I’ve never met someone who doesn’t understand the game Limbo.  “How low can you go?” is the mantra.  It’s sometimes used as a metaphor for discipline – tighten the belt, stay strong, hold on tight, keep the faith and other similar transfers.  But I wish to challenge you in a different direction.  Instead of restricting or removing, why not think in terms of limitless possibility? 

Dreaming is a natural part of life.  If you don’t dream when you sleep, you’re dead (literally!) so why not stay “extra healthy” and do it when you’re awake?  Dreamers are good to have around too.  Their energy and enthusiasm is contagious and makes for a positive environment.  In the big picture, there are no real limitations to making certain dreams a reality.  The only “elephant in the room” is the almighty dollar.

In a retail job I held in a former life, I was often told “sales fixes everything” and for most of us, money is the only obstacle to our goals being realized.  It can be formidable and undeniable to be sure, but chance also favors the prepared.  If an attitude of “why not” is adopted, then a plan of action follows.  When the last peg falls into place, it will be met with great momentum. 

I caution you not to be impatient.  Our speed-obsessed, instant-gratification society may scoff at this sentiment, but good things take time.  In my experience, (with hindsight being 20/20) a good result takes the time it needs to take.   All too often I’ve seen that patience was prudence and even if my “final peg” came early, the lack of plan or execution of a plan would have made for disaster.  In the meantime, evolution, refinement and the cultivation of new ideas can occur.  

So take some regular time to raise your own bar and see what happens.  I think you’ll find a new measure of success – and that it suits you!

On the viability of an idea, a wise man once told me: “I take every good idea and blow holes in it.”  It sounded pretty insane to me at the time.  Everyone has a bit of self-consciousness, even an inferiority complex to a certain degree.  Why develop that?

Negativity is never in short-supply.  You don’t need to encourage anyone to criticize you – most will even do it for free.  I have never met any successful people in any walk of life who didn’t meet with a great deal of adversity in some form.

But then I looked at his method from a self-preservation perspective.  He would pretend to completely hate what he created, and what was left was what was worth developing.  He wasn’t being his own worst enemy, he was being prepared.  By refining the idea, he was ready with the right answer to any potential glitch.  If chance favors the prepared, then it should be impressed as well.

So despite my creative nature, I will develop my business sense to include a dispassionate counsel.  A refined idea meeting a practical application beats blind ambition meeting a bird cage floor.

Anyone who has ever attended an efficiency seminar, management training, “life coaching” or other similar function has been exposed to this concept.  It’s a developmental tool and a wonderful ability to affect change in your career.

It’s a necessary evil in being a successful business artist.  Most patrons, benefactors, supporters, or just out-right customers know very little about the creative process (they only speak “business”) and the opposite is true, which necessitates the ability to translate.  However, it’s a polar opposite to any creative.  Very few artistic people have both perspectives exist successfully in the same head.

So how does a creative do it successfully?  The key is proper and realistic planning.

1) Realize and accept your weaknesses (or “opportunities” if you prefer) in planning.  For example, if you aren’t good with numbers, retain an accountant/book keeper.  Key tax dates are non-negotiable and a good plan is essential to prevent trouble.

2) Don’t be afraid to learn.  Planning identifies opportunities to grow and raise your own bar.  An unchallenged talent stagnates.  Creatives naturally have a perfectionist nature and, barring obsession, it should fuel the developmental process.  Channeling these desires requires planning when to develop them.

3) Don’t be afraid to dream.  The most successful people I’ve ever met have thought “why not?” about their dreams and believed in their ideas when no one else would.  I’ve never heard an idea that didn’t have some degree of merit.  Planning the development of the idea is key – protecting your vision, game plan and proprietary knowledge at important junctures is essential to preventing failure or the theft of the idea by an unscrupulous competitor.

4) Be realistic with your expecations and don’t deny yourself.  If you KNOW that you won’t execute part of the plan at a certain time of day, month or year then avoid planning at that time of day (if at all possible).  Maintaining balance is important to successful plans.  But don’t give yourself excuses you wouldn’t accept from someone else for not getting something done.

5) Reflect.  Don’t get lost in the past or dwell on failure, but learn from the plan – it’s peaks and valleys.  The wisdom will lend itself well to progress.

You’ll find that just embracing the potential and accepting change will impress many who see your effort as commendable, humanizing, and (in your case) profitable.