Entrepreneurs and artist have many similar characteristics because they are both creating something meaningful to themselves. It is a process that drives them to start a business or a project. In the article “What Entrepreneurs can Learn From Artist” by Tim Leberecht he explains many reasons how the two are very similar at the core. He lists many qualities that both posses that are crucial to the core make up of both entrepreneur and artist.
The couple that stands out is passion, storytellers, and ambiguity. People who are starting a business venture or an artist are both passionate about what they do. They are doing it because they believe what they are doing is worth something to them. They have to be able to sacrifice for what it is they are trying to accomplish. Many people will not understand the passion you have to get to or accomplish what is in your mind.
The art of telling stories is beneficial for the entrepreneur and artist. The artist’s job depends on it as does the businessman. If you are an entrepreneur, you have to be able to tell people why your venture is going to be profitable and change the world. You have to be able to relay where your creation started, where it is going and what it is going accomplish.
When you are in creating you are not necessarily sure where everything is going to go. You have an idea. You may have a vision of how everything is going to play out, but you are not sure. The unknown scares people from trying new things. They like to think that everything is nicely kept in little cubicles and they have control of everything. Some people do not take risk are comfortable with the results of a daily, weekly and yearly routine. When you re sometimes creating things do not goal planned, and the results can be nerve-racking but beautiful. The unknown is where creatives thrive.
Entrepreneurs and creatives both also need the grit to prosper there is always going to be distractions and setbacks. In Angela Lee Duckworth’s TED talk about grit is a very enlightening dialogue on what it takes to learn and persevere. The adage that hard work beats talent every time is accurate. Talent can only get you so far because when all the talented meet up the ones that work the hardest are the ones to persevere. There are exceptions to every rule and talent may get you to a place where you are on the top, but that does not mean you will stay there. Dr. Dre was quoted as saying the easiest thing to do is a hit record staying on top is what is hard. Getting back up after all the setback is the grit that they are talking about.
I recently left a job in the foodservice industry. My previous employer came out with a set of core values and grit was one of them. It was for the management staff, and they wanted you to live their motto. To me, it was more about getting us to work harder for their vision. While I know that grit along with their other core values is ideals that would make the company better. In the beginning, they had my grit but eventually, they did not feel my passion, and it faded. They wanted my passion without them giving me theirs. The company became too corporate, and I became a number on a chart.
All of these characteristics are components of what makes a person lead a fruitful life. Entrepreneurs and artist.