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Hi, wonderful humans. Welcome to another episode of the Curated Muse podcast. So, in this episode, we are going to share some really cool and interesting things that have happened recently that have now informed this episode. And it's one of the reasons why we've been off the radar for a little bit longer than we usually are. So, Michael and I own a web design and digital marketing agency. We have for 27 years, we own another business, as well as Poetic Tiger Gallery, Hyperlux Magazine, and other projects, such as the Curated Muse podcast. That being said, with everything going really great with these creative endeavors, we have stretched ourselves way too thin and we cannot keep up with all of what we're doing. So we've decided to let the agency go, again, 27 years, and focus completely on the gallery, the magazine, and our own art careers. And it's exciting and scary to completely let go of something solid and stable and has longevity and legacy to go after something that is obviously exciting and we're passionate about, but it isn't the same. As everybody knows anything artistic and creative, it's just not stable. There's ebbs and there's flows, and people don't need it in the same way. Now, you and I can argue that we need art. If you're an artist, you're listening to this. Like we need it, we need it to breathe, we need it to live. But the average person out in the public, if they can't feed themselves or they are running out of money, they're not going to be like eating the painting on the wall. Like, that's not what they're going to be doing. And I'm bringing this up because it's really important to understand that as much as art feels like soulful and amazing and like the breath we need, that when times are challenging in the world, people are not buying as much art, which makes it hard for artists to make a living. And there's other things that have come into play, such as AI and all this other nonsense, right? And so for you guys, when we talk about us closing our agency and focusing on art, we thought it would be great to talk to you guys about what it would be like if you were debating whether or not to become a full-time artist. And there are three things that you need to think about. One, you need to think about your environment and who is around. Number two, you need to think about the world in general. And number three, you need to think about where your career is going. So, first and foremost, you have to think about your surroundings. Are you the sole breadwinner? Is somebody in your house bringing 50% of the income? Is somebody in your house bringing all the income and you actually could just do art and not have to worry? All of those three scenarios have a lot of different things to think about and how they're going to impact people. If you are the sole breadwinner and you have a job and you decide that you want to become a full-time artist, are you going to be affecting other people and stressing other people out? If you live with somebody who is 50% of the income and you decide to be a full-time artist, how are you impacting them as well? So looking at that first, that's going to be you. Like I can't really go too much deeper into that because you have to decide your relationships, the incomes, what is going on in your life. But is it advantageous for you to let go of work part-time or full-time without impacting other people and yourself and hurting your home environment? Number two, what is going on in the world? Are there wars, famish? Is there a pandemic going on? Are you worried about the economy? What is happening in the world right now? Well, currently, as of right now, in the world, it is not great for a lot of people. And a lot of people are not spending money on art. And I'll tell you why. I've been in the industry over 20 years, and this is one of the first times I've ever seen people that I know who have made income from their work for 10 plus years have to go get jobs because they're not making enough money to live anymore. So it's challenging. So look at the world around you, decide if that's an important factor on whether or not you make that jump. And then third, it's about the income you're making. If you are making no money from your art, then probably it's not a good idea to become a full-time artist unless you have somebody at home who can pay your bills and you're able to do that without stressing everybody out. You're lucky. Good for you. That's amazing. Most people don't have that luxury. If you are somebody who is making money at your art, but it's only been for a couple months, that's not really enough time to know if that's serious and long term. I say give it six months at least of regular income that is coming in equally, as well as perhaps even getting more over the time, but not going down, not getting less than. That's not a good measure at all. And even if for six months you are making enough money and you can live on it, just remember that at any time your art might just not make money anymore. You have to look at careers, whether or not they're blue chip or they're mid-tier. No one just makes money indefinitely. I mean, there's a couple exceptions, but generally speaking, there are seasons for careers and they go up and down and they ebb and flow. And that is absolutely normal. So look at yourself, look at your sales, and see if those equate the amount of money that you need to take care of yourself so that that feels good. And you know what? If you decide that that's not what you want to do, that you don't want to completely jump out there and become a full-time artist. We did a podcast where we talked about having a full-time job doesn't make you less of an artist because it doesn't. It absolutely doesn't. I'm going to close this with a really simple and important takeaway. No matter what you do, no matter if you decide to not or you decide to do, or you decide to half in, half out, you can always change your mind. I think learning this when I was younger really helped me make big decisions. Because if I made a big decision and I didn't like it, I could always change my mind. I could always jump in, let's say, and be a full-time artist and I hate every minute of it. I go find a new job and I go back to work. You always have a choice. And when we are thinking about big decisions, we always feel like it's final. And really the only thing is final is death. Death is final. Everything that happens in your life, every choice that you make, you can always change. It might not be the outcome that you want, it might not be the door closed that you're happy with, and the door you have to open might not be the one that you wanted, but you are able to ebb and flow and move through life and make choices. And that's amazing. It is amazing that you're not stagnant and you're not boring. Taking risks is exciting. Make sure it's calculated, make sure it's smart, but risks are exciting. And you can take risks and you can also change your mind.