⚠️ This 1 thing changed my artist life
#7 Build a winner mindset
Dear little demon,
Welcome to the edition #7 of the Art Missive! We are now 1 557😈 in this newsletter: thank you sm for reading ❤.
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In this Art Missive
2. Why CAN’T I just focus on my art ?
3. How I obtained my superpower
4. Take the test : are you an artrepreneur ?
5. How to switch into artrepreneur mode
6. Last thing before leaving !
Introduction
What is my biggest strength ?
How do I manage to reach my art goals ?
What makes me different from most other artists ?
It is not talent.
It is not money.
It is not luck.
It is not even hard work.
It is something else.
And today, I want to share with you my secret super power.
I hesitated a lot talking about this topic, because artists are often too focused on technical skills. This is what you guys want to read about : art tips, tutorials, Instagram growth…
But my strength as an artist does not come from all of that mess.
It comes from something quite complicated to explain…
Improving my art, making money, growing a large community… Every success that I experienced is due to this one and only thing.
My mindset.
In this edition #7 of the Art Missive, I am going to share with you how building a strong mindset as an artist can change your practice and your career.
Why you can’t just focus on art
You may have never heard of this concept of “the artrepreneur mindset”.
And it is not so surprising.
While the idea of having the right mindset is quite spread in many other fields, artistic fields tend to hide this important part of what is to be an artist.
And as today, being a successful artist requires way more than being good at art, adopting an artrepreneur mindset increases creative individuals’ ability to reach their goals.
Starting 2023 with adopting this entrepreneurial mindset can be an effective way to get closer to the artist life you dream of !
👉 Why is having the right mindset so important for artists ?
Many academic and psychiatric researches have shown that shifting your mindset can help you overcome life’s challenges. In your daily life, mindsets can impact your outcomes by determining the way you think, feel and even physiologically respond to some situations.
Your mindset is often shaped by what's happening around you, but your brain can continue to grow, change and reorganize throughout the lifespan : by challenging yourself with new experiences and perspectives, you can form new mindsets !
In art specifically, your mindset has a big impact on your art because it affects the way you approach your creative process and the way you view the world around you.
👉 Here are few example of how your mindset can impact your art :
1) Having the right mindset can lead to more experimentation and exploration in your art, which can result in more innovative and dynamic work
2) On the other hand, a negative mindset can lead to self-doubt and a lack of confidence in your work, which can limit your creativity and hinder your ability to take risks.
3) A positive mindset can lead to more motivation and inspiration, which can result in more productive and satisfying work.
4) A proactive mindset can open you to the opportunities to showcase your art, look for collaborations and new ways to monetize it.
How I obtained my super power
The first years I started to post on Instagram I encountered many issues :
- I could not grow my account.
- I was struggling to draw consistently and produce new content.
I even stopped Instagram (and drawing) for months !
At that time, I was so frustrating and I could not turn this horrible feeling into something positive :
✖️ I was consumed by self-doubt during my creation process
✖️ I was blaming Instagram, people, society… for not letting people see my content
✖️ I took my failures very personally and instead of working harder on my flaws, I gave up and got used to give up.
✖️ When I was unmotivated, I use to tell myself “it’s ok, just don’t do it” and then feel guilty for days
✖️ I was like “my art is too bad, that’s why I can’t grow. It is how it is”
👉All of this led to poor quality content, bad decisions and lack of motivation.
And Reels arrived on Instagram…
I was literally watching other artists like me gaining thousands of followers in just a week.
So I started making Reels too…
1 Reel, 10 Reels, 30 Reels……
and nothing !
I was still stuck : few new followers, bad engagement…
I thought that the problem was the Instagram algorithm. I believe that just by starting making Reels I will resolve my issues.
At that point I only had two possibilities : Give up and never come back or keep going and find what was wrong.
I kept going. But I had to drastically change something.
What was I doing wrong ?
I clearly remember : 25th of December, it’s Xmas and I’m at my parents’.
The afternoon, I just sit in front of my laptop and start researching : What was the one thing successful people have in common?
I looked at famous actors, businessmen, artists, famous content creators…
And the thing that kept coming up as a key to success was : mindset.
I had it, my solution.
I started 2022 working on my mindset.
Basically, I had to hack my brain to think differently!
Affirmations, mindset exercises, daily research, daily motivational content consumption…
At the beginning, it is clearly a battle of every minute. But then, your new mindset becomes a second nature and you get to see the concrete results :
✅ I stopped blaming everything else but me when something went wrong : I am the only component of my success
✅ I stopped going against the algorithm for my limited growth and I started to put myself into Instagram’s shoes. This is clearly how I started to grow : everything became crystal clear on how I could gain new followers and get my work seen.
✅ I forced myself to deeply study every single mistake that I was making daily to turn this mess and bad feelings into an actual lesson : I am not scared of failure anymore, I take it as a precious way to learn (cheezy right ? But our brain loves cheezy things, so it is quite effective!)
✅ I worked on my self-doubts 1) to stop them from affecting my art identity and 2) to turn them into a source of motivation : that’s how I managed to draw at least 3 times a week, every single week of 2022.
I did not stop to fail. But I changed my reaction to failures.
And by the end of 2022, I checked every single box of my to-do-list : ✅ get my Master degree ✅ improve my art and draw consistently ✅ gain over 70k followers ✅ release a newsletter ✅ settle my first collab….
I have spent (and still spend!) so many hours of my life building the right mindset that I had to find a name for it.
So I called it “the artrepreneur mindset”.
Artrepeneur = art + entrepreneur. I don’t know who invented it, but I like it.
Entrepreneurs are basically defined by their growth mindset and their ability to take risks and turn failures into lessons. As it has served me in my art journey, I found it fun to call it “the artrepreneur mindset”.
Now I have this concept in my head, it is easier to identify and act accordingly, you know ?
Now that I am used to live with this mindset, I realize that I am not the first artist in the world who worked hard on building it :
if you take a look at many current successful artists like Same Does Art, Loish, Ross draws… They all managed to stop thinking only as artists and incorporated an entrepreneur approach in their activity. They are artrepreneurs.
So, I can clearly tell you that, As competition between artists increases, appearing as a good artist and having your own style is not enough anymore. On the other hand, building a strong artrepreneur mindset is going to help you 1) overcome your challenges 2) make the most out of each situation 3) rise above the crowd.
Take the test : do you have the artrepreneur mindset ?
Let’s make a little test to understand where you are in the spectrum of the artrepreneur mindset !
Have a seat, answer these questions and right down areas you need to focus on to improve :
(It's just between you and you, so don’t fool yourself and embrace the truth!)
1. When you post a content on Instagram and it does only get a small real and a low engagement, how do you react ?
a. You are frustrated and angry, you want to give up
b. You stay neutral and you do some researches and comparison to understand why
it did not work
2. When you see great artists, what do you feel ?
a. I’ll never be able to make it like that, my art is shitty
b. I need to work hard to do even better, this is so motivating
3. Are you scared to fail ?
a. Yes, I don’t want to disappoint people and myself
b. Not at all, I will always manage to do better afterwards
4. When you have a question/ a challenge but you don’t find a solution :
a. You get mad or desperate and you rely on others to find a solution for you
b. You keep going and try new methods
5. Do you have a purpose, a “why” to drive your art journey ?
a. No, I just go with the flow, it’s less stressful for me
b. Yes, I keep a big purpose in mind to stay motivated and take better decisions
6. How do you react when you realize that your art can be improved
a. Everything needs to be perfect ! I have to make it perfect.
b. I acknowledge imperfection as part of the game and I try to do better and better each time I show up
7. Do you actively seek out new opportunities to learn and grow as an artist, such as taking classes, workshops, or networking ?
Switching into artrepreneur mode
1. Some of my artrepreneur mindset principles
✅ Embrace imperfection : as artists, we can’t do without imperfection. It is impossible to master everything. Instead of feeling frustrated and letting you get stopped by imperfection, learn how to acknowledge, welcome it and move on effectively.
✅ Stop seeking others’ approval : you’re the only component of your success. People’s opinions can be precious information to help you make a decision. But you should always keep a critical posture and trust yourself first. Giving too much credit to others will stop you from thinking out of the box and taking risks.
✅ Develop a sense of purpose : Take a moment to ask yourself what purpose drives your art journey. Constantly have your “why” in your head will help you stay motivated and identify skills you really need to earn.
✅ Turn failures and criticism into lessons : There will be times when you make mistakes or don’t perform well. You will get feedback from others and even from yourself. Don’t look at these as a criticism of your abilities. Be open to suggestions and strive to do better.
✅ Every single day counts : for when you are unmotivated, tell yourself that every single day matters. Every little stone that you add on the pile of stone will end up forming a strong wall. So commit and show up.
2. Tips to actually get started !
Step 2 and 3 are the most important according to me.
👉 STEP 1 : acknowledge it takes time. Obtaining a new mindset is like tricking your own brain to think differently, that is why it requires training and time.
👉 STEP 2 : get informed ! Do your own research about “getting the entrepreneurial mindset” and try to apply it to your art project.
👉 STEP 3 : plan your learning ! Set up daily times dedicated to work on your mindset (I still spend at least an hour a day learning more about business and project management and I try to apply it to my art career). During these times you can : learn new things about mindset, read books, set up affirmations like “I learn from failure” “I am going to succeed in this”, meet entrepreneur friends etc.
👉 STEP 4 : think big. Get a growth mindset which is the belief that you can learn and grow through effort and experience. This is an essential mindset for entrepreneurs, as it allows you to be open to new ideas, embrace challenges, and learn from failures.
👉 STEP 5 : make failure your muse. Failure is a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey, especially for artrepreneurs ! Rather than being discouraged by setbacks, try to view them as learning opportunities and use them to inform your future decisions.
👉 STEP 6 : be the less clever in the room. Surround yourself with entrepreneurs and artists who have the same growth mindset and are willing to invest their time and money in their future success. This way, it will be easier to turn entrepreneurs' habits into second nature for you.
👉 STEP 7 : continuously learn. To be a successful artrepreneur, you need to be constantly learning and growing. Seek out new experiences and opportunities to learn and challenge yourself.
Last thing before leaving
I hope you enjoyed this Art Missive that tackles a very important subject to me.
Next week, we’ll have the monthly QaA as an Art Missive. I select the most frequently asked questions and answer them in the Missive.
So don’t forget to send me your question ASAP !
👉 Simply answer to this email with your questions
👉 Ask questions related to art, Instagram growth and art business.
See you next week !