This Student Graduated In Less Than Two Weeks

(Transcription)

Artist Claire Astra MacKenzie
Eureka, Northern California

Ann Rea: (00:00)
Hello everyone. This is Ann Rea coming to live from San Francisco, California. I’m a fine artist. I’m the creator of the Making Art Making Money program. And I have a guest special guest today. One of my students who’s going to share her experience. Hello, Claire. Nice to meet you in person.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (00:19)
Hi Ann. Nice to meet you. Thank you for welcoming me onto the spotlight.

Ann Rea: (00:23)
Yes. So what I’d like to do is first of all tell us your name and tell us where you’re sitting on the planet.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (00:32)
So my name is Claire MacKenzie and I am in a small town in Northern California, right at the top of the border called Eureka.

Ann Rea: (00:42)
I know where that is.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (00:44)
Yeah.

Ann Rea: (00:45)
Yes. Beautiful, beautiful ocean and Redwoods. It’s a really gorgeous place if you’ve never been there.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (00:52)
Come and visit.

Ann Rea: (00:53)
Yes, it’s really, really pretty. Well, let’s start by asking you, like before you joined the program, you probably had something you were challenged by or you wanted to fix. And what were, what do you think your top two challenges and I know you– first of all, Claire just started, so we’re going to talk about how she just started and she started off with a bang, but let’s start with what were you struggling with? Two things. What do you think?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (01:21)
Two things. I mean, finances, for sure. And also being spread too thin, kind of to spread the net so wide, um, to, to problem solve as an artist that I was, yeah, it’s finding focus was, is difficult.

Ann Rea: (01:38)
So you, let me guess you were trying anything and everything to sell your art and you were spread too thin and it wasn’t working?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (01:48)
No

Ann Rea: (01:50)
So everyone, it doesn’t work .

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (01:54)
No.

Ann Rea: (01:54)
It really doesn’t work. And if you are trying a bunch of different strategies, we actually have a list of 31 that don’t work. You can actually drop a comment below and we’ll give you a link to that list. Those strategies will only cost you money, cost you time, cost you energy and it’ll kill your confidence.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (02:17)
Yes.

Ann Rea: (02:17)
So, I mean, was that your experience, Claire? Did you feel your confidence eroding as you tried all these different things that didn’t work?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (02:25)
Yes. I mean, I think for me, I’ve been in the game long enough that my confidence was ebbing and flowing, but, but I was getting very discouraged, and very exhausted. And then, you know, as we get older, I just, I couldn’t keep up this hustle of trying to do, you know, 500 things to make.

Ann Rea: (02:44)
Yes. We’re all about, “Let’s make this as easy as possible.”

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (02:47)
Yes.

Ann Rea: (02:48)
Because, you know, really if you’re in this constant state of hustle, it’s hard to have time and energy left over to create.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (02:58)
Right.

Ann Rea: (02:58)
And if your tank is– your tank has to be full for that. Let me just ask you this. So you joined the program and you joined– so just to give you some context, the Making Art Making Money program is an online education program for fine artists. It’s the leading program of its kind. I’ve been helping fine artists just like myself for over 16 years from 23 countries and counting. So kind of know what we’re doing. And in order to graduate, you have to earn back your tuition investment through the sale of your art at an absolute minimum. That’s the graduation requirement. That graduation requirement was actually featured in Inc. Magazine as an innovation in higher education. However, I don’t want my students to have to wait. So, we have added a brand new class called the “30-day Tuition-Free challenge” inside of the Making Art Making Money program. So Claire enrolled in the Making Art Making Money program and I said, “Get busy Claire on the 30-day challenge.” Mm-hmm uh, And she did so tell us what happened.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (04:11)
Okay. So, you know, we’re in process here.

Ann Rea: (04:15)
Right. She’s still hustling, but.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (04:17)
I’m still newbie. But what happened– oh gosh. There’s a couple, there was a couple of layers going on.

Ann Rea: (04:26)
Yes.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (04:27)
So, you know, to start, I didn’t have the money to sign up. So I started off.

Ann Rea: (04:37)
With the payment program.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (04:38)
With an attempt for a payment program.

Ann Rea: (04:41)
Right.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (04:41)
Oh no! No, no, it did work. I didn’t have the credit to go one direction. Ended up doing a GoFundMe.

Ann Rea: (04:46)
Right.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (04:48)
For the cost of, you know, getting people value back for artwork. But.

Ann Rea: (04:54)
How did that GoFundMe work?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (04:55)
I got about a quarter of the tuition.

Ann Rea: (04:58)
Okay. Something.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (04:58)
So it was not like ideal, but it was like something to at least get my toe in the door because I just knew I needed to get my toe in.

Ann Rea: (05:06)
Something’s better than nothing. I personally am not a big fan of these platforms. They’re overcrowded. And they’re very “Give me. Give me. Give me” versus “How about I create something for value in exchange for payment?”

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (05:20)
Right.

Ann Rea: (05:20)
Very different worldview. So I’m about the latter. But anyway, who cares? You got started with it.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (05:28)
Well I mean the point was, I mean and I share the story not to talk about how that’s a great solution, but just to share how much I believed in this program or the idea of it just captured my imagination. And I had taken another one of your “Find Your Next Collector” class. Oh. So in order to give– I needed to give value. So anyway, that was kind of what got me, at least my toe in the door.

Ann Rea: (05:57)
Right.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (05:58)
And so I signed up for the 30-day challenge. I am planning my first appreciation party.

Ann Rea: (06:06)
Good.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (06:07)
You know, I’ve got all my envelopes written and ready to go.

Ann Rea: (06:11)
Good.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (06:12)
And in the process, I also teach. So I was teaching one of my art classes and have been communicating and sharing what’s going on with folks. And of course their imagination is now struck. I’ve got this like team of people almost/

Ann Rea: (06:29)
Yes. {unintelligible}.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (06:30)
And they wanted to know, they’re like, “Hey, did you make all your tuition?” I said, “Well, no. I haven’t yet.” But you know, I’m in for the first couple of months and we’re hopeful. So all that to say, communicating about what was going on. You know, not everything I was learning about the program, but just the kind of learning and openness too, of like even being able to receive art sales. And to receive that, one of the participants was overhearing and wanted to know more what I do. She’s knew from the area. She’s from Southern California and just said, “Hey, I want to commission you a painting, and I want it to be for the balance of what you still owe.”

Ann Rea: (07:13)
So there you go, you’ve earned your tuition investment.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (07:16)
Yes. So that is in the process of happening right now. I’m making her mockups. We’re going to get the first down payment. And then the final one when the piece is completed.

Ann Rea: (07:26)
Okay. This is a perfect example of a principle that I teach called “Conversational Currency.” It’s essential that understand that there’s a difference between how you sell conventional goods and services.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (07:41)
Right.

Ann Rea: (07:42)
Versus how you sell luxury. Art is a luxury. And what Claire is describing is a meaningful conversation that someone was actually inspired by enough to participate. Enough to want to pay her balance.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (07:58)
Right.

Ann Rea: (07:58)
And you are clearly giving something of value. You don’t just have your handout saying, “Give me money.”

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (08:05)
Exactly.

Ann Rea: (08:06)
Because I deserve it. You’re saying “I have something of value.” It’s very different posture, right? Than asking for a grant or asking for a scholarship or asking for a donation. The posture is “I have something of value. And I would like to extend the opportunity for you to have this thing of value and in exchange for this amount.” It’s a very dignified, graceful way to go about it, where that’s where GoFundMe and these others not as much.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (08:39)
Right.

Ann Rea: (08:39)
And you’re not going to see the affluent lurking around GoFund Me so much, but you will meet people in real life. And that’s another principle that I teach. This is a perfect example, Claire. Mm-hmm Real relationships equal revenue. You had a real conversation with a real person in real life.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (08:57)
Yes, absolutely. And, it was very meaningful. You know, I went to her house. I looked at her space. I saw why artwork was so important to her. She, you know, she may have come from this place of affluence, but she was new to the area and didn’t feel at home and wanted art to make her feel at home.

Ann Rea: (09:18)
Wow.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (09:18)
And I mean, there was more of the conversation we don’t have time for. But I mean, we were both in tears. It was beautiful.

Ann Rea: (09:24)
Okay.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (09:25)
It was a beautiful interaction.

Ann Rea: (09:28)
Yes.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (09:28)
That had healing like elements to it.

Ann Rea: (09:31)
Yes! No, I’m not surprised. So one of the other principles that I teach my students is you, as a fine artist, you are not selling goods. You are not selling services. Your product is actually emotion and you can’t B.S your way to that. You feel it, or you don’t. And it seems like you did just that. You had a meaningful, inspiring, and emotional exchange that was authentic. That was, you know, heartfelt and you guys will probably be great friends. Mm-hmm and I am quite sure she will be willing to give you referrals.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (10:08)
Yes. I mean, it’s a beautiful thing. Like before I’ve even gotten into all of the meat of the program, which I’m excited about.

Ann Rea: (10:16)
Right.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (10:16)
It was like, even just doing the Course 1 like the inner work, right. The inner work of being in a posture to receive and to not shy back from that and to, you know, it’s like, we think we value it but to really understand that what we do brings value and we’re not making it up. We’re not just, you know, say, “Hey, love me. I’m an artist” like that. What we make is important. Like just to even get to that point, like I had to do a lot of inner work which you know, the resources you gave. I just want to thank you for them because.

Ann Rea: (10:50)
You’re welcome.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (10:51)
There was a lot of– it’s in process. We’re still going.

Ann Rea: (10:54)
Yes. It’s like you’re not done yet.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (10:56)
I’m curious like shifting happening inside.

Ann Rea: (10:58)
Good.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (10:58)
As well as outside, you know?

Ann Rea: (11:00)
Good. I mean, let’s just think about this for a minute. Here’s an affluent woman who moved from Southern California to Eureka. When you deliver that original piece of art, what do you think she’s going to value more? Her coffee table or that original work of art?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (11:19)
The art for sure.

Ann Rea: (11:20)
Okay. So is there any doubt whatsoever that you offer value?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (11:27)
There is not. And if there is, if any lingering, like let’s just blow it out.

Ann Rea: (11:32)
Exactly

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (11:33)
Kick it out the door.

Ann Rea: (11:33)
But I’m glad you brought this up because you are new to the program. And so it’s natural that you are still working through some of these self-limiting beliefs.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (11:42)
Right.

Ann Rea: (11:42)
And there’s a fabulous question that someone shared with me. I’m going to share it with the audience because it freaking blew my mind. And I think it’s amazing. And it really, if you think you don’t have self-limiting beliefs, you will uncover them by asking yourself this question. And the question is, oh, hold on a second. Where did I put it? Oh my gosh. Let’s see. The question is, well, first of all, while I look for it, let me ask you, oh, here it is. What am I pretending not to know in order to have the problem that I think I have?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (12:31)
Oh my gosh, that question. You put that up. on Facebook. It is on my wall now.

Ann Rea: (12:40)
Yes. So let me ask you that. So what were you pretending not to know in order to have the problem that you thought you had?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (12:53)
Well, I mean, there’s a list so it depends on the day.

Ann Rea: (12:56)
I know but let’s just pick one. Just pick one.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (12:58)
I’ll just pick one. Well, I’ll just– because it was what happened yesterday. Maybe I’ll do two, but I’ll do quick. One, I was exhausted, also spread thin yesterday and wanted to hustle to get, to get some things done.

Ann Rea: (13:18)
What was the problem you thought you had?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (13:20)
The problem was that I don’t have the energy. {unintelligible}

Ann Rea: (13:23)
All right. So let’s break this down. You thought you didn’t have the energy to do X, Y, or Z. It doesn’t even matter what the story is.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (13:30)
Right.

Ann Rea: (13:31)
Okay. And so what were you pretending not to know in order to have that problem?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (13:35)
I was pretending that there was nothing I could do like to change how I feel.

Ann Rea: (13:43)
Okay. So, alright. Cool.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (13:44)
Just a little bit of like I know what I need to do to take care of myself.

Ann Rea: (13:49)
Right.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (13:50)
But the voice was, “Oh, I have to muscle through.”

Ann Rea: (13:51)
She’s nonsense.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (13:53)
And in this case, it was take 20 minutes rest. Get your head together, right?

Ann Rea: (13:58)
Yes. Okay. So just, I want you to all notice, like, do you see what a shift it is? How much more lightness and space there is?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (14:07)
Yes.

Ann Rea: (14:07)
Just by shifting the story, your life is the story you’re telling yourself about yourself. And let’s be real, most artists have bought into a cultural story of suffering.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (14:18)
Right.

Ann Rea: (14:20)
They’re actually even romanticizing it. Or they’ve brought into a story of like financial struggle. If you’re invested, no pun intended, in the story of financial struggle, well then you’re never going to make any damn money because your belief, your concept of who you are is actually going to shape what you do and what your life looks like. Your self-concept is pretty much everything. It defines everything.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (14:48)
Yes.

Ann Rea: (14:49)
So, you know, this isn’t a self-help program, but we do have to deal with a lot of self limiting beliefs in this program because we live in a society that actually expects us to fail. And we live in a culture that celebrates our suffering mm-hmm So we have to move past this BS. And you honestly, Claire, you were talking so much about your financial struggle that I was a little worried you weren’t going to pull off the 30-day challenge.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (15:18)
Yeah.

Ann Rea: (15:18)
And she did it anyway. So good for you.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (15:21)
Thank you.

Ann Rea: (15:22)
It was because it goes back to what I say, your life is a story you’re telling yourself. You’re telling yourself about yourself so if you keep telling that story, that’s, what’s going to keep happening. So you apparently, you know, you were able to shift out of it. And so now, when did you join? You joined what date?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (15:40)
It’s been two weeks.

Ann Rea: (15:41)
Two. Okay. So two weeks, and you have your tuition covered. Alright. Okay. Alright, everybody. Alright. So I don’t want to hear anybody complaining yeah.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (15:49)
And there’s some–there was steep roots. It was steep like not just the money issues, but like the internal.

Ann Rea: (15:54)
Yes.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (15:55)
And there’s reasons for it. Like it’s not like, “Oh, I’m down on myself because I was in that space.”

Ann Rea: (15:59)
No.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (15:59)
But absolutely I needed to change my relationship to money.

Ann Rea: (16:04)
Yes. Absolutely. 100%. It’s just congealed energy, everybody. It’s completely neutral. It’s like a hammer. You can hit someone on the head with it or you can actually build something with it. You decide. You decide. That was actually from Joseph Campbell who wrote the “Hero’s Journey.” He calls it “congealed energy.” So let me just ask you this, if nothing changed, let’s just say two weeks ago you were like, “No, I’m not going to do this. I can’t afford making art, making money,” nothing changed. Everything stayed the same. What are three ways you think that would’ve impacted you personally?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (16:41)
I would not have this kind of enlarged sense of possibility that I feel like I’m stepping into. I would probably still have my thousand dollars artwork still for sale on Etsy next to my like $20 felting kit.

Ann Rea: (17:01)
Oh no! No! No! No!

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (17:03)
Right? Right? Like I would be on every platform still exhausted praying that, you know, something happens and without like any clear sense. So yes. I could go on, but.

Ann Rea: (17:15)
Okay.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (17:15)
{Unintelligible}

Ann Rea: (17:18)
To reiterate, you wouldn’t know like what’s possible and available to you, which you’re now seeing evidence of. Mm-hmm You would’ve been continuing to spread yourself too thin. So no, it would’ve completely validated your narrative that you don’t have any energy because you keep spreading yourself too thin.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (17:33)
And I mean, I think it’s worth adding. I was, you know, I really feel strongly about being an artist. It feels like a calling. And yet at the same time, I was getting really scared that I was losing the joy and the ability to create in a sustainable way. {Unintelligible}

Ann Rea: (17:51)
Yes. Yes. Yes

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (17:52)
{Unintelligible} So I mean, it was a call that come to a halt if I didn’t switch something. And I knew that, which is why I was so, you know, desperate to find a way.

Ann Rea: (18:04)
I’m really glad you’ve mentioned this because look, a lot of artists give up and it’s really tragic because giving up because they’re making completely avoidable mistakes, like what you were doing. Probably 51 ways to Sunday, trying to sell your art. And of course, none of it worked.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (18:23)
Oh, that list you gave. I like done most of them.

Ann Rea: (18:26)
Yes. Everyone has.

Ann Rea: (18:28)
That’s it. It’s “31 Ineffective Ways To Sell Your Art and Crush Your Confidence.” If you’d like it, we are happy to share it with you. So yes, that’s a lot. I mean, I gave up on my art, so this is not uncommon. And if you have given up on your art, don’t feel bad. Don’t feel bad about feeling bad. It’s okay.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (18:49)
Yes.

Ann Rea: (18:49)
A lot of artists actually have to give up. They don’t have any more motivation left. They don’t have any more creative juice left. They don’t even know why they’re doing it. It’s not working. So it’s really perfectly normal to want to give up. So it’s okay if you’ve given up. If you want to, you know, reignite that flame it is absolutely possible. That’s right.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (19:10)
I stopped training for five years after art school.

Ann Rea: (19:12)
There you go.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (19:13)
I graduated with high honors and the whole deal.

Ann Rea: (19:14)
Typical.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (19:15)
Five years, but you know, it kept pulling back and, but this. You know, we’re at the fourth or fifth time of this. This time I’m like, “No, this is ridiculous. This has to work this time.”

Ann Rea: (19:24)
Yes. So this is common. Yes. People go to art school, they even get their MFAs and they quit. And they’ve got a, and a lot of them have to service a pretty large student debt loan. And that’s another reason why they quit. So it’s not uncommon. Or they have consumer debt that’s built up while they’re in art school. The difference between a lot of universities and art schools, even those top art schools is that they don’t have endowments. And so you’re far less likely to get any student aid or scholarships, like for example, but if you went to like Stanford or you went to Harvard, your chances of getting financial aid are pretty high because they have huge endowments. So anyway, and it costs more to go to most art schools than it does to go to most Ivy league schools. It’s more expensive to attend the Rhode Island School of Design than it is to attend Harvard law school. And you probably get some scholarships at Harvard Law School. So just FYI. Alright so I want you to fill in the blank here. I almost, just finish this sentence, I almost didn’t join the Making Art Making Money program because?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (20:41)
Because I didn’t have the money or the credit.

Ann Rea: (20:46)
Right. And isn’t it ironic. It’s called the Making Art Making Money program.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (20:53)
Yes.

Ann Rea: (20:54)
Now look, I want you to look–

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (20:55)
Can I tell you what the clincher was? Can I tell you? Cause I think you’d love this.

Ann Rea: (20:58)
Yeah.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (20:59)
So Jina, who you work with.

Ann Rea: (21:00)
Yes.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (21:02)
I was able to have a chat with her. She asked me the question, “What would the boss do?” That was a light bulb question of, “Oh my gosh. I’m the boss.”

Ann Rea: (21:10)
That’s right.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (21:13)
So figure it out.

Ann Rea: (21:14)
Yes. Okay. So just for everyone listening, I have a exercise inside of the program where you give yourself a job performance evaluation as the boss and as the employee.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (21:29)
Right.

Ann Rea: (21:30)
Because you’re both as a fine artist. You own a business. You’re the boss. You’re the CEO, but you’re also the employee and you need to give yourself an honest, critical evaluation, both sides and ask yourself, “Would I fire this person?” “Would I put them on a performance review or would I keep them on or would I give them a bonus?” And you have to be really honest with yourself because there’s no one else to be honest with you. You have to do it. Alright. So what’s your favorite part so far in the program? Besides making money.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (22:03)
So far? My favorite part is, I don’t know. Just the little crack that’s opening of believing this is possible again. Yes. Mixed with the community that you’ve formed.

Ann Rea: (22:24)
Yes. We have a really lovely community. Mm-hmm We have a really warm, really welcoming, intelligent, global community of artists. And a lot of them become close friends. It’s not unusual. We don’t have snobs. We don’t do that.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (22:39)
Yeah, no.

Ann Rea: (22:40)
If someone was, I ask everyone this question. If someone was sitting on the fence and they were afraid, “Oh, I don’t know, I can’t do this. I don’t know. I don’t know if I could do this or whatever.” Or maybe you went back to yourself, right? Your boss went back to the Claire who was like, “Oh, I don’t know if I could do this,” what would you honestly say to them or to the old Claire?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (23:06)
I would say, look at every angle. If this resonates with you, you know, if this is where you’re at, if you are a fine artist that does want to make it as a business, you know, ask the initial questions first obviously, but exhaust more options. Don’t give up too quickly. It’s worth the creative problem-solving. It’s worth putting yourself on a limb. I mean, don’t make yourself impoverished, but for sure it’s worth it to invest in yourself. How can I reword this? Just to kind of get out of the loops of the impossible and really see that thinking everything that you’ve been trained to do is valid is meaningful.

Ann Rea: (24:02)
Yes.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (24:03)
And I think a lot of get stuck in the loops of, well, what they don’t that just doesn’t matter that much. And that this is frivolous or it’s a hobby, even if they’re functioning as a business.

Ann Rea: (24:14)
Right.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (24:15)
They’re still, they’re still not respecting

Ann Rea: (24:19)
Right.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (24:19)
What they bring to this world. And so, you know, if this is resonating at all, if you have the resources or if you, if you could just like push the envelope a little bit to creatively, you know, figure out a way to make it happen.

Ann Rea: (24:32)
Right.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (24:32)
I’d say, go for it. I mean, two weeks in, I still have a lot to learn. There’s still a lot of the ethos that I’m still need to internalize obviously. But two weeks in, I already feel huge shifts. My husband could chime in too. He’s really, really excited as well, you know, go for it.

Ann Rea: (24:51)
We hear that a lot. We hear like, “Oh, you saved my marriage.”

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (24:56)
Our marriage is okay. But you know, it was like why would you like to make him stuff with the idea of starving. Starving spousal.

Ann Rea: (25:01)
Yes. So the point is this, Claire joined two weeks ago and she’s already covered the tuition. She’s got a whole year left in this program. So, there you go. I mean, it’s already paid for itself. It’s already free in a way.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (25:23)
Exciting.

Ann Rea: (25:24)
Right? Now, if you need groceries and you got to pay your rent, you don’t know how you’re going to do that. Don’t join my program. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (25:33)
Right.

Ann Rea: (25:33)
You have to work and you have to have– if that’s your circumstance, you’re going to be way the hell too stressed out to actually do the work that I need you to do in order to learn and to connect with people. You have to have at least some financial stability. This is not for people who are like on disability, or you know, in circumstances where you know it’s dire. Let me be abundantly clear. I don’t want in any way, do you think this is a get-rich-quick-scheme. It’s not. That said it is called the Making Art Making Money program for a reason. And that’s why I asked Claire to join us because it’s two weeks in and she hasn’t paid for the program, essentially. She’s free. The tuition-free challenge, which is one of the classes inside of the program worked. Why did it work? Because she did the work.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (26:29)
I did.

Ann Rea: (26:30)
You did. And it’s evidence that you’ll do more and that’s just it. You know, it’s just evidence that you will do more. You’re just getting started. And so congratulations! I’m very proud of you. I’m so glad that you like, I don’t owe you anything. You’ve already made it back.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (26:48)

Ann Rea: (26:50)
I really, I’m very, I mean, it’s really important to me. I want students to, at the very minimum, make their tuition investment back. I don’t want to, in any way, like psychically, energetically, owe anybody, anything. That said, I can’t make anybody do the work. You got to do the work like Claire did the work.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (27:11)
Yes.

Ann Rea: (27:12)
And you didn’t like go crazy. It doesn’t sound. I mean, it sounds like you, I mean, you did make some deliberate steps. I would’ve told you to steer away from the GoFundMe. But whatever. Who cares? It got you started.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (27:25)
Yes. I mean that was like last ditch effort!

Ann Rea: (27:29)
Yes.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (27:29)
But I made sure to apply some of your principles.

Ann Rea: (27:33)
Oh, good.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (27:35)
Let’s redeem it a little bit in the sense that anything that was given was replaced with the equal value of my work.

Ann Rea: (27:44)
Okay. As it should be. I mean, it’s kind of nonsense.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (27:47)
I mean I wasn’t wanting to just do this. I was just,

Ann Rea: (27:49)
Yeah.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (27:50)
I don’t know, like you know. You know the things. There are times in life where you just get that impulsive like you know that you know that this is what you need to do, even if you don’t know how.

Ann Rea: (27:58)
Yes.

Claire Astra MacKenzi: (27:58)
I might have been pushing the envelope with my financial need a little bit, but it’s just because I believe in what I need to be about so much that I had to do it.

Ann Rea: (28:07)
But not anymore. You’re good.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (28:09)
Yeah. Yeah.

Ann Rea: (28:10)
And you’re going to complete the selling course, and you’re going to learn how to ask for referrals. And you’re going to do your appreciation party. And you’re just going to keep planting seeds. And those seeds are– some are going to grow. Some of them are not going to grow. It doesn’t matter. You just keep planting seeds, keep fertilizing the soil.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (28:31)
That’s true. Oh, and so I did have one commission that I was working on before I started.

Ann Rea: (28:38)
Okay.

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (28:38)
But I have already talked to this buyer who is really excited to tell his, his friends about my work. So even though the commission I had already had it’s then what do you do with it? And so that {unintelligbile}.

Ann Rea: (28:54)
You’re going to be fine. I’m so not worried about you. Alright, everyone. This is Claire. This is what she did. And you can do it too. That’s the whole point of this. Okay?

Claire Astra MacKenzie: (29:05)
Thanks for bringing me in.

Ann Rea: (29:06)
You’re welcome.