How to decide when and where to invest in your art

This post was originally an Artnote. If you’d like to receive my artist letters in your inbox, you can sign up here.

 

I recently hired someone to help me in my business, because I’d reached the end of what I could do by myself with the knowledge and experience I currently have.

It’s a significant amount of money for me, and I had to take a minute to think it through.

I noticed that when I thought of it in terms of spending money, I felt anxious and focused on the ‘loss’.

But when I switched to thinking of it in terms of an investment – a positive action that would help my business grow {and me as well} – I immediately knew it was the right choice.

And not only that; I decided up front that my yes would be a full and conscious choice in service of a bigger dream.

I made a promise and commitment to myself that I’d be all in, I’d take action on everything I learned, and I’d be 100% committed.

Can you feel how huge the difference is between those two perspectives?

I’ve made choices with my money {and time, and energy} before that I’ve later regretted, as we all have.

And when I look back on those, I can see that I was coming more from spending energy than investing energy.

I was more “I hope this fixes the problem” than I was “I’m going all in and will absorb and act on everything I learn to ensure I get the most possible from it”.

It was passive; I was giving my power over the outcome to the teacher or the thing, instead of deciding to sit fully in my own autonomy and operate from the strength of that.

Shifting my perspective has helped me make strong decisions much more easily.

Am I wanting and hoping, or am I choosing and committing?

Investing is a choice from the inside.

It’s values based, a conscious choice to commit – a full body yes.

I get emails from people about how they want to join the Happy Artist Studio but they’re wavering.

Maybe it’s the perceived time commitment, maybe it’s the money. It’s usually one or both of those.

I’m not saying those aren’t valid reasons to postpone a choice or say no to something; I don’t know the nuances of each person’s situation and I make no judgement on their choices.

And I’m not here to guilt trip or convince anyone.

What I have noticed though, in myself and others, is that money and time are easy hooks to hang doubt on.

I bet you can think of a time you bought something because you wanted or needed the thing more than you were worried about the time or money it required.

It was such an overriding yes for you that the outcome you knew you’d get made any costs irrelevant, or at least not the deciding factor.

So when we cite money or time, there’s often something else going on, either consciously or unconsciously.

And it often has to do with self doubt, lack of confidence, or some old stories we have running about what’s possible for us.

That’s definitely true for me.

When people join the Happy Artist Studio, my highest wish for them is that they’re all in; they’re choosing the full body yes.

Not just because I’m running a business, but more so because I know this to be true:

When you commit – and it’s a commitment to yourself as much as it’s a commitment to ‘doing the thing’ – you can’t fail to make huge gains.

• Gains in learning, in experience, in understanding yourself as an artist and what you truly want.
• Gains in finding out what you’re capable of, which is always more than you believed.
• Gains in actual progress – creating that collection, selling that painting, tapping into your truest self expression and seeing yourself as an artist.

I highly recommend giving this perspective shift a try!

If you’re considering joining us in the Happy Artist Studio, or indeed investing in any course or programme, material or workshop in service of your art, take a minute to sit with it.

Sink into your body, feel it inside, look at it from a spending perspective and then from an investment perspective – notice how they feel different.

If you like to journal, write down all the thoughts you can find in your brain about it, so you can see where you’re telling yourself stories.

I bet you’ll find the answer becomes clearer.

If you’re thinking about buying whatever it is because you want it to fix something, chances are it won’t.

If you’re thinking about it in terms of what you’ll bring to it, the commitment you’ll make to yourself to fully make use of all it offers – then, my artist friend, you’re pretty much guaranteed a good result.

Even if it’s not the exact outcome you envisaged, you can’t lose; you will learn something, maybe lots of somethings.

You’ll have an experience.

And you get to decide what that experience will be.

If you’ve been thinking about investing in the Happy Artist Studio {which really means in your artist self}, today is an excellent day to do that! 😊

You can start with a month and see how you go. You can explore all the monthly topics, watch the Q&As, dig into the courses, and hang out in our friendly and supportive community.

I recommend coming with a dream or a goal, since the more intentional you are, the more likely you are to make the gains you want.

If you have questions, leave them in the comments below this post, or email me at tara@taraleaver.com and I’ll be happy to help!

But in the end, only you can decide, and you can make a powerful choice either way.

What are you choosing today?