Selling Art, Not Selling Out

Author: Kevin Chung (Page 10 of 21)

Juan Sepulveda on Creating vs. Marketing Your Art, the Power of the Right Mindset, and Diversifying Your Income Streams – Cracking Creativity Episode 39

Juan Sepulveda is a painter and the creator of The Winding Stairs Podcast and The Gentleman’s Brotherhood. His art focuses around the lessons and symbols of free masonry. In this episode, Juan talks about marketing and creating art, why you must have the right mindset, and why you need to diversify your income streams.

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“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan Quote Art

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

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Excuse me while I geek out a bit. I am and have always been a fan of sports and greatness. Every so often, those two mix in perfect harmony and give you a player that transcends sports. Someone who is well known beyond his chosen craft. Someone synonymous with greatness. One of those people is Michael Jordan.

Jordan is widely considered the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball. It is not often that you have near unanimous agreement about a sports player. It’s hard to compare players in different time periods. The games and styles of play are completely different. But when it comes to Michael Jordan, there are very few arguments.

There’s a reason why. In sports, most players never even reach a championship. Jordan won six. Only the best of the best win an MVP. Jordan won five. Jordan has won the scoring title in a season ten times, more than anyone who has ever played basketball. He won two Olympic gold medals for the USA. The most impressive thing might be that he did all of this while retiring three times. Two of which were temporary.

The reason I bring this up is, without failure, none of that success would have been possible. Like his quote says, Michael Jordan failed a lot. He missed over 9,000 shots. He lost 300 games and missed the game winning shot 26 times.

Failure is just part of the game. Even one of the greatest basketball players of all time faced failure. Failure, however, isn’t the goal. It’s what you do after failure that really matters.

[bctt tweet=”Will you let failure keep you down or will you rise above it?”]

Will you let failure keep you down or will you rise above it? Will you learn from your mistakes or let your mistakes keep you down forever?

[bctt tweet=”Failure is one of life’s greatest teachers. Every mistake you make is a lesson learned”]

These are the questions you must ask yourself if you ever want to be great. Failure is one of life’s greatest teachers. Every mistake you make is a lesson learned. They reveal life’s pitfalls and lead you on the path towards success.

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Photos by RyanMcGuire and Unsplash

Rebel Advisors James Wightman & Kristen Cruz on Having the Right Conversations, Research and Self-Reflection, and Multiple Right Answers – Cracking Creativity Episode 38

James Wightman and Kristen Cruz are the co-founders of Rebel Advisors and the authors of The Rebel Way. They want to show students that college isn’t the only path towards success. In this episode, they talk about how conversations can lead to more informed decisions, how research and self-reflection can put you on the right path, and why there isn’t just one right answer in life.

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“Good writing isn’t a science. It’s an art, and the horizon is infinite. You can always get better.” – David Foster Wallace

“Good writing isn’t a science. It’s an art, and the horizon is infinite. You can always get better.” – David Foster Wallace

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Writing can be a terrifying experience. The blank canvas taunts you, daring your to fill it with great prose. You have to battle to find every word. It’s an adventure, and you are on a quest to slay the dragon.

Writing isn’t a formula you can just follow. Even if someone told you the exact process they use to write, you would not be able to come up with the same words. It’s not replicable. It’s developed through intuition and experience.

Writing is more like pouring your soul out onto a canvas, or chiseling away at that enormous chunk of marble, or strumming away at your guitar. It’s shaped by your experience. It’s defined by who you are at the moment. It’s influenced by your emotions.

Writing is like other forms of art, the boundaries are limitless. You can take it anywhere it’s willing to go. You can create and destroy worlds. You can inspire or bring people to tears. It’s not bound by the physical world. The only limit is your imagination.

Writing is has no limits. You can always get better. Unlike the physical limitations of science, there is no apex to great writing. The more you study and practice it, the better you will get.

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“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind” – C.S. Lewis Quote Art

“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind”
– C.S. Lewis

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We are all guilty of it. We look back at our moments of failure with regret, shame, or disdain.

We get that knot in our stomach. It feels like pain, but there is nothing physically wrong with us.

[bctt tweet=”Learn the lessons failure has to teach us but then leave them behind”]

While analyzing our failures can be helpful, dwelling on them is not. Learn the lessons failure has to teach us but then leave them behind.

Don’t worry about what happened in the past. Look towards your future instead. It’s brighter than you think.

[bctt tweet=”You can achieve your goals if you put your mind to it”]

The future holds endless possibilities. It’s not some unattainable dream or fantasy. You can achieve your goals if you put your mind to it.

The reason we don’t achieve our dreams is, we don’t put enough thought or effort into it. We live day by day, not knowing what to do next. But things can be different if you let them.

[bctt tweet=”Don’t sit idly by waiting for things to happen to you. Seek them for yourself”]

Plan out your ideal future, and do what you can to achieve it. Don’t sit idly by waiting for things to happen to you. Seek them for yourself.

Leave the past behind. What’s done is done. Your future can be better. You just have to work your way towards it.

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Photo by Chris Lawton

“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” – Pablo Picasso Quote Art

“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” ― Pablo Picasso

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Every thought we have and every action we take shapes us as people. If you ask many people how they feel on Sunday, before the work week starts, you will often hear an audible groan. That feeling sticks with them until the very end of the week. Most of us are living for the weekend. Is this the way life was meant to be?

The industrialization of society has had a profound affect on civilization, for better or for worse. We are expected to be at work five days, for forty hours, every week.

Each day is a grind. Like clockwork, we arrive at work, go through the motions, then leave. It often feels like we coast through the day, watching our lives drift away.

Then we go home, watch some TV or play with the kids, and go right to sleep. Our routines have become boring and predictable.

[bctt tweet=”What if we had a way to break from the mundane aspects of everyday life?”]

What if we had an outlet to express all our feelings? What if we had a way to break from the mundane aspects of everyday life? We do, and that outlet is called art.

[bctt tweet=”Art allows us to express ourselves in a way that words can’t”]

Art allows us to express ourselves in a way that words can’t. We can pour our feelings onto a canvas, into a novel, or a into performance in ways that we normally can’t express.

[bctt tweet=”Art provides an outlet for us to explore and play”]

Art provides an outlet for us to explore and play. Unfortunately, play has been relegated to children. Unfortunately, society tells us to grow up once we reach adulthood. Art allows us that arena for play.

One of the top books on Amazon is a coloring book for adults. People are overjoyed when they get the chance to create Newspaper Blockout poems. Improv is incredible fun when you are willing to just let go.

These forms of art allow people to let go of their fears, doubts, and ambitions. They allow you to simply play. We all confine ourselves into an imaginary box, a place where we have to be mature and proper.

Instead of letting society tell us how to live, we need to embrace art. We need to use it as an outlet of self-expression and experimentation. We are letting life getting in the way of living.

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Photos by Abigail Keenan | Kaboom Pics | Boss Fight

“It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.” – Confucius Quote Art

“It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.”- Confucius

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Far too often we’re concerned with reaching our destination. We want to do things as fast as we can. We want to “make it” before we’ve had the chance to think things through. The problem is, when we don’t immediately find the success we are looking for, we give up.

[bctt tweet=”We have become far too impatient with ourselves and the world around us”]

We have become far too impatient with ourselves and the world around us. We rarely take the time to reflect on our goals and how we can achieve them. There’s a reason they say Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Here are some things I try to tell myself when things aren’t going as quickly as I would like:

Greatness isn’t achieved overnight

[bctt tweet=”Everything worth doing takes time”]

Everything worth doing takes time. We shouldn’t try to rush to success. We need to be more patient with ourselves.

Leonardo da Vinci, the master of his craft, spent 3-4 years painting the Mona Lisa, and still wasn’t done. Michelangelo, another great master, took over two years to create the statue of David. It took Disney and his crew 3 years to make Snow White. J.K. Rowling spent five years planning out the seven books in the Harry Potter series, and it took seven years between coming up with the idea to publishing her first book.

All this goes to show that great works of art take time. You don’t need to rush to bring your idea, or your piece of art, to the world.

The important thing to remember is to not give up. If you truly believe in what you are creating, you won’t give up at the first sign of adversity. Give your art as much time as it needs.

Failure isn’t permanent

Failure is not the end of the world. Every failure teaches us a valuable lesson. We can’t let a single failure set us back. Instead, we need to learn from them.

Albert Einstein wasn’t always considered a genius. He didn’t speak until he was four. According to legend, Thomas Edison failed 1,000 times before he created the light bulb. Abraham Lincoln had multiple business failures and lost many elections before he became president of the United States. Oprah Winfrey’s first boss told her she was too emotional and not right for TV.

[bctt tweet=”It’s what you do after failures that truly matters”]

Everyone encounters failure. It is inevitable. It’s what you do after failures that truly matters. Will you give up in the face of adversity or will you learn from your mistakes?

Stop trying to be an instant success. Failure is part of the game.

The next time you think about quitting, just remember success takes time. It doesn’t matter if it takes you one year or ten years. If you are persistent and dedicated, you will find success.

So many people give up. You automatically have a leg up on the competition simply by persisting. Just take your time, learn from your failures, and don’t give up on your dreams.

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Photo by Saff’s Photography

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