Valuable to others, or only you?

When I’m hot, it’s hard for me to imagine that others in the room are cold. I think it really is hot, not that it’s hot only for me. It feels like a fact, not an opinion.

When I do something that’s really valuable to me, it’s hard for me to imagine that it’s not valuable to others. I think it really is valuable, not that it’s valuable only for me. It feels like a fact, not an opinion.

This is understandable. Our feelings feel like facts. It’s hard to imagine that they’re not.

This is the problem of the “starving artist”.

When someone creates something that feels important, powerful, and valuable to them, it’s hard to imagine that it’s not important, powerful, and valuable to others.

But money only comes from doing something valuable to others.

The starving artist pours his heart into a project that’s incredibly valuable to him, but not (yet) valuable to others. That’s why no money comes.

The good news is there are two ways out of the starving artist problem, and either one can be fun.

#1: Focus on making your music more valuable to others.

Art doesn’t end at the edge of the canvas. Keep your creativity going. Constantly ask, “How can I be more valuable to an audience?” You may come up with ideas like this:

• Convert what you do from a public display to a personal service. Customize your work for hire.
• Spread a fascinating version of your history, so fans can get emotionally interested in you.
• Be more entertaining, so that people don’t need sophisticated tastes to appreciate your music.
• Make your shows invitation-only.
• Engage more senses. Make a live performance so visually interesting that even deaf people would love it. Can you even incorporate smell, touch, or taste?
• Go where money is already flowing. Adapt what you do to match the needs of businesses or universities.

Then force yourself to try all the best ideas, even if it seems unnatural at first. Read books about business and psychology to get more ideas, since many brilliant minds are asking the same question from a different perspective.

Do this repeatedly, paying attention to feedback from others, and you will become more valuable.

Though if you find that this makes you more miserable than excited, try the other way:

#2: Stop expecting it to be valuable to others.

Accept your music as personal and precious to only you. Get your money elsewhere.

Sex with my girlfriend is very valuable to me and her, but luckily I’m not trying to make it valuable to others.

If you stop expecting your music to be valuable to anyone but you, your conflicted mind can finally be at peace. Do it only because you love it, and it honestly doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.

You might even keep it private like a diary, just to be clear who it’s really for.

You’ll probably be happier with your music because of this change in mindset. Ironically, others may appreciate it more, too, though you honestly won’t care.