Part 1:

1. What are the main points of each article? Both articles address the overlap between business and art. They argue that the skill needed to be successful in business today are the same skills found in artists.
2. What can artists learn from their “entrepreneurial cousins”? Essentially, artists can learn the importance of networking and utilizing opportunities and resources to the best of their ability. In today’s world, an artist needs to have a strong network of people to communicate with and be able to best use available resources if they want to be successful.
3. Do you agree that artists are entrepreneurs? why? Yes, because no matter what job or position you take as an artist and aspect of what they do will always be “selling” their work. This can be in the form of a small business or seen in a more abstract way. Either way, an artist has to use business skills in order to be successful.
4. Which of the 12 characteristics of artists do you agree with? I agree with the majority of the characteristics, specifically the ones about how artists think/view the world such as being comfortable with ambiguity.
5. What others would you add to the list? Honestly, I can not think of any other traits. I feel like the ones listed were vague enough in their descriptions to encompass all possible traits. In the end, some of the listed one seem a stretch to apply to all artists, but I can see how they do apply to most. Therefore, I did not question the inclusion of those traits. Overall, the only trait that can fit artists is the capacity for creativity and ability to view issues and ideas from multiple, new, or different angles.
6. Additional thoughts: As much as I enjoy articles that talk about the importance of artists, they tend to stress me out. Many of my friends are from the honors program or do STEM, none are fellow artists. Therefore, I feel like I am not doing what the articles say I should be doing by networking and building up resources.

Part 2:

1. Do you have grit, or is this something you need to work on? My result of the test said I scored 3.38 out of 5. Honestly, I recognize that I am unmotivated very often, and did not expect to be very “gritty,” particularly when it comes to personal projects. The TED talk only made this more clear. I think I have way more grit when it comes to things that matter and school-related things.
2. List a couple of things you could do to increase your level of grit: I could treat personal projects like school projects and add them to calendars/to do lists. I would do a lot better if I could find ways to remind myself that personal projects are just as important. One think I could do to help is to make smaller goals. I look at the big picture to much and need to break it down so it is easier to schedule and stay on top of work.