October 2020: 8 stories in 6 publications

COVID-19 is is having a major impact on city life.

With so many people working from home, architects are thinking of ways to redesign how we live. Unfortunately, this means that many restaurants and theatres will struggle to survive.

Indeed, many artists have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, including the celebrities who were infected or had to survive lockdown alone. Now, with the entertainment industry still shut down, artists are seeking new ways to earn a living, from selling courses on MasterClass to doing gigs on Cameo.

Making money

One of the biggest lessons I learned from my interviews with bestselling authors Chris Guillebeau, Nir Eyal, and Paul Jarvis is that you have to treat your art like a business. Yes, there are cases when financial struggle spurs creativity, but there’s nothing wrong with making money from what you love.

First, you need to create something of value, bearing in mind that it’s a good idea to create your own content and retain the distribution rights. Second, you need to market your offering, all the while making sure that your customer service is strong. Third, you need to work hard, which means staying organised every day.

Making art

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you’re a writer, a poet, an actor, a dancer, a producer, a director, a filmmaker, a photographer, a composer, a conductor, a musician, a painter, a visual artist, a ceramic artist, a critic, or a chef. Now, more than ever, the world needs you to express your joy.

Yes, there will be ups and downs, but that doesn’t have to stop you. In fact, the same advice that applies to people in the creative industry can apply to all of us, as Julia Cameron writes in The Artist’s Way (also available on Audible):

The road is never straight. Growth is a spiral process, doubling back on itself, reassessing and regrouping… While the occasional dazzling vista may grace us, it is really best to proceed one step at a time, focusing on the path beneath our feet as much as the heights still before us.

How will you express your creativity today?

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Mosaic art at Spier Wine Farm (Copyright: Eugene Yiga)
Mosaic art at Spier Wine Farm (Copyright: Eugene Yiga)