{"id":2100,"date":"2012-10-25T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-25T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/?p=2100"},"modified":"2012-10-25T19:54:20","modified_gmt":"2012-10-25T23:54:20","slug":"can-a-struggling-artist-live-a-financially-independent-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/?p=2100","title":{"rendered":"Can a Struggling Artist Live a Financially Independent Life?"},"content":{"rendered":"

My question has been a burden for me as well as for others around me who are in the same boat. So many of my friends dear to me are going through so much of\u00a0 the same, and it appears so is much of the world. Dislocated is a great describer, for we are unable to be independent as in self-supporting through some economic means. Living with parents and relying on government assistance is growing tired. I have within the past year graduated from a University with a B.F.A. in painting and drawing, with a minor in art history. I know it is a degree that really cannot propel one into a great financial state, nevertheless it was what I truly desire and I create daily in my studio. \u00a0So now I am very frustrated applying for jobs without a response and am going to be fifty five years old.\u00a0 I stay well, meditate, ask for my desires to be presented and enjoy my being. But I still see the struggle to be independent going unfulfilled. I apply much of what I have learned from CWG, but yet as friends and I feel so forsaken. <\/em>~ Thomas<\/p>\n

Dear Thomas,<\/p>\n

You\u2019re right, this is a challenge a lot of people have, in different contexts; you are certainly not alone in this.\u00a0 And none of them, including you, is forsaken.\u00a0 It\u2019s wonderful that you have such desire and passion around your art, and you sound very clear that that is what you wish to spend your time doing.\u00a0 However, the \u201cstory\u201d you are telling is one of lack and limitation.\u00a0 Before I go any further, Thomas, I hope you receive my words with love and forgive my being so direct, it\u2019s just that this is something that we all do <\/em>at times, myself included, and it serves us all to be aware of it.<\/p>\n

The more you talk about, think about and tell others that your life in terms of career and earning money is a struggle, the more you will continue to experience that.\u00a0 The more you focus on the lack, on how hard it is to \u201cmake it as an artist,\u201d the more of that you will get.\u00a0 Furthermore, as long as you choose to look at your degree as one that will \u201cnot propel you into a great financial state,\u201d that is exactly what you will continue to experience.\u00a0 You see, Thomas, life proceeds from our idea of it, or to quote one of my favorite lines from CWG, \u201cAll you see in your world is your idea about it.\u201d\u00a0 While you may not be able to completely control what shows up in your life, or your friends’ lives, you can most certainly control how you choose to perceive it and, therefore, experience it.\u00a0 If I were you, Thomas,\u00a0 (and by the way I was you but in a different context at one time in my life) here is where I would start:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Change your idea about your life.\u00a0 Decide right now that you can have all that you desire, that it is indeed possible.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry about \u201cthe how,\u201d \u00a0just decide that this is true.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take your focus off your perceived lack and limitation, and all of the frustration that comes with it, and instead focus on gratitude.\u00a0 Focus on what you do have right now, what you love about your life just as it is, how thankful you are to have such a wonderful support system and that you are still able to create through art.\u00a0 In fact, I encourage you to make this a daily habit \u2013 each day write down at least 10 things you are truly grateful for.\u00a0 Make your last thoughts of the night before drifting off to sleep and your first thoughts upon waking ones of gratitude and appreciation for what is.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Stop giving energy and attention to the story of \u201cI can\u2019t earn good money as an artist.\u201d\u00a0 Tell a new story, first to yourself and then to others.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Instead of waiting to feel happy, secure, and abundant when you do get hired to do what you love to do, be all of that now.\u00a0 <\/em>This is a great gift we all possess but not many of us use consciously.\u00a0 Yet it is entirely possible to create the emotion you think the \u201chaving\u201d of something will provide for you, right here and right now.\u00a0 Choose a desired state of being and commit to \u201cbeing\u201d that for an entire day.\u00a0 For example, if you choose \u201cabundant,\u201d focus on thinking abundant thoughts, speaking abundant words, and taking abundant action.\u00a0 Write the word \u201cabundant\u201d down on a piece of paper and carry it with you all day, or better yet, post it somewhere you can see it.\u00a0 Create an abundance-inspired piece of art!<\/p>\n

You have the power to change your experience of life, Thomas, and no one can take that away from you.\u00a0 Yet you must be willing to take responsibility for your life, be willing to see it another way, and trust that you deserve everything you\u2019ve ever wanted.<\/p>\n

(Nova Wightman is a CWG Life Coach, as well as the owner and operator of Go Within Life Coaching, www.gowithincoaching.com<\/a>, specializing in helping individuals blend their spirituality with their humanity in a way that makes life more enjoyable, easy, and fulfilling.\u00a0 She can be reached at Nova@TheGlobalConversation.com<\/span><\/a><\/span>. )<\/em><\/p>\n

(If you would like a question considered for publication, please submit your request to: Advice@TheGlobalConversation.com<\/span><\/a><\/span>, where our team is waiting to hear from you.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My question has been a burden for me as well as for others around me who are in the same boat. So many of my friends dear to me are going through so much of\u00a0 the same, and it appears so is much of the world. Dislocated is a great describer, for we are unable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[171],"tags":[438,436,434,270,435,437,433],"class_list":["post-2100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advice","tag-being","tag-gratitude","tag-independence","tag-money","tag-self-supporting","tag-story","tag-struggle"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2100"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2107,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100\/revisions\/2107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}