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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Jeff Goins
Read between
September 4 - October 3, 2018
In this book, I want to offer a very simple but challenging argument: Real artists don’t starve. Making a living off your creative talent has never been easier, and to show you it’s possible I will share examples of well-known artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs who did not have to suffer to create their best work. And I will also introduce you to a contemporary group of professionals who are experiencing surprising amounts of success in their creative work. Finally, I will try to convince you that the idea of the Starving Artist is a useless myth that holds us back more than it helps us.
Here they are, the principles every Thriving Artist lives by— the Rules of the New Renaissance: 1. The Starving Artist believes you must be born an artist. The Thriving Artist knows you must become one. 2. The Starving Artist strives to be original. The Thriving Artist steals from his influences. 3. The Starving Artist believes he has enough talent. The Thriving Artist apprentices under a master. 4. The Starving Artist is stubborn about everything. The Thriving Artist is stubborn about the right things. 5. The Starving Artist waits to
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THE STARVING ARTIST BELIEVES YOU MUST BE BORN AN ARTIST. THE THRIVING ARTIST KNOWS YOU MUST BECOME ONE.
Now, we come to the first rule of the New Renaissance. I call this the Rule of Re-creation, which says that you are not born an artist. You become one.
There is this idea that artists are born, not made. The Muse kisses you on your forehead at birth, and you spend the rest of your life creating magnificent work. But the reality is that creativity is work, not magic, and those who buck the status quo are far more likely to succeed.
What we believe about ourselves has a way of coming true— the good and the bad.
Living in what Thomas Merton calls the “false self,” we fall out of alignment with who we are, and I can tell you from experience there is no greater pain than living a lie when the truth is buried deep inside you.
The reason many of us never self-actualize is because it’s easier to play a role in life than it is to become our true selves. It’s easier to conform to what people expect than it is to stand out. But this is not the way great art is made, nor is it the way real artists are made.
Sometimes, it’s not the big bets that pay off but the small ones that get you the big win. If you don’t have to go all in, don’t. Why not start with a smaller risk? Most significant change begins with a simple step, not a giant leap. You don’t need to see the whole path to know what your next move is; you just need to take the next, right risk. Small changes over time can lead to massive transformation.
If you’re waiting for your moment, don’t. Start now. If you’re wondering if you had to be born to paint or sing or dance, you don’t. You just have to choose to become someone else, if the role you’re playing isn’t the one you wanted. You don’t become an artist by moving to New York City without a penny to your name. You become an artist because you decide that’s what you’re going to be, and then you do the work.
In the New Renaissance, we get to start over. We get to reinvent and re-create ourselves as much as is necessary, without sticking to a particular path for too long if it doesn’t suit our creative needs. Our first job as artists, then, is to venture out, away from what we think we know in search of the new and unexplored. Great artists do this their entire lives, never staying stuck in a single style even when it brings wealth and fame. We must always be striving to reinvent ourselves, continuing to build on who we are and what we’ve done.
THE STARVING ARTIST STRIVES TO BE ORIGINAL. THE THRIVING ARTIST STEALS FROM HIS INFLUENCES.
But the Starving Artist worries about being original, whereas the Thriving Artist knows that stealing from your influences is how you make great art. This is the Rule of Creative Theft, which says greatness doesn’t come from a single great idea or eureka moment. It comes from borrowing other people’s work and building on it. We steal our way to greatness.
There is a secret every professional artist knows that the amateurs don’t: being original is overrated. The most creative minds in the world are not especially creative; they’re just better at rearrangement. In order to do that, they have to be familiar with their influences. They have to study before they steal. Yes, before you become an artist, you must become a thief; but even before you do that, you must first become a student.
“Skill gets imprinted through action,” Twyla Tharp said. We create by copying, and as we do, the skill becomes embedded into our memory.
THE STARVING ARTIST BELIEVES TALENT IS ENOUGH. THE THRIVING ARTIST APPRENTICES UNDER A MASTER.
Everything started to make sense. Tia hadn’t been training to become a lawyer, not really. Law school was preparation for an entirely different vocation, though not entirely unlike that of being a lawyer. Without realizing it, Tia was training to be an actor. And now she was beginning to realize a lifelong dream she didn’t even know she had. “So much of what has come before has helped me succeed now,” she said. “As a lawyer, you learn everyone is faking it. I learned the appearance of confidence.”
We love to praise the “Big Break,” that wonderful moment when the stars align and serendipity visits you, making you an instant success. We wait for such moments, even long for them. But here’s the truth: the Big Break is a myth.
Starving Artists wait for their Big Breaks. Thriving Artists become apprentices in their crafts.
What does an apprentice do? Whatever is needed. Becoming an apprentice is a choice, an attitude you start practicing today. The marks of a good apprentice are patience, perseverance, and humility.
We cannot wait for our lucky breaks. We must continually be earning. Luck may get you a break, but skill and a willingness to keep going are what will allow you to keep going.
Michelangelo assisted Ghirlandaio in whatever his master needed. Perhaps just as important as the technical skills he developed in the studio, he also learned what it meant to be an artist of such stature: the responsibilities of running a studio, the challenges of managing apprentices, the social dynamics of dealing with patrons. This is most of what an apprenticeship is: watching, listening, and being present in the process. You experience by doing, and you internalize those lessons.
Becoming an apprentice begins with your mind-set. Long before entering Ghirlandaio’s studio, Michelangelo was practicing. He was not waiting for his Big Break; he was doing the work. That meant learning from whomever he could from an early age. He knew he wanted to be an artist and that he could not become great on his own, no matter how talented he might be. No amount of natural ability can compete with diligent practice. He had relatives who worked in the quarry every day and he was able to familiarize himself with stone—a skill that would be invaluable to him later in life. He adopted the
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Certainly we cannot overlook the importance of skill in the practice of apprenticeship. But skill is not enough to earn the attention of an influencer—you must be teachable, demonstrating not only your ability but your potential. This is where boldness comes in, not just in making a request for an apprenticeship but in the willingness to do what must be done.
First become a case study, then ask for help. Don’t “pick their brain.” Show them that you’ve done your homework and have put what they’ve modeled to good use, and now you want more.
You must be courageous enough to reach out to a master but at the same time hardworking enough not to waste his time. When things don’t go according to plan, do what must be done. And when it doesn’t work out, be persistent. Keep showing up, regardless of the outcome. Opportunities may come and go, but in the end, hard work is all we can measure.
Artists starve because they think they can make it on their own, ignoring the need for a teacher. Thriving Artists, on the other hand, are both humble enough to admit their need and audacious enough to seek it out. Great work is not a result of luck but of a willingness to become an apprentice.
THE STARVING ARTIST IS STUBBORN ABOUT EVERYTHING. THE THRIVING ARTIST IS STUBBORN ABOUT THE RIGHT THINGS.
AN ARTIST’S JOB IS NOT TO BE PERFECT BUT TO BE CREATING.
When Amazon made him the fifth richest man in the world, the stubborn entrepreneur found a way and quietly began building Blue Origin in the background of his everyday responsibilities. The aerospace company was launched with the Latin motto Gradatim Ferociter, which describes not only how we might end up leaving the planet one day but also how we can all succeed as artists in the meantime: step by step, ferociously.
WHEN YOU HARNESS YOUR STRATEGIC STUBBORNNESS, YOU GIVE THE WORLD A REASON TO BELIEVE IN YOUR WORK.
What makes you stubborn in one area of life can make you successful in another, if you learn to harness the ability.
Stubbornness gets in the way when it’s about you—your fame, your reputation, your success—but it becomes a tool when used to further your work.
THE STARVING ARTIST WAITS TO BE NOTICED. THE THRIVING ARTIST CULTIVATES PATRONS.
YOU DON’T JUST NEED PRACTICE. YOU ALSO NEED A PATRON.
Behind many creative geniuses, there is often an invisible influencer—a patron—making it all happen. These people lend their resources and influence to help creative talents succeed, introducing them to opportunities they would not encounter otherwise. This is the Rule of the Patron, which states that before you reach an audience of many, you must first reach an audience of one.
Starving Artists disdain the need for patrons. It feels disempowering, even beneath them. On the other hand, Thriving Artists respect the Rule of the Patron and use it to their advantage.
You don’t get art without money; and you don’t get an artist without a patron.
You can’t just ask for a handout; you must demonstrate both competency in your craft and a willingness to learn.
When the Starving Artist waits to be noticed, the Thriving Artist finds a patron and shows that her work is worth investing in.
Influencers want to help people. They want to invest in others. They just need to know that you’re worth their time, which means your abilities need to be obvious. Your job, then, is to get to work, because the best way to win over a patron is to show them your potential, and the best demonstration of your ability is the work itself. This doesn’t mean you must be suddenly amazing—most artists in need of a patron are not. But it does mean that you should be working and, more importantly, be willing to learn.
Yes, artists need patrons, but what we sometimes miss is that patrons also need artists.
Finding a patron is a lot like finding a master: we put ourselves in the place where opportunity happens, making sure we have developed our craft so that we do not waste the person’s time. When we knock on their doors, we need to be ready to receive what they have to offer.
You can’t succeed alone. We all need someone to invest in our work.
THE STARVING ARTIST BELIEVES HE CAN BE CREATIVE ANYWHERE. THE THRIVING ARTIST GOES WHERE CREATIVE WORK IS ALREADY HAPPENING.
Some places have an “it” factor. We see this in architecturally beautiful cities like Rome or Paris, which are full of amazing art and well-designed buildings. Other places serve as hotbeds for certain industries, such as the personal computer revolution launched in Silicon Valley. We intuitively grasp that certain locations are more attractive than others. This, of course, applies to creative work, as well, maybe even especially. “The most important factor in the success of your career,” Richard Florida told me, “is where you decide to live.” This is the Rule of the Scene, which says that
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Thriving Artists do not succeed in a vacuum. They put themselves in the right places and avail themselves of the opportunities there. They don’t try to create just anywhere—that would be foolish. After all, not all places are created equal, so Thriving Artists go where the magic is. But this takes more than moving to a new city. You have to join a scene, wherever you find one, and that means making connections with the people who will help your work succeed. In other words, you have to build a network.
GREAT WORK DOES NOT COME ABOUT THROUGH A SINGLE STROKE OF GENIUS, BUT BY THE CONTINUAL EFFORT OF A COMMUNITY.
When you’re playing a game you can’t seem to win, sometimes the best thing to do is not try harder. None of us want to spend our lives playing by someone else’s rules. When the game is unfair, change the game you’re playing. Move to another city, create a new art form, get a different network. If the group you want to be a part of doesn’t want you, then create your own.
As travel writer Eric Weiner has explained, “Genius is a place, not a person.”
