this post in the first place!
Read more here.
Feel good! Feel joy!!! Have a creative day.
- Julie Ann Shahin
Here are Christine’s Fifteen pieces of business advice for artists and sensitive types alike. May we all prosper.
1 - Learn how to say no.
This is the first one because it’s the biggest one. If it’s not an absolute yes, it’s a no. So many people are fueled by the desire for money or the need to please everyone that they say yes to everything. Read more here.
2 - People don’t need to know how you feel about everything.
Lots of times, emotional types think that they have to let everyone around them know how they feel because otherwise they’re being inauthentic.Read more here.
3 - Most people assume you know what you’re doing. Let them.
Many young performers will get on stage and start apologizing for their mistakes or for their next song or for the fact that they messed up in the last song. Here’s a secret: The audience wants you to succeed, and they want you to be confident because they don’t want to feel sorry for you. That’s just plain uncomfortable.Read more here.
4 - Find your values and live by them.
A lot of people ask themselves what they want before they even get clear about what they value. This can compel people to do things they never really wanted to do. For instance, I value time, silence, and space. I absolutely must work that into my schedule.Read more here.
5 - Segment intend.
This technique is from Ask and It is Given. I’ve been practicing “segment intending” for months now, and I’m amazed at the results. If you’re an artist and you’re about to do your art, then intend that the next 3 hours (or whatever) is dedicated solely to that. And that it’s fun and creative and productive and you love it.Read more here.
6 - Bathe in Seth Godin. Then rinse. And repeat.
If you feel like “there’s no use” or “I’ll never be huge” or “Wal-Mart rules everything so why bother,” you need Seth Godin. If you ridicule yourself because your success is only tiny, and your sister-in-law has made millions as a consultant for BigExpensiveThings-R-Us, then you need Seth Godin. If you conjure up the same lame ideas over and over again, you need Seth Godin. I recommend that you listen to him because he’s a GREAT reader.Read more here.
7 - Create a business alter ego.
Make up a name. Then make up an identity for that name. (Pamela R. Stinson. MBA from Wharton. Valedictorian at Columbia, 1993. Great business mind, sexual preference undetermined, doesn’t take no for an answer.)Read more here.
8 - Grok good customer service.
Go to Nordstrom. Buy something. Watch how you’re treated. Then, go to Macy’s. Do the same thing. Witness the difference. Apply that lesson in whatever way you can to your own customer service.Read more here.
9 - Learn how to think.
Emotional people believe that their feelings are the facts. This will always get you in trouble. Learn how to think about your career. Take two hours every Sunday to drive and think. Or just to sit in the office and think. At first, you might feel totally stupid, but you’ll start to get it soon enough. Experiment, analyze and don’t go into massive drama when something doesn’t work. Just think again.Read more here.
10 - Never send an email when you are emotional.
Email is a volatile communication form. I have received (and probably sent) some of the most damaging messages from people who had gotten my intentions all wrong, and then fired off a response filled with venom and vitriol. The danger (and the advantage) of email is that it’s immediate. If someone emails you something that triggers you, wait AT LEAST 24 HOURS before responding.Read more here.
11 - Never do ANYTHING when you are emotional.
See above. And say to yourself often, “I respond. I don’t react.”
12 - Be clear up front with anyone you hire
Is this you?
“Oh my GOD! I met the COOLEST graphic designer and we’re going to do a trade! And we just totally clicked, and we laughed a lot, and we’re both Leo with Aries rising! I can just tell it’s a great match!”
Expectations, desired outcome, hourly wage, estimates — these are things that emotional people forget to be clear about right up front. They want to have that “cool connection!” And then it all falls apart because neither person expressed her true expectations.
This isn’t to say that cool connections can’t happen. They can. But boundaries are essential up front.Read more here.
13 - Focus on what you want.
This may seem obvious. But I’m amazed at how easy it is for the sensitive artist types in the world to fall prey to the hardship stories. And there are lots of them going around. In my line of work, there are people out there begging for gigs. They’ll do anything. They’ll play for free. They say, “It’s so hard to be a musician.”
Here’s my advice�Ķ “Step AWAY from the stories!” Focus on what you want. And stay with that.Read more here.
14 - Get very very very clear before you do your finances
If finances are ever scary for you, here’s what to do before you log on to your on-line account, before you open your bills, before you open Quicken�Ķ
Pray over your checkbook. Know that you are abundant. See your dreams coming true. Make up an amount that’s in your account. Say thank you for all that is perfect and wonderful in your life. Say thank you for the tiniest progress you have made.
Then proceed with your finances.Read more here.
15 - Only YOU get to decide if “You’ll Never Work in this Town Again!”
Everyone has an opinion about who’s through, who has had it, who’s washed up, etc. This kind of talk can run through your head and keep you in a constant state of anxiety about “the end of the line.” I had a dramatic experience when I broke up with someone who was also in the music business. The break up was not a good one. And in an apparent rage that lasted, oh, about eight months, this former partner of mine called clubs, bars, record labels, agents, and, from what I hear, did his best to encourage them never to book me or work with me. Whereas I’m sure some of them took his advice, and whereas I was really dumb and believed he could “ruin” me (this was even before I had gotten my office in order), I kept “minding my own business.” And guess what? I wasn’t ruined. My end did not come. You know why? Because I didn’t agree that it could or would. You have the power. Yes, the obstacles may seem insurmountable at times. But only you get to decide when to call it quits. Your emotions may scream at you that you’re ruined. But that’s just your emotions.
And if it weren’t for all of those emotions, you wouldn’t have to be reading this post in the first place!
Read more here.
Feel good! Feel joy!!! Have a creative day.
- Julie Ann Shahin
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Awesome info JulieAnn!! Very useful for a lot of people!!
Very interesting JA. I needed to hear a couple of these - work could have gone a bit better lately - and now I know how I can make a bit of a change in what I say and do.
I appreciate you sharing.
HOLY CRAP! Awesome information, I am going to reread it again in the morning, and then maybe the next morning, and the next...at least until it stops feeling like a 2 by 4 smacking me in the head going "Hello???" LOL! Love this, Love this, Love this.
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