“Real Artists Don’t Starve” by Jeff Goins
Reading time: 10 minutes
The aim of this short article is to encourage the reading of this book and not to replace it. If you decide to purchase it through our affiliate link, we’ll get a few pence in our bank account and you’ll get a big thank you!
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Before We Start
I read this book back when it first came out. It must have been 2016 or 2017, and I decided to write a summary of what I was reading for the first time. What follows is a slightly improved version of what I jotted down then.
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”
The Book Oversimplified
Jeff Goins’ manifesto of what he calls “The New Renaissance.” A useful reminder of things to take into account if you want to make a living out of your art and don’t know where to start.
Summary
Introduction: The Myth of the Starving Artist
The book opens, somewhat unsurprisingly, with the story of who is maybe the greatest artist of all time, at least in the view of Jeff Goins. Michelangelo Buonarroti, the most sought-after sculptor of the XVI century, also painted the Sistine Chapel, was a visionary architect and wrote sonnets so good they’ve been mentioned alongside Shakespeare’s own work.
He was, together with Leonardo da Vinci, the emblematic Renaissance Man.
The fact that Jeff Goins chose Michelangelo to open his book is no accident. He embodies the focus of this work better than anyone else.
First of all, although Michelangelo used to dress humbly and look poor, he was astonishingly rich. His net worth, in today’s money, would have been roughly 30 million dollars. He liked to support the stereotype of the starving artist that we all have learned to embrace and admire, all while charging some pretty sharp fees for his undeniable talent.
Secondly, being the symbol of the Renaissance, Jeff uses him to launch what he calls: “The New Renaissance;” an era where artists don’t have to starve but can thrive in today’s economy.
All artists have to do to take part in The New Renaissance is abandon the myth of the starving artist and become a thriving one. So, what are the principles thriving artists live by?
That’s what the book is about.
Photo by Calvin Craig on Unsplash
The 12 principles
The Thriving Artist believes anyone can become an artist. The Starving Artist thinks they should be born one.
The Thriving Artist knows they have to steal and rearrange what they consume. The Starving Artist seeks originality at all costs.
The Thriving Artist doesn’t underestimate the value of masters and practice. The Starving Artist relies on talent alone.
The Thriving Artist is rarely stubborn. The Starving Artist is always stubborn.
The Thriving Artist actively cultivates patrons. The Starving Artist hopes to be noticed.
The Thriving Artist values the creative community. The Starving Artist thinks they can be creative independently from where they are.
The Thriving Artist seeks collaborations. The Starving Artist works alone.
The Thriving Artist practices in the open. The Starving Artist practices in secret.
The Thriving Artist always works in exchange for something. The Starving Artist works for free.
The Thriving Artist owns their work. The Starving Artist sells their work.
The Thriving Artist is a master of many crafts. The Starving Artist specialises in one.
The Thriving Artist makes money to make art. The Starving Artist deems money pursuit unworthy of their time.
The 12 principles can be grouped into three parts: Mindset, Market and Money.
Let’s dive into each one of them.
Mindset
“We all develop thought patterns and limiting beliefs that prohibit us from being where we want to be in life”
1. You are not born an artist
The first rule of The New Renaissance is that you are not born an artist, you can only become one.
In broader terms, this means that you must constantly reinvent yourself, letting go of what other people expect you to be. Break the rules, don’t play the game everybody else’s playing.
A useful question Jeff encourages us to ask ourselves is: “Who do you think you are?”
This is important because you can be whoever you want to be, as long as you believe you are that person.
Michelangelo, for example, thought of himself as a nobleman, so he acted as if he didn’t have humble origins.
Obviously, you shouldn’t burn your bridges too soon just to call yourself an artist. Taking risks is good only when they are calculated.
John Grisham, for example, started writing his first novel while still working as a lawyer. A page a day, for three years, and very little success if you can call his first publication success. But then, his second novel: The Firm launched him into the Olympus of writers.
What can we learn from John Grisham’s experience?
Don’t gamble everything on your artistic success. At least, not at the beginning. Nurture security to allow yourself the luxury of creativity before jumping. Apparently, companies whose founder leaves their job immediately are 33% more likely to fail.
Work compounds, especially when it’s very little, but very often. (Atomic Habits is the best book to expand on this.)
Call yourself a writer if you want to be one. Treat your art as if it was your job.
Abandon what’s familiar to reinvent yourself. John Grisham invented the legal thriller genre, and all he had to do was shift what he knew into his new passion.
2. Stop trying to be original
A great book about the myth of originality is Steal like an artist, by Austin Kleon (You can read my book summary here), but Jeff Goins touches briefly on the same concept in this chapter.
As an example, he brings up Jim Henson; better known as the creator of The Muppets. Jim, apparently, said that the Muppets and all his creations were nothing original. They were just the blending of many influences; puppets, tv shows, jokes. Everything went into the same pot and the Muppets came out.
It’s not the creation that brings value, it’s the reorganisation. Imitating the greats is the best practice and, with time, you might even improve their work.
Just don’t be a coward thief. Quote, improve, mix.
3. Apprentice under a master
Paramount, for Goins, is to find an excellent master.
An apprentice does everything their master tells them to do. They don’t question them.
But what happens if the master of your choice is difficult to reach? Jeff gives you an idea.
Individuate the master you’d like to learn from.
Study them, do everything they say, become good, and then become a case study.
Get in touch!
Photo by Vance Osterhout on Unsplash
4. Be Stubborn
The last aspect of the “Mind” realm is a strategic stubbornness.
This is only a fancy way to say artists, especially at the beginning, should be persistent and resilient. Adapt quickly to your circumstances, but believe in your long-term goals.
Or, as Jeff Bezos said;
Be stubborn on vision, flexible on details.
Market
“...the place where we become professionals and learn how this works in the real world.”
5. Cultivate Patrons
Opinion of the Author of this summary: this chapter feels a bit old-fashioned in the era of social media, YouTube, and kids in their basement reaching millions and millions of people directly, but there is no doubt that the following is one way to approach an artistic career.
Just as Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley would have never reached their heights without their record producer, Sam Phillips, artists need a patron to fulfil their potential.
For Goins, this is because of the subjectiveness of art. We need experts to recognise what’s good.
Before reaching a wide audience, artists need to reach the right person. But how do you do it?
Talking about his experience with Michael Hyatt, Jeff has distilled 3 reasons a patron might accept you.
Make it as easy as possible for them to meet you.
Show your potential.
Don’t look needy. Ask for very little to start off; just five minutes for a coffee.
Before you get someone who’s willing to invest in your artistic pursuit, use your day job as a patron.
6. Join a scene
Hemingway’s Paris, Ancient Athens, and the Silicon Valley; three places which are now worshipped as geniuses’ factories.
Being good is not enough. Artists also need people to know they’re good, and other artists to inspire and push them. That’s why it’s important to be where things are happening.
A simple way to be accepted in your network of interest is to be useful. Provide more than what you gain and doors will open for you.
If “the scene” doesn’t fit you, create your own. The impressionists did it when they couldn’t get into the Salon de Paris. The Brontë sisters, isolated in their little Yorkshire village, had their family to nurture their writing.
7. Collaborate
Legend tells that 92% of The Lord of the Rings has been written on Wednesdays. This is because the Inklings, JRR Tolkien’s writing group, met on Thursdays.
The starving artist sees collaboration as evil, as a compromise to avoid at all costs; but Beyoncé has up to 15 collaborators per song. Published authors usually have a team of editors, and agents also have a say.
Don’t be the lone, miserable artist. Collaborate.
8. Practice in public
There is a tremendous advantage in practising in public. Don’t wait to be perfect to show your work.
Imagine a guitarist who doesn’t join a band until their technique is perfect. What a waste, right? And how much quicker would they improve in a band? Making mistakes and learning songs they wouldn’t have played otherwise?
Photo by Josh Appel on Unsplash
Money
“When bankers get together for dinner, they discuss Art. When artists get together for dinner, they discuss Money.”
9. Don’t work for free
Goins’ “Rule of Value” is very simple.
Don’t create the dangerous precedent of not giving value to your work.
Your work has value and should have a price.
10. Own your work
Be an entrepreneur with your work.
Shakespeare, for example, became the owner of himself when the famous Globe Theatre, in London, moved to a new location without the restrictions of the old landlord.
Do you need a more recent example? George Lucas became a multi-millionaire by believing in the Star Wars franchise and investing loads of his money in the saga's ownership and merchandise.
The only acceptable case in which an artist should sell out—for Goins—is when your work will improve in the hands of someone else. Just like George Lucas did with Pixar.
11. Diversify your portfolio
Live with the idea that your best job lies in the future.
Just as financial freedom sparks from multiple sources of income, creativity freedom flourishes when multiple skills and influences come together.
Michael Jackson could sing and dance. But Michael Jackson bought the rights for the Beatles’ songs, and what an investment this was.
12. Make money to make art
This concept is very well put by Jeff Goins himself, whom I quote.
“Every season you create instead of scramble to find work is a win, and with time, those seasons add up. The more money you have, the more time you have; and the more time you have, the more art you can make.”
Conclusion
Real Artists don’t Starve is a good book for someone just starting and does not know what is reasonable to be expected in the arts.
It’s not ground-breaking, but reading it was a good encouragement during a period of my life when I was about to abandon my ambitions.
Although like cheap wine, it hasn’t aged particularly well, I would still advise complete beginners to read it.
Alla prossima.
Photo by Biljana Martinić on Unsplash
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