Mark Zuckerberg and Bob Ross

I've heard a lot of musicians talk about how they want to just “make great art,” and so do I. I really enjoy kicking back in my chair after a long project and listening to what I created. But, I also like food, paying my mortgage on time and supporting my family. Ha!

We all feel that tension, right? You've gotta be the half business man in a suit wheeling and dealing to move your career forward. And, you have to be the artist wearing a cool hat and weirding folks out while you make stuff. But, building a successful career in today's industry requires equal parts of art and business. For most creative folks, we wind up neglecting the business part. But, why not think of the business in an artful way, too?

I'm not saying that opening an excel sheet to record your mileage for tax write-off is gonna compare to painting the Sistine Chapel, but there are other parts that could be more artistic. For example, the marketing can be. Donald Miller, writer of Blue Lake Jazz, runs a company called Story Brand. They clarify messaging for businesses and brands. When you hear this guy talk about marketing it becomes clear it's art. He may wear a sport coat, but he might as well have Bob Ross hair because this guy is painting a picture with every story. 

If we can allow our right brain to touch some of the business, not just the songwriting, we can hijack the growth of our careers. Plus, it's really good for us. The artistic side of us is in the moment, the present, creating without a care in the world. But if you've had long stretches of just creating, it gets old. That once-exciting-feeling of dreaming up ways to surprise an audience with our live show can become dull without the big picture in mind. When we approach the business side in a creative way it engages that part of us that dreams about what the future could be. It helps us bridge the gap between where we are and how we tactically get to where we want to be. 

To make it today, it's gotta be both art and business, day in and day out. That's the big difference too, doing both the art and the business every week. Is there something really important on the business side that you need to do that just seems boring? It doesn't have to be. Use some of those creative juices to move your career forward today.