GLOBAL SWAG ARTICLES VOLUME.

13

Making art thats worth attention: I often get asked for advice on people being acknowledged for what they do, and it has become a great passion of mine. I love to see talented and skilled people get their pay off. The other day, I was speaking with one of my young brothers, who put up a remarkable drawing he made. I complimented him on it and his talent. As the conversation progressed, he began to express his frustration and anger towards the fact that so many artists get acknowledged for their work, amassing millions in revenue. Yet he does something he feels is much more attractive, and gets 20 euros at most for it. He mentioned how he drew a photo of a guys girlfriend in France for 20 Euros in exchange. I did what any other caring person would do and laughed. Not at his situation and the fact that he felt this way, but because he had told me that because of this he is not passionate about, and even hates art. One thing to glean from this conversation is that whatever annoys or angers you, whatever causes you to speak about with intensity and

emotion is more likely an area you are passionate about. Otherwise, it would not evoke such a reaction. I told him to look at what those artists are doing right. There is always something to learn. A message to all my creatives out there: Art is not necessarily in content, but in the context of what you do. When a person buys a painting from Van Gough they are also buying the story behind the artist. They value the art according to emotional context they may have with the artist or their specific work. It is not what you do in life, but how people feel concerning what you do, that matters. The story you tell with your work and life and how people interpreted it. The first person that put a loo inside a build they called art, the second person we just call a plumber. Art is subjective because context cannot be imitated. I kindly advised him on the opportunities he has failed to see all around him. We live in a day and age where it is easier to create a platform or following than ever. The goal is to make or do something meaningful then use your resources to reach a small amount of people that will feel strongly about what you do. That is modern art, and art is not limited to paintings, it is whatever you do and create that matters to somebody that solves a problem. Whether, that is continuous excellence and growth in marketing, computer programming, hair dressing, or accounting. Whatever your speciality, this young brother left our conversation inspired, and seeing a whole different use for tools like social media and the internet as a whole. He can now start to look at his twitter account and Blackberry Messenger as a platform to make a difference with his talent, not tools to talk about other artist who have already made their money, or just a way to declare what you eat in the morning.

He no longer needs to complain about wanting to find a job, or worry about competing for one job position among hundreds or thousands of other young, hungry, talents. You too can see your gifts in a new way, and re-asses the resources around you. Yes, sure it is a risk, sure 98% of small business fail in the first 3 -4 years, but think about the valuable lessons that can be learned. I say to other young people- now that you are young, with less responsibility, fail, fail fast and learn to learn faster. Most winners are just reformed, recovering losers that have learned some things. And an expert is somebody who has failed more times than the average person in an area, field or activity. I dont have money is no longer an excuse, make something, start somewhere, dont just tell, but show others you are serious and the money will find you. Author: Leslie Poku Marketing Consultant. Follow him on Twitter: @LesliePoku www.globalswag.net