Money. Symbol of Energy.

In our present-day economy, our US greenbacks are no longer based in precious metal. Rather, they are based in what we say they are. Such is the advantage of being a super power. Though…that is likely to change with time…

Money is a Symbol of Energy.

Paper money. Is it not just an agreed upon symbol?

I like to think of money as being a symbol of energy.

People exert energy (working) to earn money (a symbol of energy).

When one has money, they can exchange the paper for other peoples’ services (or their energy). One can also trade this paper for goods (which required energy on other peoples’ part, to construct).

The more money we have, the more energy we can put into action. The less money, the less energy we can put into action. To gain money, our exertion of energy must be of value to others. Is that not what entrepreneurship is partly about—providing value—while assuming risk for financial gain?

I think a lot of artists think of money as something that they either have or do not. This lack of money, often controls whether or not they will work at all. I find that to be a shame and lacking in imagination.

Altering one’s perspective on money can enable one to think of ways to develop value for others. What services or goods can you provide, which will cause others to want to give you their symbols of energy?

What value can you offer? What value might you offer?

Jim Hart is the founder of The Hart Technique and The International Theatre Academy Norway. For more on Hart, see   www.harttechnique.com

Writing to get results when raising money

There is a fascinating and excellent publication making the rounds in the blogosphere that is likely to cause a stir among the folks who work in fund raising (sometimes known as “Development”). It is written by Frank C. Dickerson, Ph.D. and is based on doctoral research he conducted while attending Claremont Graduate University’s Peter F. Drucker School of Management. Mr. Dickerson has an extensive resume and decades of experience working in fund raising, so we would do well to heed his warning.

What is he saying exactly? Well, the title says it all when it comes to the direct appeal (also known as an “ask” or solicitation letter): “The Way We Write is All Wrong“.

As a measure of his commitment to public service, Mr. Dickerson has made several important documents available for free on his website.

Here is a taste of the process that guided his research and the startling discoveries he made:

Like a linguistic MRI, my computer-based corpus analysis revealed surprising linguistic and rhetorical patterns in fund-raising texts. These underlying patterns profiled a discourse focused more on transferring information than creating interpersonal involvement . Fundraising texts sounded cold and detached like doctoral dissertations rather than warm and friendly like personal conversations.

Rather than gaining reader attention with emotionally rich human-interest stories, these texts contained less narrative than academic prose. They contained even less narrative than official documents!

To encourage you to read this and take it seriously, I’ve provided you with links to the three page Executive Summary and the full paper. You might also want to check out what the venerable Andrew Taylor, Director of the MBA in Arts Administration program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, has to say about it here.

If you care about reaching out to donors in a way that is effective and will get you a return on your investment in the form of actual currency, I suggest you make a date with these materials.

And a big thank you to Frank Dickerson for sharing this important research!

Ten Steps to Finding your Voice.

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves”.        – Carl Jung.

This is such a wonderful quote and is one of the keys towards finding ones voice as an artist.

Many artists fall into the trap of either imitating their favorite artists (attempting to serve as a cheap imitation of greatness) or by sticking too fast to their technique training they received in school. Remember that programs (meaning institutions’ educational offerings) do what they are called. They “program” students. It is very easy for artists to take the technique their teachers offer and become dogmatic about it, as though they have “found the answer”. Artists need to be careful that they do not fall into the trap of being “cookie cutter”.