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Welcome to the Ask Marney Column by Marney Makridakis Dear Marney,       I am a painter and collage artist, and I love creating all kinds of art. I've done a few gallery shows and sold a few pieces, and I've printed up greeting cards that I've sold to some friends. It seems impossible to truly make a living at doing what I love. Is it really possible? Dear Reader:      Not surprisingly, one of the most common questions I hear is from artists, and other creative folks, who are wondering how they can make a living from what what they love to do. While the process of doing so is not cut and dry, I believe the answer of right livelihood is actually quite simple: it takes ideas and leverage. If you have enough ideas (enough creativity to keep thinking and tweaking) and enough leverage (enough passion and drive to want it bad enough) it's gonna happen. I have story after story to illustrate this, but that's for another time. Today, it's all about the practical pieces of combining ideas and leverage in, perhaps, a new way. Please note that while the specific examples here will be talking about art, this material is relevant for earning a living with ANY "off the beaten path" endeavor: writing, music, cooking, coaching, or any unique business. When we announced the WildChild Wisdom Weekend, we also posted a Brainstorming Spinner Game that was designed to help people brainstorm how to help pay for their trip. You can take a look at the "Where There's a Will, There's a WildChild" Game here, as the exercise in this article mirrors the process of that game. The purpose of the game was to be a catalyst for hopping on trains of thought that folks had never taken before. And that's the purpose of this exercise below, if you feel drawn to give it a try. Below are four lists of things that artists might do to earn money. For this exercise, you look at one idea in the list at a time and answer 4 questions before moving on to the next item in the list. It's a good idea to do this in several sittings so that you don't get frustrated or burnt out, or find yourself repeating the same things over and over. Perhaps you can work in 5-10 minute sessions, each one covering 3-5 items on the lists below. For each item, answer these questions: In what ways is this idea POSSIBLE for me, as a way to earn money? Don't say NO – just push yourself to ask "what if?" (Remember, it's just brainstorming--) How could I adapt this idea to make it MORE possible for me to do? If you had a 100% guarantee that this idea would make you a substantial income, what would you be willing to do to make it happen? Now raise the stakes even higher: what if you were guaranteed that you could make $90,000 from this idea. NOW what would you be willing to do to make it happen? What other ideas come to mind, after answering these questions? Really allow yourself to SOAR as you brainstorm, finding unexpected places the money can come from! Then go to the next item in the list. (1) Design It: Pattern books Licensing Art Stencils Photoshop brushes Web site templates Rubber stamps (2) Make It: Home décor: (cabinets, pillows, lamps) Furniture Murals, floorcloths Gifts Stationary, greeting cards Office Supplies Craft fairs Craft parties Consignment stores Trade shows (3) Teach It: Craft Stores Bookstores Writing books & eBooks e-Courses YMCAs, community centers Women's groups Niche groups (book clubs) Retreat centers Religious groups (4) Express It: Columns Creating Radio shows Motivational Speaking Charities Creativity Coaching Creating a company that combines interests When artists ask me how they can earn a living with art, they are usually already pretty exhausted. And that's a major problem. A process like the one above takes time and energy to do wholeheartedly. This deceptively simple exercise can do so much, in terms of opening you to seeing new possibilities, not just in ideas, but in seeing how much motivation you really DO have, when you can imagine the stakes being high enough. Whether real or imagined, the leverage doesn't change; you can do ANYTHING. It's already in you. -Marney To have a great idea, have a lot of them. -Thomas Edison The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work. -Richard Bach back to Index