Do what you love and the money will follow.
Many have heard these sweet Campbellian whispers, but the concept doesn’t work for all. There are too many variables and money doesn’t grow on trees, it has to be earned through ingenuity and consistent, often difficult work.
Friend of AdPulp, Tom Asacker, gives us a tangible example from the art world of how fortunes differ.
Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso were two of the most influential artists of modern times; their paintings are now among the world’s most popular and expensive works of art. Yet van Gogh died penniless, while Picasso’s estate was valued at more than $750 million at the time of his death. According to Professor Gregory Berns in his book “Iconoclast, this disparity was due to Picasso’s superior networking skills. He knew how to connect with⎯and add social value to the lives of⎯influential people, who in turn helped enhance his name, reputation and bank account.
Both Picasso and van Gogh were extremely passionate about their work; they loved what they did. But Picasso was a marketer and van Gogh was not. Picasso knew how to make others happy; van Gogh was inwardly focused and struggled with relationships. If you want people to seek you out and boost your brand, like Picasso in his time, remember that success in the marketplace for products, services, entertainment, ideas and art is about adding value to other people’s lives. Value which appeals to two primary emotions; people’s desire for happiness and their desire to avoid unhappiness.
With this in mind, it may be time to alter the maxim above to “do what other people love and the money will follow.”
