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Listen to the Tough Economy Series #5 "Shock Absorber #5: Tap the Flywheel" In this fifth installment, Aletta de Wal, Director & Artist Advisor, Artist Career Training lists 3 ways to maintain momentum.
Listen to the fifth interview in the series with Molly Gordon.
You may have noticed a theme is emerging in this series of interviews designed to give artists ideas about how to ride out the Tough Economy. There are no "quick-fixes". Small, consistent actions do more than one grand declaration or writing a plan that you won't use.
"This idea of slowly transforming something good into something great is captured in the Flywheel metaphor. Picture a huge, heavy flywheel - a massive metal disk mounted horizontally on an axle, about 30 feet in diameter, 2 feet thick, and weighing about 5,000 pounds. Now imagine that your task is to get the flywheel rotating on the axle as fast and long as possible. Pushing with great effort, you get the flywheel to inch forward, moving almost imperceptibly at first. You keep pushing and, after two or three hours of persistent effort, you get the flywheel to complete one entire turn. After pushing and pushing, at some point you finally reach breakthrough! The momentum of the thing kicks in in your favor, hurling the flywheel forward, turn after turn. . . it's own heavy weight working for you. Each turn of the flywheel builds upon work done earlier, compounding your investment of effort. Great companies are like this. There is no one single event, product launch, or tag line that launched them into breakthrough. It was just slow and steady hard work." Jim Collins "Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap. . . and Others Don't." This works for artists too. http://www.artbusinesslibrary.com/books-life-matters/?currentPage=2
Smooth Ride Shock Absorber #5: Tap the Flywheel
"If you've noticed a higher level of anxiety lately, try jotting down your thoughts about the economy. Start with "I'm worried about the economy because. . ." Then record your pettiest fears. (The big ones, too.)
Question the thoughts related to this false alarm and you'll find it a lot easier to ride it out until it stops." Volume 10, No. 39 · Oct. 14, 2008 ·Molly Gordon
Molly Gordon is a certified business coach dedicated 
to helping independent professionals and artists with the challenges of building thriving livelihoods and loving their lives. Molly helps you to make doing business a heartfelt expression of your gifts in the world, while ensuring that you and your family prosper. In short, you learn to love marketing, and you learn to do business in a way that feeds your soul as well as your bank account.
When Molly and I spoke in July, she offered these three ways to tap your flywheel and relax back into the momentum of your art career:
Don't mistake being humble for playing small. Ground yourself in your art. Take heart and do what needs to be done each day, without complaint. Let collectors experience this part of you. It's part of the value of your work.
Drop perfection and embrace progress. Progress requires persistent action in the direction of your goals. Remember the metaphor of the flywheel and maintain momentum. Keep things simple so that you will persist.
Ignore the "supportive advice" you get from friends and family who mean well, but hurt your feelings. Accept the fact that they are saying so out of concern, and find the help that you want. Every great artist, gallery dealer, museum curator, art rep, art consultant has had help along the way. Ask for help and accept it gracefully.
Please remember to listen to each generous interview with your head and your heart. Then use your hands to create the new results you desire in your art business and the world.
What can you add to this conversation? Please share your strategies with other artists on the Art Talk Blog.
Thanks, and have an artful day!
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P.S. Yesterday in the A.C.T. 101 TeleClass, I bragged that I had beat Oprah to the Kindle. I am usually not a first adopter of software or hardware. I let "Mikey" try it and wait for the bugs to be worked out.
This time, I was one of the first few thousands who bought the original Kindle. I have a headset on all day with a computer on my lap and printer going. For this reason, I barely use a cell phone. I may listen to CDs while I make art but not while I read. (I don't own an i-Pod, but my Kindle has been described as an "i-Pod for books").
So I surprised myself when I kept thinking about the Kindle Reader. What clinched the purchase was going on a long awaited vacation to be an art glutton for two weeks. Free time and light packing meant no computer. But recreational reading was on the packing list. Just not 22 books. I was taking only 2 carry-on bags and a purse.
Enter the Kindle. It is lighter than a paperback. Easier to read than holding a book when lying down. Easier on the eyes than computers because it is not backlit and does not "refresh". And unlike books, I can choose the bigger font for less squinting. (This may not be an issue for others but I have some eye problems). I can "speed read" because of the size of a page.
It costs nothing to check it out. Visit The Art Business Library,http://www.artbusinesslibrary.com/gear-gadgets/ Click over to Amazon, watch the video and e-mail me with any questions.
Best,
Aletta de Wal Aletta@ArtistCareerTraining.com
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© 2008 Artist Career Training. Aletta@ArtistCareerTraining,com All Rights Reserved.
With the knowledge and support you get from Artist Career Training you'll save time, effort and money. We gather all the information you need to market your art and build your art career so that you can make money and get back to doing what you love - making more art.
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