The Empowered Artist: A Call to Action for Musicians, Writers, Visual Artists, and Anyone Who Wants to Make a Difference With Their Creativity

By Bob Baker

'The Artist's Way' meets 'The War of Art' for a new generation!

ATTN: Musicians, Writers, Visual Artists, and Anyone Who Wants to Make a Difference or Build a Career in the Arts ...

Could you use a kick in the pants to jump-start your creative calling? Or do you know someone who is gifted at their craft but too fearful or hesitant to pursue it?

"The Empowered Artist" is a call to action and a rallying cry for you to step into your greatness.

What you'll get in this book is a big dose of reality checks, empowering attitudes, shifting perspectives, powerful mindsets, and nitty-gritty details on the real work you need to do to make a difference (and make a living) with your talents and know-how.

The reason so many struggle with creative ambitions is because they lack these rock-bottom principles. To truly thrive in the arts you must install these big picture ideals into your creative DNA.

That's what this book is: a transfusion of success principles for modern day artists.

"Many people die with their music still in them. Don't let that be said of you. In this delightful book, Bob shows you how to tap into the 'music' that only you are prepared to share with the world."
-Dan Miller, New York Times best-selling author of 48 Days to the Work You Love

"Every creative person needs this book. If you want to live a rich, creative life, The Empowered Artist is a must-read. Bob can show you the way. Learn how to pursue the work you were born to do."
-Jeff Goins, best-selling author of The Art of Work

Every section ends with a Call to Action - an affirmative step you can take to tell yourself (and the world) that you mean business, that you are here to make your creative mark.

The world needs you and the gifts that only you are uniquely qualified to deliver. We need you to live up to your potential, to shine your light, to step into your greatness.

That's why I wrote this book.

I'm tired of creative people being treated like second-class citizens (by themselves and others), when the truth is ... We are the ones who create the culture, innovation, and new ideas that humanity needs now more than ever.

Here's a list of the topics you'll find in "The Empowered Artist":

- The Foundation: Ten Guiding Principles You Should Internalize to Become an Empowered Artist

- The Launching Pad: Essential Elements for Kicking Your Art Activities Into Overdrive

- Creativity Career Killers: The Top Ten Misguided Notions That May Be Holding You Back

- Supercharged Empowerment: Seven Secrets to Living a Fulfilling Life in the Arts

- Turning Pro: The Essential Skills You Must Develop to a Become Self-Actualized Creative Entrepreneur

To clarify, my motivation in writing this book isn't just to make a few musicians, writers, and painters feel good about themselves. That's thinking too small. My vision is to change the world!

Are you with me? Order this inspiring book now!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bob Baker
• Release date: Jul 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311020352

Book preview

The Empowered Artist

A Call to Action for Musicians, Writers, Visual Artists, and Anyone Who Wants to Make a Difference with Their Creativity

© 2015 Bob Baker – All Rights Reserved

Published by Spotlight Publications

PO Box 28441, St. Louis, MO 63146 USA

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise – without the prior written permission of Bob Baker, except for the inclusion of brief passages in a review.

Free Gifts for You!

As a special thank you for purchasing this book, I want to give you FREE access to my $99.00 course, "30 Ways to Become an Empowered Artist."

You’ll get more than three hours of online video training and worksheets. Just head to this section at the end of the book to get access.

I’ll also send you a FREE sample of my book, The DIY Career Manifesto: The Unconventional Guide to Turning Your Talents and Know-How Into a Profitable Business.

Again, just go to this section at the end of the book to claim these free gifts now.

Contents

Foreword by Barbara J. Winter

Welcome to the Empowered Artist Movement

The Truth About Living a Rich, Creative Life

Before You Dive In ...

The Foundation: Ten Guiding Principles You Should Internalize to Become an Empowered Artist

Approve yourself – Bask in amazement – Prioritize your art – Put fear and uncertainty in their place – Wonder why – Strike a balance – Know your mode – Close the gap – Ask better questions – Do the work

The Launching Pad: Essential Elements for Kicking Your Art Activities Into Overdrive

Find your voice – Move your feet – Crave speed – Get into alignment – Know that you’re not broken – Get friendly with money – Have a structure in place – Tune into your fan frequency – Enlist the twin soldiers

Creativity Career Killers: The Top Ten Misguided Notions That May Be Holding You Back

Lack of time – Lack of money – Lack of connections – Lack of experience – Lack of inspiration – The right time trap – The integrity trap – The tunnel vision trap – The overwhelm trap – The why should I add to the noise? trap

Supercharged Empowerment: Seven Secrets to Living a Fulfilling Life in the Arts

Tap into the bigger picture – Accept this reality – Learn from Larson and Larsson – Brace yourself for the honeymoon effect – Break the perfection curse – Find mentors everywhere – Choose your illusion

Turning Pro: The Essential Skills You Must Develop to Become a Self-Actualized Creative Entrepreneur

See things through – Be prolific – Get cozy with your supporters – Let fan feedback fuel you – Understand the goods you deliver – Fall in love with marketing – Get your ASK out there – Create multiple streams of impact – Replace starving artist with thriving artist

Final Thoughts for Your Empowered Artist Journey

About the Author

Free Gifts for You!

Other Books, Courses, Audiobooks, and Links

Disclaimer

Special Recognition Section

Cover photo credits: The guitar player image on the left, compliments of www.SplitShire.com. The photographer image in the middle is by Wil Stewart via www.stocksnap.io/photo/481EWWFVJS. The photo of painter Flora Bowley on the right is by Zipporah Lomax, www.ZipporahLomax.com.

Thanks to Phia Lynne for the sharp editing eye.

To Pooki, for empowering me with your unconditional love!

Foreword

During the long years when I had the nagging suspicion that I was not anywhere close to living the life of my dreams, I had no clue that I already possessed something that would make such a thing possible. Inevitable, in fact. This powerful force was my own entrepreneurial spirit which, happily, had survived years of neglect until I was ready to recognize it and put it to work.

Like others who had made the same discovery, I came to realize that this is the sleeping giant that resides within all of us. Whether or not we awaken it is completely up to us.

So what is entrepreneurial spirit anyway? I think it’s more than just the catalyst for working on your own. It’s an approach to life. It’s living every day with the attitude of an explorer. It’s being enthusiastic about problem-solving. It’s being alert to opportunity. It’s an active and wildly creative way of making your own unique contribution to the world.

And then you get paid on top of that!

We see entrepreneurial spirit in immigrant business owners and teenagers who start a rock band. We see it in mothers who invent a better baby carrier and in young adults finding new ways to use the Internet. We see it when Heifer International gives a flock of animals to a family in a Third World country. In fact, millions of people throughout the world are claiming their own entrepreneurial spirit and putting it to work every day.

Nevertheless, it remains an endangered species in many of us. Several years ago, my younger sister left a corporate job she had held for 25 years to start her own business. For the first year, every time I saw her she’d ask, Is it really okay to get paid to have so much fun?

Of course, I assured her it was perfectly acceptable. At the same time, I realized that she and I were not the only ones who had gotten a strong message growing up that we shouldn’t expect work and fun to coexist.

That’s where the message of The Empowered Artist can be so valuable in helping you get past old, tired beliefs and attitudes you may not even know you possess. Bob Baker is the perfect teacher on this journey, since he’s been creatively self-employed for years. Best of all, he’s been paying attention to his own journey and shares his discoveries with anyone smart enough to listen.

After all, every entrepreneur soon discovers that success is truly a collection of lots of little steps and tiny bits of personal growth that conspire together to make up the foundation of a life worth living. Therefore, take your time as you explore the principles in this book.

Good for the body is the work of the body, and good for the soul is the work of the soul, and good for either is the work of the other, said Henry David Thoreau. No wonder those folks who lived through the Italian Renaissance accomplished so much. I always think that their unspoken motto was something like, Make love. Make art. Make music. Make business. Make a difference. There’s much to learn from that example here in the 21st century.

Quite simply, there is no shortage of opportunity for innovative thinking backed up by creative activity. The Empowered Artist will stimulate both. It’s a road map that can take you in directions you haven’t yet imagined.

It also comes with bonuses you might not have considered possible. As your own entrepreneurial spirit burns brighter, you’ll be inspiring and awakening other sleeping giants around you.

Create. Love. Serve. The assignments don’t get any better than that.

-Barbara J. Winter, author of Making a Living Without a Job and publisher of the Winning Ways newsletter

Welcome to the Empowered Artist Movement

You hold in your hands a book that may very well shake up your perspective on the role that artists play in society. If you are a musician, writer, visual artist, designer, performer, or any other type of creative person ... that means YOU!

My goal is to awaken the boundless creative potential that resides within you, and to remind you of the incredible value you bring to the world through your artistic skills.

In case you think my ambitions are a bit over the top, allow me to test your knowledge of history for a moment.

Does the name Piero Soderini sound familiar? How about Georges-Eugene Haussmann?

If those names do ring a bell, that means you must be a student of European history. Congratulations. If you don’t recognize them, don’t feel bad. Most people have no clue.

What if I were to ask you the same question about the names Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Monet, Renoir, or Van Gogh?

Most likely, you know them all, even though these historic figures have not been alive for 100 to 500 years. They are names recognized by millions of people around the world, and I didn’t even use their full names.

Let’s get back to the two people I started this history lesson with ...

Piero Soderini was elected in 1502 to a government position known as the gonfaloniere of the Republic of Florence. He was a prominent statesman in what is now known as Italy.

Two years into Soderini’s term, 28-year-old Michelangelo completed a massive statue called David, one of the art world’s most acclaimed sculptures. Around the same time a multitalented fellow named Leonardo Da Vinci began working on a painting that would be known the world over as the Mona Lisa.

Fast forward to the mid 1800s, when Georges-Eugene Haussmann became the prefect of the Seine in France. He was selected by Napoleon III to oversee a massive expansion of Paris. Haussmann’s influence on the city is still being felt. Yet, not many people are really aware of him today.

Around that same time in Paris, a rogue group of visual artists were exploring new approaches to painting. Some of them included Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Vincent Van Gogh.

Will the real cultural influencers please stand up!

Why is it that all these centuries later, Soderini and Haussmann are a fading memory of history, while the impact and popularity of the aforementioned artists remains high?

You know the answer.

Because throughout history it is artists that have had the greatest impact on society. Seriously, what comes to mind when you think of the great civilizations of the past? Is it the politicians and military leaders who were well-known (and often feared) in their day? Well, in some instances, yes.

But I think you’ll agree that it is the architecture, art, music, poetry, fashion, and literary works of each era and location that are remembered and admired in far greater numbers.

The examples to support this are seemingly endless: Shakespeare, Dickens, Hemingway, Mozart, Cassatt, O’Keefe, Warhol, Sinatra, Presley, Angelou, Plath, Rowling, Lloyd Wright, da le Renta, Chanel, Lennon and McCartney. (Again, I’m using only the last name of each person, but I bet you know immediately who most of them are.)

Make no mistake. Creative people have a long history of making a difference in the world. Most innovation and human progress over the centuries has come from human beings who think like artists.

But for some reason, the role of the artist has become diluted, and even frowned upon, in many cultures. This has lead to the stigma of the starving artist and the phrase don’t quit your day job.

I’m on a mission to eradicate these misguided notions and restore musicians, writers, and artists to their proper status – as a thriving community of people who wield great cultural, political and economic power.

This isn’t just wishful thinking on my part. There’s even a book called The