055 The Big Lie Most Creatives Believe (and how to overcome it)

Starving is a choice, not an artistic requirement.

That single phrase from Jeff Goins’ book Real Artists Don’t Starve completely changed my life after 15 years as a worship pastor.

For too long, I believed the false story that pursuing creative work meant living in financial struggle, that passion and provision could never coexist. But history proves otherwise. Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and C.S. Lewis weren’t starving loners, they were strategic, collaborative professionals who built sustainable lives around their art.

👉 Whether you’re a worship leader, songwriter, entrepreneur, or dreamer, it’s time to stop choosing to starve. Your calling deserves provision. Your art, and your audience deserve nothing less.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to "Real Artists Don't Starve"
• 5:24 Myth: Starving is Part of Being Creative
• 10:16 Myth: Good Art Gets Discovered Automatically
• 14:36 Myth: Art and Money Cannot Coexist
• 16:32 Three Strategies for Thriving Artists
• 18:44 Worship and the Creative Process

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey, welcome back to another episode. I'm excited today to talk about a book that has radically changed my life over the past several years. You know, I jokingly say to people that this has kind of been a Bible to me over the past several years and it's a book written by a guy named Jeff Goins and it's called Real Artists, don't Starve, and I think my dad gave this book to me. I can't really remember where I got it, but several years ago I was just transitioning off a full-time worship pastor position after 15 years of doing that, and somehow I got this book and I read it and it's rare for me to actually finish a book.

Speaker 1: 0:38

A good friend of mine, who's kind of a leadership development guy and a focus guy, said this statement. He said don't worry about not finishing books, because I'm the type of personality and I believe he is as well that he'd start a book and then he'd kind of lose it and then he'd be like, oh man, I've got to go back and finish that book, but the inspiration was gone to finish up that book and then he would just end up not reading at all. So he says, hey, start a book, and then he would just end up not reading at all. So he says, hey, like, start a book. And you know, a lot of times you'll get the kind of the gist of a book. In the first couple of chapters it was like a leadership development type book. He's like I'll start a book and then if I feel, oh, I want to start this new book, I'll go and start that new book and I in my brain, but Real Artists Don't Starve is a book that I read cover to cover. It was so life-giving to me, I highlighted it, got my pen out, whatever, and then I read it again and I probably read this book now three or four times through and I want to share some of my insights from it, because a lot of people who listen to this podcast your worship leaders, your creatives, your entrepreneurs and what he talks about in this book, I think, applies to not just creatives or artists, but to entrepreneurs, to dreamers, to people who want to live outside of just the nine to five norm, if you will, who feel called to more.

Speaker 1: 2:02

And so he talks about some myths in this book. So I'm going to share some of my favorite myths that he talks about regarding artists, and then a couple of really practical things that you can do to further yourself as a creative. And so I quote this book a lot, I carry it around a lot. I don't have it. I'm on the road right now so I don't have a copy with me to show you if you're watching this on YouTube, but it's amazing. Just Amazon, you know, just go grab yourself a copy.

Speaker 1: 2:29

But one of the biggest things he talks about here at the beginning of the book is that being a starving artist is a choice, and kind of the core thesis of his book is that starving as an artist is a myth. Thriving is possible. Starving is a choice. So being a starving artist is a choice. Being a entrepreneur or an inventor or someone who has a dream.

Speaker 1: 2:55

You say, oh, I'll just never be able to accomplish that, I'll never make money doing this or whatever it is. I'm just a you know I'm a weird person, I'll never be understood by this world that all of those things are choices that we make in our mind. And I remember you know I'm a weird person, I'll never be understood by this world that all of those things are choices that we make in our mind. And I remember, you know, six and a half, six years ago when I, when I picked up this book, I was six and a half, I think it just it wrecked me because, you know, for years I believe the opposite. I thought that being a quote true artist meant I had to suffer, that I signed up for a life of suffering, that if I had chosen a different career path of like, oh man, if I was a lawyer or a doctor or an engineer, you know, I'd have, like you know, consistent income. But I chose, you know, I felt by God, to be an artist, or to be a creative, you know, or a minister or whatever, and I kind of had to just accept that I would be starving forever, I'd never make money doing what I love. The passion and provision could never live in my heart because I was a, you know, artist. But Jeff really challenges that thought process.

Speaker 1: 3:54

Really early on in the book he gives a ton of historical proof. I won't get into all the details but he shows how some of the most successful artists throughout history, like Michelangelo, shakespeare, cs Lewis they were not these, like you know, loner people living in a cabin in the woods, you know, in poverty. They were very, very intentional with growing in their craft. They were very, very strategic with growing in it and they partnered with patrons, they collaborated with others and they built sustainable lives around their creative gifts. Again, when you look at the history of it which I'm not going to go through it here, but if you get this book, he gives like explicit examples of these guys.

Speaker 1: 4:34

Remember one story he told about Michelangelo. I think it was Michelangelo where you know everyone remembers his name, remembers his paintings, but in his day in which he lived, he wasn't just in a cabin in the you know painting and figuring things out, and then he finally comes out, you know, painting these masterpieces. He studied under the master of his day no one remembers his name and he basically copied and cloned what his master did. He did anything that his master said to do, but he put in the work and he put in the time around other masters, just fascinating what he did, and the historical precedent that he gives is very, very encouraging. So starving is a choice.

Speaker 1: 5:19

So he gives three myths in this book that I want to go through. So the first point was starving is a choice, and now we're going to look at three myths that artists believe and in coaching hundreds of worship leaders and creatives over these past years. I can definitely concur that these are true. So the first myth that so many artists and again it's the same for entrepreneurs, inventors, whatever it is creatives, they think this lie, this myth If I'm good enough, I will just be found right. And he says real artists don't wait to be discovered, they position themselves to be seen. And so many people think, if they just kind of keep their head down, you know doing their deal, they work hard, they steward it well that eventually someone will notice.

Speaker 1: 6:05

But here's the reality Visibility is part of the job. Visibility is part of the job. Visibility is part of the job. If you feel from the Lord you have a message, a melody, an invention, a business, whatever it is, you're responsible for stewing that out, not just in secret in some cabin in the woods, but publicly, strategically, publicly. And we live in a day and age and this book was written several years. So even more so now with the rise of social media and there are so many ways to get your ideas, your creativity, your art, whatever it is, in front of eyeballs and in front of people's ears.

Speaker 1: 6:44

It's amazing to me how some people are still really, if people are still living in this kind of like you know, oh man, like I'm just waiting to be discovered, or whatever it is, then I've concluded that most of their issue is not a strategy issue, like we haven't done the right thing yet in terms of, like you know, putting your hands to the plow. Most of that person's issue, in my opinion, is between their earlobes, it's in their brain, it's in their negative thinking, it's in their poverty thinking, it's in their small mindedness and ultimately not trusting in the Lord, and they might call it wisdom when in actuality they're just actually living in fear. It doesn't mean that you're prideful to put your art in front of people. Practice in public, practice in public. So the first myth is if you're good enough, you'll just be found and people will discover you. It's a myth.

Speaker 1: 7:34

The second myth he talks about is you have to choose between art and money, and he says money is not the enemy of art, it is a tool to support it. I'm going to say that again Money is not the enemy of art, it is a tool to support it. Money is not the enemy of art, it is a tool to support it. And again, I won't get into to the depths of this, but I grew up, you know again amazing family, amazing church where I was on staff at, you know, and just kind of the holistic worldview that I was growing up with and taught with money with. Even the way I was coached or mentored to think by different people was no one ever said hey, man, just think small, just be needy. Hey, just, you know, don't ever dream.

Speaker 1: 8:20

No one ever said that explicitly, but the pieces around that exact statement were said often and it was kind of propagated in the world in which I lived, and so money and ministry were very, very not succinct together. It was like oil and water. Those two things do not mix. If you're in ministry, you need to be suffering, you need to be poor, and money is just not a part of the equation for you. Again, no one said that to me, but that's kind of the vibe that I was growing up in, and in creative spaces, if you're a full-time creative, it's almost like noble to be poor and it's almost like you prove your purity as an artist through your poorness and your lack of money and it's just not the way that it's supposed to be at all.

Speaker 1: 9:05

And so Jeff flips this in his book. He says what if we believe that provision actually empowers our calling instead of competes with our creative calling? And he says what if being a paid creative wasn't the thing that sold you out, but it was actually wise stewardship of God's gift? And that one single mindset shift that money and art are not oil and water. They're not pinned against each other. It's actually part of God's way to see you. Funded as a creative is to be paid for your art.

Speaker 1: 9:36

And again, for a lot of you guys listening to this, you might be, you know you need to listen to this little section again and I'm not going to get into the details of how to, you know, kind of go about this. But there's a lot there. There's a lot that we can unpack and I've talked about it in previous episodes. We'll talk about it in future episodes as well. But money and art can grow together and be together and for my ministry folks out there, money and ministry, full-time ministry within the four walls of a church it's not evil. Money is not an evil thing. Okay, so he talks about three strategies that are really really helpful. I mentioned this one already and he talks about three strategies that are really really helpful. I mentioned this one already and he talks about practicing in public. Again, he gives so many examples from these historical guys back in the day who practiced their art in public.

Speaker 1: 10:22

If you want to be an artist, you have to share your work. You have to stop waiting until it's perfect. That day will never arrive. Fyi, if you're listening to this, waiting until you're smart enough or you have the best writing team, the best person to co-write with or whatever it is, and then you'll finally release your song no, no, you won't. Because even if you write with the best person in the world, if you have that kind of thinking when you're writing with you, or you know this person from your local church or from your community or whatever, and you think, well, they don't quite get it, you know, but if I wrote with this person, then I would have a song that's like good enough to release. No, no, you wouldn't, I promise.

Speaker 1: 10:57

If you think that now about your co-writer, when you write with the top person in your genre or feel that you dream to write with, you'll have issues with them too. I promise it's. It is your problem, it is your issue. It is mindset issue, trying to get your art to be perfect before you ever release it. It's, it's the beauty of a an artist's career when you can look back on Spotify to the first thing they ever released. You can look back to their first paintings in their portfolio, the first website design, the first, whatever it is that the person did, and say, wow, they have grown so much. Like, like, hopefully, that's the case for all of us. Like, as a business owner, man, like you're going to make stupid mistakes at the beginning. You know, with your, your the first business you start, but I promise like you're going to get smarter and smarter and smarter as you go. So practice in public, stop waiting for things to be perfect.

Speaker 1: 11:47

And as I read these words from Jeff years ago, I was like, oh my gosh. He's like speaking to the depths of my heart. And he says share your process, bring people into your process and document the journey. You know, gary Vee is very famous for saying this statement. He says document, don't create. Now. What he's meaning is you know, on social media, so many people spend so much time like, well, I'm like writing a song, I'm starting a business. Like, when should my first post be about my business? Like, what should the picture be? What should the copy be on this first post about my business, and Gary Gary Vanderchalk, he's a very famous vlogger would say stop trying to create, just document the journey of starting your business. Document the journey of writing your song, document your insecurity. Share with your audience, share with your followers. Be real and be vulnerable and people will love it. Actually, your vulnerability is what builds trust with your audience, and so people don't want to see polish, people don't want to see the perfect post, the perfect copy, the perfect picture. They want to follow you in the process.

Speaker 1: 12:49

So practice your entrepreneurship, practice your art in public. And one of the greatest things I think on the business side of things and the creative side for me and my, my production company is you talk about practicing in public. Yeah, there's songwriters, you know. Hey, go go play at a cafe or a club or whatever. Like practice in public. That's great. But we did our three movies in three years, several years ago. That incredibly public Like our fundraising was very, very public. We went out there on a limb and the whole world would see, you know, if we didn't get the funding that we needed for this movie, and so it was like that's called practicing in public. Like, um, the second thing he really encouraged people to do. A second strategy is to find a patron. He says everything.

Speaker 1: 13:30

Every thriving artist has someone backing them financially, emotionally or logistically. Don't be a loner. You cannot and you should not be doing this by yourself. I know some artists. They just they give off the vibe that they think they have it all together. They know how to do it from start to finish and maybe they'll bring in like one little person you know to help them. But, guys, we need each other. And again, I'm not saying you should open up your door to every Tom Dick you know to help them. But, guys, we need each other. And again, I'm not saying you should open up your door to every Tom Dick or Harry who happens upon your door. But you need mentors. You need a lot of you. Guys need donors or you need capital. You need collaborators or even audience members who will believe in you enough to give you feedback about your painting or your clay or your songwriting or whatever, and actually share hey, like this actually needs to be, you know, worked on whatever it is. Um. Find a patron, um. You don't need thousands of followers. You need half a dozen, a dozen people who actually believe in you, who will be there and pick up the phone at 11 o'clock at night when you call, freaking out about your project, your idea, your business. You need patrons. You need people around you emotionally, spiritually, financially to back you.

Speaker 1: 14:41

The third thing he says is join a scene. Isolation is the enemy of growth. Isolation is the enemy of growth. The right community will multiply your impact. The right community will multiply your impact. I heard this statement. I forget where I heard this recently, but someone said if you have a friendship, a friend group, that instead of you know multiplying and blessing and blowing up your ideas to the next level, and instead of that, they, they squash your ideas. You don't have a friend group. You have a cage around you.

Speaker 1: 15:17

So who you hang out with, the scene that you're a part of and whether you know it or not, you're a part of a scene. Maybe you're a recluse and you're, you know I'll just stay with my spouse and my kids in my house. That's your scene, man, and the vibe of your kids and your spouse is your scene. Who you let in on social media, who you're following on X, who you're following on Instagram, who you're following on TikTok is your scene, be careful who you're letting into your mind and you have to join a real scene Again. You can be inspired by people on social media all day long YouTube, university, whatever it is. It's beautiful, that's great, but you need to have someone, ideally in the flesh or on Zoom.

Speaker 1: 15:50

I run my scene, for example, for songwriters, for co-writers. I create is an online program or one called Journey, and I give a place once a month for people all over the world to come together for three hours a month and they spend three hours in a co-writing session with two or three other people who are trying to do the exact same thing. So you don't have to have an in-person scene in-person's best but you can find one online. Join a creative community, join the Journey program if you're a songwriter. This is why I host Journey, the Worship Leader Academy, songwriter retreats, recharge, all these different types of events that I run. I love this.

Speaker 1: 16:30

Real artists worship, they let themselves connect and kind of let this shift into the world of you as a Christian, as someone who loves Jesus, which Jeff is not overtly, you know, talking about that by any means in his book just for for clarity. But we are artists, we are ministers, we are leaders and what we're finding in our heart that we are giving ourselves to, you know, with, with abandonment, like whether that's, you know, for myself it's, it's Jesus and my walk with him, it's my walk with some, some close friends and some brothers that I'm running with Um. But we have to allow ourselves to actually be unlocked on the inside, because real artists, you know, find themselves in a place of worship. I'm not saying, don't think again in Christian, and we're thinking, you know there's a stage and there's, there's lights and people are. You know, hands are raised. I'm not even just saying that, I'm saying as a human being and most, you know, most of my audience here are believers in Jesus. So we know what we're worshiping.

Speaker 1: 17:21

But have you ever found yourself wanting to go to the mountains? That's probably because there's a longing deep inside of you to worship God. And when you look at beautiful scenery, when you look at a building, you know in Europe, that's, you know, thousands of years old when you eat amazing food, whatever, it is right there's, there's practical things. I'm not just saying hands raised and worship, how are you inspired? I spoke with a man recently, a very successful businessman, and he called me. He was in a different nation and I was like what do you? What are you doing over there, you know, and wheeling and dealing, doing business. And he said, deal and doing business. And so, no, I do this once a year. I try and just get away for a week by myself, no one else, and I eat amazing food, I look at amazing architecture and I just think I have a journal there with me and I'm just worshiping God and creating and ideas come to me.

Speaker 1: 18:09

Real artists worship this is not explicitly from Jeff's book, again, because he's not talking about Jesus necessarily, but it's so, so powerful that we, as believers in the Lord, have to have this connection and worship that happens with the Lord. That then spawns even deeper creativity. So here's our recommend that you do after you listen to this podcast, go get Jeff's book Uh, it's available everywhere. Um, find a scene of creatives, whether that's online or they're in person, in your, in your community, and invest in your calling. Get a mentor, get a coach. Um, budget things accordingly. You know where your treasure is. Your heart will be.

Speaker 1: 18:47

Also, if you never invest into the betterment of yourself as an entrepreneur, as a creative, as a designer, as an artist, as a songwriter, as a painter, whatever it is. There's reasons why. If you invest in like I was just talking to someone this morning, one of my clients who's investing in vocal, a vocal coach they're paying hard-earned money to better themselves as a singer, so they'll be a better worship leader. Where your treasure is, your heart will be. Also Invest in the betterment of yourself as an artist and you'll begin to find yourself being transformed. So, again, cannot recommend this book enough. Jeff Goins, real Artists Don't Starve. Check it out and we'll see you guys in the next episode. Thank you.