The Desert of Arizona
Clear 66 Degrees 5:07 a.m.
The spectrum, as I see it, extends from pure entrepreneur at one end to pure artist at the other. If you’re a business owner, you probably fall somewhere on that spectrum.
The entrepreneur tends to make things he believes the market will like.
The artist tends to make things he wants to make.
The entrepreneur shakes his head at the artist for making things no one asked for.
The artist shakes his head at the entrepreneur for spending his life force making things just because he thinks people might want them.
Before the internet, the artists were a bit out of luck if the people they knew didn’t accept their work.
These days (thank goodness!), you can be an artist and make it. You can create what you want to create and then find the people who want it.
Ultimately I don’t think it matters which you are. I think it does matter that you have a good understanding of which you are.
This understanding affects how you invest your time and energy.
The entrepreneur might spend time developing ways to understand the market on a level that leads to products and services better received than average. Each time something new is created, he gets closer to the optimal understanding of his marketplace and what they want.
The artist might spend time developing ways to build relationships with a specific group of people, over time. Each time something new is created, it is first offered to this growing group of people who have already shown they have an above average appreciation of the work.
I have almost never made something people ate up like cotton candy. I have made things for which I’ve found people who received them as valuable.
I’m way down on the artist end of the spectrum with enough entrepreneur thrown in to make me dangerous 🙂
And that’s where I stay, because that’s what fuels me on a level far more important than money will ever be to me.
Understanding who you are is the keystone of serving others. When you are truly able to provide this service to YOURSELF first, only then can you reach your full potential to serve others.
This is what I do. This is what I help others do. People remark about the clarity they get when our paths cross. There’s a reason I’m able to offer that:
I can’t think of much else I’ve been practicing on a daily basis (for over two decades!) other than trying to understand who I am, why I’m here and how best to add value to the world.
Do you know who you are yet?
If not, it’s worth the work to discover the answer. To me, it’s worthy of my life.