You’ve chosen an uncertain path.
You’ve adopted an inconvenient lifestyle.
You’ve embarked upon an unconventional journey.
You’ve felt the voice inside you growing more urgent.
You’ve committed yourself enough so you can’t turn back.

You’ve decided to play for keeps.

This is the critical crossroads – the emotional turning point – in the life of every young artist.

And I’ve been there myself.

Here’s a list of suggestions to help you along the way:

1. Entertainment trumps art. Just turn on the television. The most popular shows no longer cast actors – they pluck citizens. And they eventually get famous for being, well, famous. But it wasn’t always this way. Forty years ago, we did our art because we had some form of overflowing passion. Some kind of fire. We did it because we couldn’t not do it. Because there was this thing inside of us that, this thing that said, “Now!” and if we didn’t give voice to it, we would go crazy. That’s art. It’s what defines us. It’s what makes life worth living. It’s how we bring our humanity to the moment. What sucks is, it’s an endangered species. And we can’t stand mute while it gets eaten alive. Otherwise magazine racks will replace museums. Fear not art, fear entertainment disguised as art. Are you an artist or an entertainer?


2. Talent doesn’t matter like it used to. With the right technology, a keen sense of timing, a strong platform and a wellspring of creativity; and with strategic positioning, clever marketing, consistent networking, occasional ass kissing, tons of grit, lots of little breaks and a world-class attitude, any of us should be able to soar to great heights in our field. Then again, we can never underestimate the power of being really, really good. Straight chops, pure ability, will always serve us well. The hard part is, awesome takes practice, and practice takes patience. And in a world of instant celebrities and overnight sensations, it’s tempting to want to shortcut the process. But if we’re smart, we hustle while we wait. We build our non-talent assets as we gradually get better. And after a while, after our ability evolves into mastery, we final let everything else go and allow talent to take center stage. How patient can you be?

3. Another worthwhile artistic investment. Some musicians were never that good at playing music. They just represented something important. Whether they created a spectacle, built an emotional connection, told a remarkable story, started a movement, inspired a revolution, changed popular culture, defied the norm, crossed categories, gave voice to a new generation or raised global consciousness, the fact that they didn’t have a lot of talent didn’t matter. They had bigger fish to fry. Which doesn’t mean talent is unimportant, just not as necessary as we once thought. If I were starting as an artist today, I’d invest more of my time creating, connecting, inspiring, dreaming, shipping, sharing, risking, performing, promoting and engaging, and less of my time taking lessons. What do you represent?

4. Creativity is about trying things. First, we listen to our heart. We sit at the feet of that thing that sticks inside of us and says now. And we put it out publicly so we can’t run away from it, and so the world will conspire to help us achieve it. Next, we give ourselves permission. We drop the illusions about what we can and can’t do. And we knock down the inhibitors that stop us from pursuing something dopey, different or whimsical. Then, we chase that idea down. We get experimental without spending money. We fiddle around with things. And we execute small steps that create the freedom to pause, test, reevaluate and adjust. Finally, we listen for what sticks. We watch for what makes us think, Oh my god – that counts? We ask ourselves: I wonder if I can take this further? And we become spawned by the childlike desire to see how far it goes. What did you try yesterday?

5. It’s not enough to write something worth reading. First, we have to do something worth writing. Life is subordinate to art, not the other way around. Our first responsibility as artists is to be human beings, to be real people, whose unique reservoirs of life experience color the canvas with rich textures. When he’s not performing spoken word concerts, Henry Rollins travels to countries most people have never heard of. When he’s not harmonizing our hearts into mush, Art Garfunkel goes on hundred mile walks. And when he’s not drawing cartoons, Scott Adams runs his own vegetarian food company and café. In short, they inhale. And despite our antisocial tendencies, despite the seductive low road passage of constantly disappearing into our work, eventually, we all have to get the out of the studio. We have to reengage with the world – to inhale – and procure meaning outside of our art. Otherwise we never get out of our own heads, never get out of our own limited worldview and never keep perspective flowing. At which point our work is no longer a masterpiece, just a paint by number. Are you living an art worthy life?

REMEMBER: When you’re ready to play for keeps, your work will never be the same.

Make the decision today.

Show the world that your art isn’t just another expensive hobby.

That’s the beauty of face to face.

We don’t need money, we don’t need a degree, we don’t need four bars, we don’t need a password, we don’t need a router, we don’t need an outlet, we don’t need a screen, we don’t need a keyboard, we don’t need a converter, we don’t need an app, we don’t need a headset, we don’t need anything, really.

Real communication doesn’t require props.

If we want to talk to people with our mouths, all we need is the will to communicate and the desire to connect.

– – – –

This post comes from my latest daily devotional, Try Caring.
Download your copy for only $0.99, right here!

There’s never been a better time to go our own way.
Thanks to a throng of trailblazers, the indy ethic of not thinking commercial terms, not acting with mainstream instincts, is stronger than ever.   Instead of cropping our conscience to fit this year’s fashion, we can go against the tenor of the times. We can offer a little opposition. Finally, there’s no gatekeeper, no permission police raising a barricade of readiness, standing firm to announce that we’re good enough, ready enough or whatever enough to chase down our dreams.
The only thing standing in our way is our own inability to decide.
Our willingness to believe that we’re a shot worth taking.

– – – –

This post comes from my latest daily devotional, It’s Not The Years, It’s The Mileage.

Download your copy for only $0.99, right here!

I once did an interview for a tabloid style business journal.
When they sent a copy in the mail, I was excited to see that my headshot filled the entire front page. Having no expectation of getting that much ink, I called the art director to personally thank him.
“Wow, nobody’s ever made my head the whole cover before.”
And he said, “Nobody’s ever sent a high resolution photo before.”
That’s the payback of possibility. The more we give people to work with, the more they can do for us. The easier we make people’s jobs, the better work they will do for us.
Whether we’re interacting with web developers, photographers, graphic designers, videographers, virtual assistants or mentors, the smartest thing we can do is give people everything. To open ourselves completely, fill their palette to the brim and give them as much raw material as possible.
It’s never a bad idea to be a good customer.
– – – –
  This post comes from my latest daily devotional, Don’t Be Stopped By Not Knowing How.

Download your copy for only $0.99, right here!

Entrepreneurs are notorious for having epiphanies.
Those moments of truth. Crucial crossroads. Irreversible explosions of momentum after which business is never the same again.
As a business owner, I’ve had dozens of epiphanies over the years, from creative droughts to financial meltdowns to media tipping points, all of which changed me forever.
A few years ago, I made a decision that, in hindsight, might have been the smartest sales move of my career:
I started asking everybody to buy everything, all the time.
Any chance I got, in person, en masse, online or off the cuff, I asked for the sale.
It was a bold move on my part, having never been a great closer, and having always battled my own psychological issues with money.
But the crazy thing is, when you ask people to buy, they do.
Not every time. Not all the time. Not even most of the time.
But enough of the time to make the effort worthwhile. Enough of the
– – – – 
This post comes from my latest daily devotional, Don’t Be Stopped By Not Knowing How.
Download your copy for only $0.99, right here!

LET ME ASK YA THIS… How consistent are you?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “62 Types of Questions and Why They Work,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]

Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired.

Now booking for 2012-2013.

Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

Today I stopped by the station to talk about brandtags.
We focused on passion, making your organization more joinable and getting donors excited about your cause.
Watch the interview here!

LET ME ASK YA THIS… How are you making your mission more than a statement?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS… For the list called, “21 Things I Learned While Spying on Myself,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!
* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]
My job is to help companies make their mission more than a statement, using limited edition social artifacts.
Want to download your free workbook for The Brandtag Strategic Planning Crusade?
Meet Scott’s client from Nestle Purina at www.brandtag.org!

LET ME ASK YA THIS… What’s your social experiment?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “62 Types of Questions and Why They Work,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]

Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired.

Now booking for 2012-2013.

Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

The more divided our world gets, the more important sharing becomes.
Our currency is commonality.
On the positive side, the more evidence of sharing we have, the richer we become. The more collective touchpoints that unite us, the happier we become. The more connections we have with like-minded souls, the more normal we feel. And the more time we spend together, the more optimistic we become.
On the negative side, the less time together we spend, the more selfish we become. The less people we have to share our lives with, the emptier our victories become. The less social capital we build, the less support we have when the hard times hit. And the less we share our unique experience with each other, the blinder we become.
LET ME ASK YA THIS… Isn’t it amazing what commonality changes?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “17 Ways to become a Thought Leader,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]
HELLO, my name is Host!
Did you know you could hire Scott as your emcee, mobile host, roving reporter or on camera talent for your organization’s next event?
Watch sample footage of his hosting work here!

Among the fifty coffee shops in my neighborhood, Postmark Cafe is always slammed.
Not just because the location is ideal, the wifi is free, the coffee is organic, the food is tasty, the staff is friendly, the music is cool and the art is inspiring.
But because they donate one hundred percent of their tips to charity.                                             Every month, they select a organization that does meaningful work in the world, whether it’s donating livestock to poor countries or building wells in drought prone areas of Africa. They write a summary of that group’s mission on the chalkboard to inform customers exactly where the money is going. And at the end of the month, they post the total amount donated on the wall, then keep it on the wall until the next month.                                                                                                        Now, I’ve see a lot of companies donate to charity. But there’s something special about the way Postmark approaches their generosity.
First, they select a new cause every month, which allows them to reach diverse organizations. Second, they let their customers have a say in the causes they select, which gives them ownership of the process. Third, they make their financial information public and handwritten, which demonstrates accountability and transparency. And lastly, their donations actually come from people’s pockets each month, not just from the president writing a check at the end of the year and forgetting about it until tax season.
That’s straight class.
LET ME ASK YA THIS… What have you declined this week?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS… For the list called, “27 Affirmations to Prepare Yourself to Listen,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!
* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]
My job is to help companies make their mission more than a statement, using limited edition social artifacts.
Want to download your free workbook for The Brandtag Strategic Planning Crusade?
Meet Scott’s client from Nestle Purina at www.brandtag.org!