3 Mindset Exercises to Shift Out of the Starving Artist Mentality
The starving artist narrative will have you believing that in order to be a successful artist, you have to sacrifice your financial well-being.
But financial stability is actually what allows creativity to thrive, so artists do themselves a disservice by believing that this is what an artistic career requires.
Making more money, saving more money and managing more money all require you to shift out of the starving artist mentality (because starving artists inherently do not have “more” to play with).
I am going to give you three mindset exercises you can do today to start to shift you into a more abundant and exciting relationship with your money so that you can make more, save more and manage more.
Upper Limit Test
To start, let’s see where you have a mental limit around money.
Write down the HIGHEST amount you could fathom making in one year. Next, jot down the highest amount you can imagine sitting in your bank accounts at the end of the month (checking account, savings account and retirement/investment account).
Do these numbers surprise you? What feelings come up when you write these down? Can these numbers give you the dream lifestyle you desire?
Break the income piece down even further. If your number was $100,000, divide that by 12. You get $8,333 a month. Divide that into four weeks. That’s $2,083 a week. Divide that by seven days, and you’ve got $297 a day.
Breaking numbers down like this can make them feel more attainable. Now you can go make a list of every idea you can come up with to make $297 in a single day. If you already make $6,000 a month, make a list of ideas on how you could bring in an extra $2,333 a month on top of it (aka $583 a week).
Now go back to the initial numbers you wrote down. Add a zero to each of those numbers.
What happened in your brain? Why do those numbers feel scarier? Or did those numbers not scare you at all?
These exercises are helping you to figure out where your upper limit is mentally with money.
Your upper limit will determine your creativity around how to increase your income, dampen your ability to have bigger dreams and goals for your life, and keep you managing your money like someone who doesn’t have a lot of it.
Write Your Cashed Up Manifesto
The opposite of a Starving Artist is a Cashed Up Creative. A Cashed Up Creative has access to money, spends in alignment with their values, doesn’t rely on one single course of income and feels full autonomy over their money and artistic life.
In order to break out of the starving artist narrative running around in your head, you need to give yourself a different soundtrack to play.
You are going to write your own Cashed Up Manifesto.
A manifesto is “a public declaration of policy and aims.” I want you to write a “declaration of policy and aims” in relation to your finances and creative career. This will be a paragraph of where you are headed, what you believe and what you are grounding yourself into. You will read this to yourself every single morning.
- “I deserve a life of abundance, and I am willing to do the work (physically and mentally) to make that happen. I am an artist and deserve to be paid a f*ck ton. What I bring to the world is of high value and I get to live a rich life alongside it. I am more than capable of creating a relationship with money that feels expansive and peaceful. I will not let fear sit in the driver’s seat as I start my financial wellness journey. The only way I could fail at this is if I stop, and I will not stop. I am committing to this work so that I can live the fullest expression of this one precious life I have been given.”
- “I am creating a thriving six-figure business because the clearest vision of my life is one where I harbor only financial abundance and peace, fully diving into all creative pursuits (onstage and off), and helping others to do the same. I have complete location independence, I spoil everyone in my life (including myself), and I move about the world with peace, excitement, joy and ease.My life is BIG and FULL and VIBRANT. I cannot imagine my life any other way, and this desire is so clear that I know with certainty this is my future, regardless of the “how.” I am ready to receive, see things differently and take inspired action.”
The key here is having a manifesto that makes you FEEL something. I want you to have tingles or giddy feelings in your gut or have a smile burst across your face as you read it (and if it feels a little scary to say out loud, that’s good, too).
Talk to Your Money
Start to view your money as an actual entity you can talk to and have a relationship with.
This will also take some of the seriousness off of money; where it usually feels stuffy and strict and numbers-focused, it will start to feel fun and silly and accessible.
Start by writing her a letter. Take out your journal and write “Dear money…” and tell her how you’d like her to function in your life. Take accountability for where you haven’t done your part in showing up for your relationship with her. Ask her questions about where you’re stuck or confused, and then tell you what you want from her.
And if you’re inspired to do so, write a letter back to yourself FROM money. Talk to yourself from her perspective, to give you guidance and affirmations.
Another way you can talk to your money is by giving her encouragement anytime you swipe your card or hit “submit payment.”
When you open up your bank account: “Damn girl you look thick today! Love that for you. Let’s keep that energy rolling into next month, ’kay?”
Tapping your phone for Apple Pay at your local coffee shop: “Go have fun in money land! Make some friends and bring them back with you, we’ve got plenty of room.”
Hitting submit payment for your utilities bill in the summer: “I am so happy I’m able to pay this bill and keep my AC running all the time. Thank you for being here and supporting me!”
We’re going for whimsy here. When you get too focused on just the numbers and math aspect of money, your financial goals can feel hard to reach, far away or even impossible.
Adding in the mental, emotional, and, dare I say, magical components will help close that gap.
It will help to make money FUN, and fun is the only thing that will keep you showing up to manage your money month after month.
Just like in acting, consistency and longevity are the name of the game. These mindset exercises will help you tap into excitement and possibility around your finances, which will help fuel the consistency and longevity of your financial wellness.
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Brooke Tyler Benson, Money Coach + AEA Actor, is the founder of Not Starving Artists. She is bringing financial education and empowerment to creatives to create a new generation of wealthy artists living lives of luxury and purpose (no budgeting or bi-weekly paycheck required). After graduating with a BFA in Acting, it became her mission to destroy the “starving artist” trope once and for all. She is your financial cheerleader, bringing you accessible money education and coaching specifically for creative freelancers and small business owners.
