What If You're Enough?

Ann Rea: (00:00)
Hey, hello everyone. It’s Ann Rea, coming to you live from San Francisco, California. Today is the last day of open bonus enrollment into the Making Art Making Money program. After that, tuition’s going up. And after that, after today, we’re also going to be only extending admission through application only, and the admission standards are going to be increasing. So someday is today. If you wanna join Making Art Making Money program, do it today. And if you’ve still got some questions, you can feel free to reach out to us. Happy to help! There’s a link below with a way to connect to me personally, to text me if you’re from the United States or Canada, or you can just send us a direct message in Instagram. But before I go any further, I wanna address like, you know, I’ve been at this for over 15 years and I can tell you I got a pretty good handle on what helps artists move forward and what holds them back. So this is a pretty tremendous opportunity to join this program.

Ann Rea: (01:05)
There isn’t another one like this anywhere. You can ask my students. If there is, if there is, they’re not necessarily artists who have been able to sell as much art as I have, or have received as much national press. I’m not bragging. I’m just telling you, you know, how it is. So– but let’s dive in. Let’s talk about what stops most artists from joining the program. Because if this is you, I want you to take a new look at it, and maybe reframe some of the assumptions you’re making. So, there are three reasons why people don’t join. “I don’t have enough money.” “I don’t have enough time,” or “I’m scared.” That’s it. Those are the three reasons. That’s it. So let’s talk about money. Say if someone says to me, “I don’t have enough money.” It’s called the “Making Art Making Money program”, right?

Ann Rea: (01:58)
That’s, seriously, that’s the point! The point is, if you don’t have enough money, you need to learn the skill of making money just like you’ve learned the skill of making art. It’s really just that simple. So that’s the number one. “I don’t have enough money.” Again, that’s the point. That’s why it’s called the Making Art Making Money program. And look, I’m not diminishing your, if you have a real financial strain, then don’t join the program. I mean, I don’t wanna put anybody in a, you know, really difficult financial situation, but is that really the case? Or are you just coming from scarcity? Right? Because it’s not spending money. It’s an investment. So that’s number one. Let’s talk at– let’s look at number two. “I don’t have enough time.” All right, I’m getting tired of hearing this one too, but I get it.

Ann Rea: (02:46)
Every single person in my community is super duper busy. Most of them are working a demanding second job, right? And they’re trying to build their art sales. They often have elderly parents they’re caring for, or children, or spouses. And that is exactly why I said, “Okay, I’m not going to be delivering these long winded academic lectures.” So I employed something called “microlearning” which has been proven to be about 17% more effective than conventional lecture kind of delivery of learning and lessons. So none of my lessons are over five minutes each, of course. Then you can have the time and space to implement the assignments at your own pace. And then if you have a question, you can ask us. You have support. So that’s one aspect of time. “I don’t have enough time.” If you don’t have five minutes, then frankly, you don’t want it bad enough.

Ann Rea: (03:49)
You don’t really care. You’re just saying you wanna be an artist, but it’s really not a priority because if we, if we want something, we make time for it. If we want something, we find the money. Where in other words, “Where there’s a will, there is a way.” And then the other time kind of thing I hear is– notice I do that? “When the stars align, I will be guided towards a sign and a moment. And when it feels right.” No! BS! You’re hoping that you’re gonna feel comfortable about joining. You’re hoping that you’re gonna feel confident that you have enough work, you have enough focus. That’s not good. It’s not– look, if you could have figured it out by now, you would’ve done it. Right? So having more confidence, having more money or art sales, having more focus is the result of joining the program.

Ann Rea: (04:46)
It’s not something that you’re going to get together before you join. Most people who joined are kind of a, they’re kind of a mess, right? Their confidence is pretty low. They don’t know what to focus on. That’s why you join. So don’t wait for that to get fixed when you can fix it inside of the program. But– so we’ve covered “I don’t have enough money.” And then we’ve covered “I don’t have enough time.” So let’s cover the third one. “I’m scared.” Right? So you’re scared of two things. You’re scared that you can’t do it, right? That your situation is unique or your art is unique. Well, I’ve been helping, I don’t know, 23 different types of independent fine artists just like you from 22 countries, and counting now. And I can tell you, none of you, in terms of your challenges, are unique. Okay?

Ann Rea: (05:39)
So, I can tell you this. So that’s the– you’re scared you can’t do it, right? Or you’re scared I can’t help you. And maybe, you know, I get that. You should– you can have that concern, but again, I’ve been helping other independent artists from 22 countries for 15 years. So I’m doing something right, right? Now, maybe, and this is actually something that I got from a student of mine, Jina. She said she was having a chat with someone. And she said, “What if you’re enough?” Which I thought was a brilliant point. And it’s an excellent point, which is why the name of this is called, “What if you’re enough?” Well, if you’ve already sold your art, then guess what? You’re enough. If you’ve already sold your art, your art– it’s good enough. If you’ve already sold some of your art, then you’re good enough as an artist, right?

Ann Rea: (06:36)
You know happens is we get caught into thinking we have to meet some vague, some undefined standard, right? But it’s really just that simple. If you’ve sold your art, then chances are pretty damn good that with a proven process, with an expert mentor to guide you, and a supportive community, you’re probably gonna sell more, right? Just logical. So anyway, those are the three reasons why people regret not joining. And I would just say, ask yourself this one question, “Where do you wanna be one year from today?” Do you wanna be in the same place with the same struggles that you’ve been having? Or do you wanna be able to look back and say, “Oh man, I was able to meet the tuition free challenge” cause you don’t graduate until you’ve earned back your tuition investment. That’s a requirement. And you look back, you say, “Wow!

Ann Rea: (07:40)
Now I know my mission and I feel so much more confident.” Or you look back, you say, “Man, I’ve made so many wonderful friends from all around the world inside of this community.” That’s what you wanna ask yourself. “Where do you wanna be one year from today?” If you could have figured it out by now, you would’ve done it. Okay? I got one question. “Making time can be tricky.” Absolutely it can. It absolutely is. Which is why the lessons are five minutes. Five minutes. But I will say that, I will say this to you and anyone else who is listening, and it might sound harsh, but here it is. If you want to argue for your limitations, you get to keep them, okay? There are people who have had a much harsher circumstances that they’re dealing with, much higher challenges. And what’s really interesting is those are the students who tend to really outperform.

Ann Rea: (08:39)
I’m not kidding you. I’ve been doing this for 15 years. The ones who have the higher challenges– I mean Jina is a good example. She came to the United States, she barely spoke English, alright? She came to the United States, she didn’t have any money. She came to the United States, she didn’t know anyone, right? She came to the United States, she didn’t even really understand the culture yet. So if she can do it, what’s your excuse, right? That’s how I look at it. If you want something bad enough, you’ll find a way. This is designed for super busy people. It’s not designed for people who have a ton of time on their hands and a ton of money in their bank account. That’s not who this is designed for. So that’s how– that’s my answer to that. I gotta tell you. You’ve got– if you don’t have five minutes, then it’s not really a priority. Really that simple. So ask yourself that question. “Where do I wanna be one year from today?” Right? Do I wanna be dealing with the same problems I’m dealing with now when it comes to selling and marketing my art? Or do I wanna be able to look back and say, “Damn. I’ve earned back my tuition investment. I’m way past that. I’ve made a bunch of friends. I understand my mission. I’m dialing in my niche.” You decide. You get to decide in this moment what it is you want out of this life. It’s up to you.