Follow the Fundamentals Then Follow the Dream?
If you follow a dream before having the fundamentals you might be making a big mistake.
This is probably the craziest thing a performing artist has ever heard “Follow the fundamentals first then the dream”. However, I want to share with you my thoughts as to why this is a better way to reach your dreams.
The question you have to ask yourself is do you have the fundamentals. That’s right. What are they and why do you need them. I wrote a LinkedIn post regarding this: https://tinyurl.com/dktreuha
I titled the post “Safety Net” and I harked on the importance of having your fundamentals in order. The fundamentals are categorized as: professional, financial, medical and social.
As a performing artist the top category that comes to mind is professional. This is usually thought of in terms of skill level in your discipline. As a clarinetist my first thoughts are: how is my articulation or how am I doing in terms of keeping up with the standard repertoire. As opposed to do I have medical insurance do I have the social network that I need to support me professionally and personally.
These conservatories and universities do a decent job in teaching the art form. But they don’t teach you how to invest and use your money properly or how to go about connecting with other people outside of your field (in my days at school they didn’t even show you how to diversify your skillset either…they probably still don’t). School doesn’t teach you that you that you should research what insurance policies you need (do you have renters insurance?). School doesn’t do a great job of helping students see the holistic side of life. These institutions probably feel that it is not their responsibility to do that and you need to know that coming into it. Higher education will not be willing to guide you with these essential fundamentals unless you are proactive.
So now what? What if you don’t have these safety nets, these fundamentals. It’s time to be proactive and do something. Don’t obsess over the times you didn’t do it, the present and future is what you will focus on. And you can work on your art and work on building these fundamentals. Set aside time each day to address your needs.
Ask yourself these questions:
Fundamental 1 - Professional:
Do you have the professional network that can support you? Do you have all of your professional materials in order? Have you been working on your skillsets and what skillsets do you want or need to learn? How are your social profiles, are they worthy of your grandmother seeing them (please delete anything inappropriate - the internet never forgets, so clean up your act)
What you can do:
Set aside time to build and nurture those professional relationships, what can you offer to be of help. Relationships are not one sided they require give and take. Also don’t allow your network to get stale. People move, our work life changes, we have new interest and life happens so keep up. This doesn’t mean obsess over your professional network but it does mean you need to at least once a month connect with people. Relationships are important and we need each other so it’s not about only serving yourself it’s about being a community. Take inventory of the skills that are necessary for your field. If it’s not something you are not familiar with your professional network might be able to help guide you in this.
Take it one day at a time be specific with what you need. So let’s say you want to learn how to improvise. You would probably use the ubiquitous google search engine, probably watch some YouTube videos. The next step would be to approach your network and see if anyone has the skills of improvising and take a couple of lessons from your network. Don’t forget about the non-artistic skills too. Taking an online course is a great way to build knowledge and isn’t too extraneous. When it comes to your social profiles make sure that when someone views it they get an idea of who you are. Keep it professional and personable within reason (personally I would keep it streamlined and simple, never air dirty laundry EVER!!!). Keep in mind that anyone can access your social profiles, so be professional and sensible.
Fundamental 2 - Financial:
How much money do I spend on a weekly and monthly basis and what am I spending it on? Also, do you have a nest egg for emergencies? Do you have a separate account for your work?
Finances, this is a biggie and it’s one of the fundamentals that gets overlooked way too often (guilty as charged). It’s fine to follow your dreams but dreams cost money and you need that money for more than just your dreams. Rent, food, medical, loan debt and other miscellaneous things will come across your plate and it will be hard to swallow if you don’t have the financials to deal with it. If you don’t take the time to be financially sound your art will suffer and so will you. Don’t allow this to happen. If you have neglected this now is the time to change this.
What you can do:
The first step is figuring out how much you spend and what you are spending your money on. I know for me food is a large expense and rent is another large expense including my debts. So I need to set aside money for that each month. Another thing you have to take into account is having savings for a rainy day. This is important you never know if you will deal with a rent increase, medical issue or new professional expense.
If you haven’t gotten into the routine of keeping up with your money habits now is the time to do it. You can create a spread sheet of your expenses for each month and track what you spent your money on.
Following the money matters and you might come to discover that you will need to pivot your artistic journey to compensate for your financial needs. No shame in that and everyone has to take care of themselves. When you build the money you need you will be in a place of strength and will not have to be overly concerned about financial problems. I know they say money can’t buy you happiness (okay, whatever) but it can help you pay your bills.
Once you’re ready to take the next steps don’t stop learning and researching. Learning how to invest and create passive incomes are also important. Set aside a couple of days in the week and do your research and discover what possibilities are out there. Once you have your work flow established you can fit in how you want to be creative. The more cushion you have the easier it will be to create. Make your financial security a priority.
I have so many thoughts regarding this so I’m going to stop here (phew…).
Check out this website to help with understanding money, it is focused on women but money knows no gender so check it out even if you’re not female: https://www.clevergirlfinance.com/
Check out the Actors Fund: https://actorsfund.org/
Fundamental 3 - Medical:
Are you ready for a medical emergency? Most people don’t really think about this unless they are dealing with a type of illness or condition. Your health is wealth, no really it is. You can’t do anything without your health. In the United States this is a big deal because it is costly to have health insurance.
What you can do:
Do you research, what wellness programs does your community provide. There are state and local government programs that might be accessible to you, take advantage of these resources if you need to. Do your research on what insurance plans work for you. Finding work that provides health insurance is hard to find as a performing artist because our type of work fluctuates it’s not like our other human counterparts they normally have a typical nine to five. If you are a part of a union look at what options they provide. Know where your local clinics and what services they provide so if you deal with an emergency you know where to get help.
Fundamental 4 - Social:
How are your social ties among family, friends and faith groups? This can be a sensitive topic for some. We all have our own stories regarding our relationships. However, what I am focused on is creating healthy relationships where we are valued, loved and be surrounded by those we trust and care about. Just like any relationship it takes time, commitment and consistency.
What you can do:
Reach out to family and friends who you haven’t connected with for a while for a coffee, start slow and easy and build trust and foundation. Try joining a faith group, what are your beliefs, what are you curious about and what are your view points in life. Finding people that value the same things you do can be empowering. Another idea is to find groups with same or similar interest. In social media there are groups you can join you can even join meetups in your neighborhood and start making connections.
Living the creative life means having your $h*** in order and it’s not easy. Especially with instability we deal with. It is a part of life but this doesn’t mean we have to take it sitting down.
We must be proactive about having our essential needs met. These fundamentals that I mentioned: professional, financial, medical and social are not “extras” they are necessary, essential parts of living in this world. This also means as a collective we must advocate for ourselves and others.
Share with me how you are meeting your fundamental needs, let’s start a conversation and let’s make our lives better. In all honesty, no one is going to take care of you better than you. Let go of the mistakes you made and focus on what you can do now.
Onward to the journey of life and now I will get off my soap box.
