The Rise Of The Wealthy Artist

A recent remark left me feeling triggered. 

The subject was something I’m deeply passionate about. 

Although I was experiencing fire in my veins at the moment, I quickly became aware of my personal healing as this trigger didn’t mean anything was wrong. It was actually the doorway to an important and meaningful conversation. 

My trigger emerged from a discussion about college applications where parents are requested to state their profession. 

The point in question was about white collar professionals versus entrepreneurs and artists. 

Is the expectation that the artist’s family will have a lower income than the doctor, lawyer etc? 

And to take it deeper is the question of worthiness that arises around incomes. 

Today, I spend a good deal of time in circles where entrepreneurs are earning 6 to 7+ figure incomes doing what they love. 

Most of them are women. Many of them are coaches or healers but there are also many forms of artists including musicians, painters, writers and designers of home and fashion. 

This kind of world has become my sense of “normal” so when reminded of the contrasting view, I get a jolt which acts as gasoline to a flame. 

I actually welcome this kind of trigger. This is a vital conversation that needs to be had and heard. 

I’ve attached my personal value to the amount of money I make for most of my working years. It’s fairly recent that I have started questioning why my value as a human has anything to do with the number in my bank account. 

It’s similar to attaching beauty or intelligence to self worth. It’s something many of us do without asking why. It simply is. 

At 53 I’m still untangling these conditioned thoughts which at some point, became beliefs. 

I’ve become a belief buster, knowing that not everything in my mind is necessarily my truth. It could have made its way in when I wasn’t being a gatekeeper of my thoughts. 

There are many societal norms that should be thoroughly interrogated and dismantled. 

A huge one for me is the stigma of the poor artist. Honestly, I haven’t been addressing this topic because I don’t like to give it energy. 

Perhaps my trigger is a call to bring this to light. 

Years ago in art college, I was obsessed with the idea of starting my own brand until one day an instructor told me I couldn’t make a living as a freelance artist, that I would need a job. That was incredibly deflating to me at the time, and now I see that she was merely projecting her own experience.

I would absolutely love to see this particular stigma eradicated from the planet. I believe it’s happening. It may not completely change during my lifetime but being an active part of this movement is a deep connection to my purpose.

I’m still learning how to be a wealthy artist myself. I feel as close to my truest nature as I’ve ever been. The doors continue to open. My life has become my school on this subject. The more I learn, the more I can and do teach others. 

My studies bring me to both the practical and metaphysical aspects of life and business. 

There is a vast amount of knowledge to be learned and applied yet some basics I have extracted are truth, belief and action. 

Finding your truth is imperative. Getting to develop new beliefs and thought processes is one of the countless perks of being an adult. We no longer need to live by another’s guidelines. We get to parent ourselves. We can evolve.

As artists and entrepreneurs, it’s first up to us to decide our creations and ideas are valuable. However wonderful external validation feels, we have to seek it within. We must believe we are worthy and our works are worthy. 

Can you imagine Nike releasing a running shoe with any bit of doubt that it’s a useful product? We must activate our inner power and stop acting like a little child showing mom their crayon scribbles and asking if they did a good job! 

Taking action can definitely be more challenging before we are rock solid in our self belief yet it builds confidence and becomes one of our best teachers. 

I wish I could offer every artist on the planet a magical step by step guide to creating their success story but this is a personal journey for everyone. 

Over the years, I have tried so many supposed formulas to success which in some ways have actually enlightened me as now I see what doesn’t necessarily work. For me anyway. 

I’ve come to my truth of knowing, I have to do it my own way to feel the success. This to me IS a big part of success which can be different for everyone. 

While the path to financial success may be linear for a white collar profession, I believe artists will benefit from a healthy investment in the school of self development.

As I walk the path of my own entrepreneurial adventure, I’ve become called to help others. 

My long term vision for my brand, Rebel Unicorn, is to assist 1000s of creatives along their journey. To share both practical and energetic tools to enhance and accelerate their experience. 

Currently, what I know to be of great service are my Creatrix and Practical Magic trainings.

Creatrix is a simple, fun approach to building out an all in one platform including a website and online store. I took what was once an extremely frustrating aspect of my business and turned it into something most anyone can do. I believe it’s incredibly helpful to entrepreneurs to have the skillset around this foundation of business whether you go onto hire a team or not.

Practical Magic is a journaling experience that instills self awareness, confidence and belief. I’ve received many positive testimonials to the potency of this course. 

I will not make my way, the way, yet a guide along the way. 

I envision a world where artists are synonymous with success, highly respected and sought out. 

Where conversations around the profession of artist speak of living in abundance. 

Where an artist is a fully acknowledged member of society in any given circle. 

Where the person reading the college application which states “artist” as profession, imagines a person of great success.

And most importantly where the person who states “artist” as their profession profoundly believes that their contribution to our world is deeply valuable and significant.