It’s August Already! How’s Your Plan Coming?
We’re at that time…back to school. The days of summer are nearing an end, and it’s time to evaluate your 2013 plan. Are you where you want to be? Are you going to finish this year with a flourish…both with your art and with your finances?
Now is when I begin tightening my calendar and managing the checkbook a little closer – finding ways to move farther on my career AND savings goals. Here are Continue reading this post >
Yesterday I was reading a piece about retirement planning. The author, a popular money guru, was making the case that before anything you should save toward retirement. I laughed when I read it because as an artist who also works with artists, I’ve learned to challenge assumptions. Most of the creative people I work with would like to retire, but they’re also into living a balanced life: they aren’t going to give up their art today to put a few Continue reading this post >
Fighting the Summer Spending Spree
Let’s admit it: summer is the time of year when the pocketbook opens a little easier. It’s nice outside. If you have children, they’re wandering around the house a little bored. Friends send invitations to parties out on the deck or maybe at the beach. Amusement and water parks seem to call out to you…and once they lure you in with pretty lights Continue reading this post >
How often have you caught yourself saying: “I Can’t Afford It”? That’s one of the most disempowering phrases we can use in our creative lives. “I can’t afford it” is the financial equivalent of “I don’t deserve it” or “I’m not ready for it.” Of course you deserve it, and of course, you’re ready.
You just have to tell yourself that you are ready, you deserve it, and all you need Continue reading this post >
I recently received this email from an actor who just finished working through the Artist’s Prosperity Home Study System:
Miata,
I just have to write and tell you how excited I am to have found you! I’ve been an actor for five years, struggling along with everyone else, and I finally decided that enough is enough: I need to put together a plan so I can really focus.
All of this time, I thought I had already been focusing on my Continue reading this post >
Reality television is amazing…while I’ll agree that most of it isn’t worth your time, I enjoy watching how some of the “stars” who elegantly perform in public actually work their butts off behind the scenes. Lifting the curtain on the daily tasks of a true artist shows that success is more than just creating a product. In most cases, you have to be a financially savvy marketing guru to succeed.
Don’t taxes stink?
While I love the promise of a new year, the threat of an upcoming tax season is absolutely exhausting! I think we creatives have it doubly bad; we work from the energy of bending rules and pushing boundaries. There are no bendable boundaries or rules with the IRS. Instead, it’s a simple game: do it right, the first time, on time, and you win. Everything else is Continue reading this post >
Maybe you’re walking through the woods and a patch of sunlight hits the ground in front of you and spurs an idea for your next artistic creation. You could be dining at a restaurant and the ambiance makes you realize an image of a new way to work.
I know this: inspiration hits in funny places. I actually found inspiration for my 2013 goals last night Continue reading this post >
I know Halloween was last week, but let’s keep the fun alive with some financial horror stories. Didn’t you love horror stories as a kid? I liked them…until I tried to sleep. Then, more often then not, I spent the night staring at the ceiling, sure that at any minute some disconfigured arm would grab me from under the bed.
The bad news is that we all have friends who have Continue reading this post >
Remember setting up domino chains when you were a kid?:
I think artistic people understand more than others what these falling dominoes can represent. One positive result leads to another: an artist is shown in a gallery in Los Angeles, and a dealer in New York sees the show. That leads to a second show in Manhattan. An actor scores a part in a play that’s attended by a big producer. The actor’s next role is Continue reading this post >