The Vs. Studio Blog

“Peace sells, but who’s buying?”
-Megadeath

You can have the greatest product, the most beautiful piece of art, the perfect solution, the exact right medicine, the answer to their prayers, etc…but if no one wants it, does it even matter?

And even harder on the soul, especially for the artist, is the uncertainty.  For the only way to know if you have an audience, is to fully invest yourself, go all in, be vulnerable, make the thing inside your head, and then offer it to people.

But hey, that’s the job.  That comes with the territory.  Otherwise everyone would do it, right?

Go make your art.  Let the chips fall where they may.

Our inspiring definition of art: “doing something that might not work in service of others.”

Using this definition as our guidepost, we see that art isn’t only about making, it’s also about appreciating what others have made.

Consider that when we appreciate, we risk two of our more valuable assets: our time and attention. We have no idea if the thing we’re giving ourselves over to will be any good. That we’ll enjoy it. We’re taking a chance. That’s generous on our part.

It’s even more risky and generous when we tell others about it. Now we’re really putting ourselves on the line.

Art-makers: please remember this. Remember your audience. Strive for excellence in all you do.

“How we do anything is how we do everything.” -Zen Buddhist Proverb

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is a habit, not an act.” -Aristotle

“What we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while.” -Gretchen Rubin

What did you actually do today for the thing(s) you say you love? To get you closer to manifesting the idea in your head? To the place you say you want to be? How much time did you actually spend doing it?

If no time or very little, that’s okay. At least you know. Shake it off. And resolve to spend just one more minute tomorrow doing it.

Is it luck or hard work that’s responsible for your success?

It’s always both.

And humility lies in acknowledging that.

Not comfortable with self promotion?

That’s alright.

Find someone you believe in.  Promote them.

A writer is always told to “find your voice.”

It’s no different for a leader.  You must find your message.

The writer only finds their voice by writing and writing and writing some more.  Until people are eager to read their words.  

The same for a leader.  You only find your message by speaking it out loud.  Over and over and over again.  Until what you say resonates with people eager to hear from you.

“Excuses are the rocks where our dreams are crushed.” -Tim Fargo

“You got big plans but you never take a chance, uh-huh. When will you stop wondering who you are?…You say you want to change this world. Well, do you really believe in magic? But you can only change yourself. Don’t sit around and complain about it.” -From the song “Complainer” by Cold War Kids

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

What’s the difference between an excuse and an obstacle? Nothing. Other than when you give an excuse, it just means that the thing inside your head, the change you want to make, isn’t important enough to you to try and overcome the obstacle.

Who would you be without your excuses? How much power would you have? Are you afraid of being accountable? And if all your excuses magically disappeared, would you really do the thing? Or just keep talking about it?

No excuses. Go make your art.

“Gone, gone, utterly gone, all has passed over to the other side.” -Buddhist heart sutra

“Yearning for a new way will not produce it. Only ending the old way can do that. You cannot hold onto the old all the while declaring that you want something new. The old will defy the new; the old will deny the new; the old will decry the new. There is only one way to bring in the new. You must make room for it.” -Neale Donald Walsch

Maybe the reason you’re not able to step up right now, to make your art, to fully embrace the new, is because you haven’t fully let go of the old.

Sunk costs are real and powerful. Don’t let them drag you down.

Whatever it is, say goodbye. Be grateful for the time together.

And with arms wide open, welcome in the new.

“I just want to let the work speak for itself.”

While noble in theory, this idea is doomed to fail. (Trust me. I’ve learned this and continue to learn this the hard way.)

Because work doesn’t speak. It just is.

People do. And it’s your job as a producer to get them to see and hopefully speak about your work. To others. That’s where marketing comes in.

If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it…

Desiring to write, but feeling like you have nothing to say? No energy? No time? Literally, no time given all your commitments.

That’s okay. Take the pressure off yourself. Don’t sweat it.

Take out a piece of paper and pen and just write one sentence. One bad sentence. Who cares? Just one sentence.

After you’re done, put it away. Feel good about yourself. You wrote one sentence. Tomorrow, you’ll write another sentence. And then, the next day, another one. And so on and so on.

Just do that.

Here’s my sentence for today.

“The big red rose opened her heart to me, but I was too busy to notice.”