In his book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield outlines and fleshes out the battle of creativity and artistry that any entrepreneur goes through in order to give birth the things of real value from which others will gain benefit.

Through his own experiences and reflections on humanity, Pressfield powerfully makes the case for the releasing of the artist (or artisan) that lies within the creative higher self we each have.

Although Pressfield doesn’t use the word artisan, but artist, in my book the only tangible difference is the territory traditionally ascribed to each.

And, it’s in the idea of territory that he asserts his premise that this is only real ‘place’ where every true artist can flourish, whether they are a fusion researcher, scientist, entrepreneur, body builder, fashion designer, or writer.

‘Territory’ in essence, as Pressfield defines it, is the region of expertise or influence within which the true artisan flows with purpose and energy, giving birth to what is hidden within, purely for the purpose that it must be released into the world.

On the other hand, the opposite of territory – hierarchy - is a stultifying and inhibiting framework of operation. In a hierarchy, the artist is reduced to being a hack: someone who produces only for affect; not for the higher ideal of releasing inspiration into the world, but for the egocentric accolades they wish to receive from others as a consequence of their creation.

As Pressfield defines it then, the hack has sold out on the higher goals of sharing their intrinsic creativity, to a baser version which is only interested in producing something that will promote the hack’s ego contra his or her peers.

In plain English: the hack does his or her work thinking of how their potential audience will or won’t like the results, but the artist does her work to bring forth of what is within, whether or not an audience exists to receive it.

The artisan gains his or her energy and sustenance from doing the work itself, and not from the praise they hope to receive.

So, is it better to be an artist/artisan or a hack? Clearly not a hack, because at worst a hack is a sycophantic people-pleaser, pandering to the perceived opinions of those the hack is trying to impress, with the hope of receiving some positive affirmation or recognition.

When none comes, the hack is devastated, not having any internal reference point from which to seek solace.

The artist/artisan, on the other hand, travails like a mother-to-be in labor, and as Pressfield beautifully describes, and cries in awe when the miracle baby is held in her arms.

So, can only the hack become wealthy? The answer I believe, is that the hack is never wealthy, even if they are a multi-millionaire, because their offering is never given: instead, the hack always remain the victim of the approval of others, always seeking to compete in a hierarchy rather than operating with skill in their own territory or expertise.

Can the artist/artisan be wealthy? My point is that they will always be wealthy, whether they live in a wooden shack in a shanty town, or in a grand mansion in Beverley Hills. What defines the artist is not the approval of of others’ praise or money showered upon them, but the satisfaction that comes from within at having completed the work that they ached to bring forth, regardless of onlookers’ nods or shakes of head.

Make up your mind then, to be an artist/artisan, and not a hack.

And if you are in any doubt, read Pressfield’s book, the War of Art.

Are You an Artisan or a Hack? is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.

If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak’s Internet Marketing 101 course – it’s FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

Chris Pearson is a great model of what business should be like: he is using his skills to help others. Not only that, but he is willing to put himself out there and let other people know what’s happening. You can read more about Chris at his Blog here.

What I love about the video about is what he says (5:30 onwards) about Twitter (& yes, I’m an avid Twitter user, so I’m not shooting down what it offers, by any means!):

“The bottom line is, if you keep getting capital to the tune of $200 million, it’s much harder to make that money back- it becomes more and more of a speculative thing where you’re hoping to get bought out by one of the few players with billions dollars. And that’s a bogus play. Why can’t your goal with your business be to..make your business awesome and not rely on a buyout down the road?  What’s so bad about that – I don’t know….

He pulls no punches with what he says next – but you’ll have to watch the rest of the video to find out! What I particularly like about his diatribe, is that I passionately believe in the same model of doing business: aim for just offering a solution to your clients that is simply the best that it can be. And don’t be afraid to put yourself out there to promote it, because it’s no use waiting for an angel investor to come along and discover your talent. You are the best person to do that.

So, a big round of applause to Mr Pearson for ‘doing the thing’.

By the way – in case you are wondering how I know about Chris, it’s because I buy his stuff. In particular, the Thesis framework theme that this website runs on. Thesis is incredibly flexible, and customizable compared to the bucket-load of themes I’ve used before, that I’m now using it exclusively on web development projects for local businesses. Click on the image below to take a peak at what Thesis can offer. And yes, that is an affiliate link.

Make The Goal of Your Business to Be Awesome is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.

If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak’s Internet Marketing 101 course – it’s FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

This is a no-fluff, fun post! I want your feedback, so scroll to the end, past my mugshot/signature, and add your comment! If I start getting some replies, I’ll turn this into a Twitter poll, which takes about 5 seconds to do.

All you need to do is use the text below as your template & you’re good-to-go.

My Internet Marketing Heroes are (in no particular order, you understand):

• Frank Kern
• Jeff Johnson
• Mike Dillard
• Jason Fladlien
• Eric Holmund
• Ryan Deiss

(I always open their emails).

Reasons why:

1. They’ve learned the art of giving before getting
2. Their emails contain useful, actionable content that I can use without having to buy any of their stuff.

There ya’ go. That was pretty quick ‘n’ easy. Now it’s your turn

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Who are Your Internet Marketing ‘Heroes’? is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.

If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak’s Internet Marketing 101 course – it’s FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)