UMS Conundrum - Money VS Art?

[HearDontListen]

These are just some random thoughts that are popping into my head:

I HAVE to make money, we all do.  And more money makes for a better healthier life certainly.  I have financial responsibilities and people I am responsible for taking care of.  I MUST take care of my responsibilities.

But I do not want to live my life just for money.

I want to CREATE first and foremost.  And I want to create, what I want to create, so its real and fulfilling...  If I live my life with the main goal just to make money I feel I am wasting my life.

Suddenly I find myself focusing more on money and less on art. Maybe that scares me. Fear that I'll live my life with too great a focus money and not enough on creativity. Not enough time spent on what I feel will really fulfill me.

But I bought this program for a reason - maybe this is resistance?

I wish I could just have allot of money so I could just focus on my art (immature and entitled thought).  Or I wish I could make allot of money through my art. But I do not know if my art will support me and I have responsibilities.  Maybe I am just afraid of going for it - fear of failure.  Or fear of being broke and not having money to take care of my responsibilities. Or Fear of Success and all that comes with it?

But I want to just go for it.

Basically, I want money and I also want to do what I want to do.  It may be allot to ask for.  I want to fulfill my greatest creativity and creativity comes first, money comes second - that's what I want.  I wish I didn't need money to be honest. But I do need it, so I'd like lots of it, so I don't have to think or worry about it, and can take care of the things I need to.  Is this a contradiction? I feel like I'm being pulled/torn in two directions.

I don't know if there is a question here and I apologize for the rambling.  Maybe I'm wondering if how I'm feeling is in conflict with this program?  These are not new thoughts for me either, I've felt like this for a long time before using the program.

[Shannon]

First, are you using UMS, or are you simply trying to determine whether or not to buy it?

Second, it sounds like you have not fully read and understood the program's description.

Third, you are displaying a primary cause of poverty here: limiting beliefs.

Let's start with the third thing I said.  You are here saying that you believe you are limited to having money OR creating art, but that you don't believe you can have both.

Why the hell not?  If you do the right things and know the right people, you can make yourself very wealthy in the art world.  All you need to do is create works which people are willing to pay insane amounts of money for.  At first that sounds difficult, as if the art must be so incredibly exceptional that it demands those prices, but in reality that isn't the case at all.  Art is subjective, emotional, irrational, and so are the people who buy it and the prices they are willing to pay for it.

Art does not have to be priced reasonably.  It has to be priced according to the perceived value, and the perceived value is easily manipulated if you know how (or the people who do know how).  Most artists allow the buyer to set the perceived value without attempting to influence that perception.  Influencing that perception of value is in large part why many artists open galleries; just finding a piece in a gallery automatically and significantly increases the expected value.  (Belief: "If it's important enough to be in a gallery, it must be exceptional work and very valuable!")

Then you can manipulate how it is displayed, among what other pieces, under what lighting conditions, and in what level of comfort and privacy.  All of this increases perceived value.  Further still increasing the perceived value is what the piece is made of, how big it is, what the subject is, the skill with which it was created, difficulty of reproducing it, rarity, fame and popularity of the artist and not the least of which is the skill of the gallery staff at salesmanship and advertising.

I know of an artist who I discovered wandering Duval Street in Key West.  Her work is amazing to me, for three reasons:

1. Primarily, she is creating the artwork I want(ed) to create.  Circumstances have so far dictated that I cannot do it myself, so...
2. It speaks to me.  It evokes an emotional reaction and attraction.  It is deeply aesthetically pleasing to me.
3. It's huge, and she uses some very expensive materials to create it, giving it some added value for both the creative aspect of having used that and the effect those materials give the piece's visual impact.

The result?  She charges thousands and thousands of dollars for a single piece, and still sells her work quickly.  As an artist who knows how to create this exact same type and level of art, you would think I would make my own instead of buying it.  But I loved her work so much that I found a piece that I could afford and bought it anyway, not just to support her, but to also have this beautiful art in my home.  Until I can find the time, equipment and money necessary to do this sort of artwork for myself, I can still enjoy it.

So why can't you have wealth and be a creative artist?  Because someone told you that?  

Whenever someone tells you why "you can't do that", you need to understand what they are actually telling you.  They aren't telling you, "You can't do that, and that's a fact," (even if they think that's what they're telling you and swear up and down that it is what they are telling you!).  

What they are actually telling you is, "You are trying to do something that I believe cannot be done, and because you are threatening to prove my limiting-but-comfortable beliefs wrong, I have to point them out to you so you can be limited by them too, and I can remain comfortable by limiting myself with these beliefs."

When people tell you what can't be done, IGNORE THEM.  The only thing that "can't be done" is the thing you won't allow yourself to do, and then don't bother to actually do.  Period.  

No matter what it is, no matter how impossible it seems, the question is never "Can it be done?".  The question is, "HOW can it be done?"

Think of all the things that "couldn't be done" until someone did them.  Thinking machines.  Computers.  Cars engines being cast in one piece.  Cars.  Electric cars.  Controlled powered human flight.  Space travel. Self-landing re-usable rockets! Nuclear power.  The Internet.  Satellites.  Cell phones.  Radio.  TV. We won't even start with the weirdness that quantum physics has allowed us to do.  The list is endless!  And in the near future, you'll see fully autonomous self driving cars, human level (and beyond) artificial intelligence, and things we can't even imagine today.

EVERYTHING is possible.  The question is just... HOW do we do it?

The only limits you experience are the limits you place on yourself through your beliefs.  If your beliefs are limiting you, then change them to beliefs that don't limit you.  This is going to be one of the biggest things UMS does - it will change your beliefs to those that do not limit you financially.  Silly beliefs, like "I can have my creative integrity or I can have wealth."  Creative integrity doesn't exist.  You are either creating, or your not.  You are either creating for yourself, or you are not.  But this belief that you must be a starving artist to be a "real artiste" is bullshit, and it's a self limiting belief.  You can choose whatever reality you want, and whatever present and future you desire.  UMS will make whatever changes are necessary to do so, as long as you use it properly.

Finally, "wealth" isn't just money.  I am an incredibly wealthy man because I have a woman who genuinely loves me, takes care of my emotional needs, is faithful to me, appreciates me and what I do for her, and who I can trust completely.  I am an incredibly wealthy man because I have a business that allows me to make my living doing what I love, and the only limits I have are the limits of my imagination.  I am an incredibly wealthy man because I can appreciate the good things in my life, right down to things as small as waking up to my warm, soft, loving cat purring loudly as he lays on my face and stops me from breathing until I wake up and love him back.  I am wealthy because I can find joy in simple things, like taking a walk on the beach with my girlfriend at night, or sitting on a dock and enjoying the night sky, the sounds of the water and the warm summer Florida breeze with her.  

I am also incredibly wealthy because I have a circle of great customers who trust me and value my work so much that they are always eager for the next program, and provide me with crowd-sourced help in designing them.

I am wealthy because I have a wonderfully loving pet posse, my two Yorkshire terriers and my cat, who frequently all come to love me at the same time.  Last night, I had Danni (my bigger Yorkie) and Mowgy (my cat) sitting on my lap at the same time, both loving me as I played Skyrim.  And I didn't put them there.

I mean there's no end to the ways you can be wealthy.  The people you know, the things you know, the skills you have, the things you have, the money you have, the connections you have, the gratitude, happiness and contentment you have, the love you have, the trust you have, and on and on.  It's not just money.

But UMS will certainly take you in the direction of unlimited monetary wealth.  It just won't stop you by limiting the definition of wealth to money or physical assets.

So where's the problem again?

[hsindermann]

I'm in a similar kinda situation as yourself: For me it's music though. So I've set my UMS goal as to make enough money from composing the music I love to create to make a comfortable living from it. Gotta see where that leads me. What I can tell so far is at least that I'm more enthusiastic to improve that craft of composing than I've ever been before - I've written more music over the last few days than in the months before. And I do start seeing the possibility that the goal could just be achievable. It's most likely just a matter of working on improving my craft, and on finding the people that are willing to pay for my kind music (it's orchestral sound-tracky music, but not the usual hybrid/"epic" style). Time will tell if that'll work out, but I'm more optimistic on this than I've ever been over the two years or so that I have this plan growing inside my mind.

So in the end, just give it a try I guess!

[AlphaRomeo]

@HearDontListen , I dont know if you are already using UMS, or if you are thinking about using it...
but what Shannon just said is pure gold...no, way more valuable than gold. I used to have the exact same limiting belief; art OR money. I have used UMS for 3 days ...and my thinking is now art AND money...+ all the other good stuff. For me, art will be one source among others for gazillions of money, and its going to be very enjoyable one. You may want to go all in, or create additional income streams aside from your art...but one thing is for sure; you dont have to be struggling artist. You can be...and will be should you choose so, a highly successful artist, financially and otherwise.

@Shannon, thank you for being the kind of man you are. You bring so much value to the life of others that its insane...posts like that are priceless, let alone the products you create...

[AlphaRomeo]

@hsindermann Thats very cool...isnt it amazing how UMS is turning the question of "can" into "how" just like Shannon described? And the insane boost in productivity? And thats just the beginning of UMS....lets see where we are in, say, 6 months...

[HearDontListen]

Shannon, thank you so much for taking the time to write this response. You are a wise man for sure.

I purchased UMS on 7/13 and have been using it since then.

I guess the reason I conflate art with potential lack of monetary success is because for me, art does not have monetary success as the goal; rather the completed work is the goal in itself with the artist hopefully being satisfied he was able to express what he wanted to (or at least somewhat satisfied as "art is never finished, only abandoned.)" Please do not get wrong, I do not romanticize the "starving artist" at all. Monetary wealth is awesome, great, wonderful, health-inducing and poverty sucks.

But I don't think an artist should think about or be motivated by money when creating the work, for it to be true to them. He has to do his own thing completely 100% and if it sells that's wonderful. More then wonderful. He should really thank to universe that he can create exactly what he wanted to and also get paid to do so. Even better if he can see people appreciating it in some way. Immense gratitude is in order to be able to lead such a life.

Your post has inspired me though and I think I know what I need to do, which is stay true to art, but work my ass off to find the right buyer(s) when complete and not stop until I do. There are 8 billion people out there, so there must be people who find value in my work, its part of my job to find them. I must treat the art as a business when its complete and that's probably the part I dread.

Art is a risk, but I believe that's part of what makes it great.

I also agree that wealth is not just money - not even close, and that is one of the reasons for my post. I find great wealth in being able to create what I feel is meaningful work among many other things. But I hear you -- why not be able to sell it? There is no reason other then a self-limiting belief.

[hsindermann]

@hsindermann Thats very cool...isnt it amazing how UMS is turning the question of "can" into "how" just like Shannon described? And the insane boost in productivity? And thats just the beginning of UMS....lets see where we are in, say, 6 months...

Absolutely, and it is indeed just the start. Although, gotta admit, being more productive now than in the last months isn't much of a problem, as I've been struggling a lot with that thought if I am really able to do that stuff, so that I pretty much blocked myself and barely ever wrote something (or something that I liked). But yeah, if things continue the way they are going now after only a week... 

[Benjamin]

Heardontlisten, something you may not have considered is that these very thoughts and conflicts you're posting about are coming up because of listening to UMS as it's working through your limiting beliefs around money.

When it's working on something like that it tends to become more obvious to you.

Awesome post Shannon.

[HearDontListen]

Heardontlisten, something you may not have considered is that these very thoughts and conflicts you're posting about are coming up because of listening to UMS as it's working through your limiting beliefs around money.

When it's working on something like that it tends to become more obvious to you.

Awesome post Shannon.

Yes, I think so.  Income is an area of my life that is less then I want/need it to be, hence my purchase of the program.  My main focus has been on creativity, without enough focus on money.

I think I may be thinking about money more then I have been previously and that is the nature of my post.  Maybe it makes me uncomfortable because I see art and money as separate, even though I don't want them to be.

So maybe the recent focus on money is disturbing me because it feels like its pulling me away from other things I want to do?  Sounds like that could be at least part of it.

[Shannon]

I think it's disturbing you because it's a change in your beliefs that is building, which means the "devil you know" is not going to be around much longer and that scares you.