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The Surprising Connection Between Art & Farming · The Daily Writer

• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome everybody to the Born to Create Podcast.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Kent Sanders and I'm your host.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an author, musician, and teacher, but most importantly, I'm a husband and a dad.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Here on the show we talk about practices, habits, and strategies that help us live out our creative calling.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is episode 37, and today we're going to be talking about the surprising connection between art and farming.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: You can find the post that accompanies this episode at KentSanders.net slash farming.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Before we get into the content, I want to invite you to send in your questions on creativity, productivity, art, or writing, and I'll answer those here on the podcast.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: You can shoot me an email at Kent at KentSanders.net, or you can send me a message on Facebook or Twitter at KentSanders.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: These days I have a lot of conversations with people about writing.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm in a writer's mastermind group.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Many of my friends are writers, and I regularly talk with other people who are just getting started as writers.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: But I've noticed something interesting in the last few months.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people want to write, and they're interested in the writing opportunities I mentioned, like setting up a blog, writing a book, or writing for other websites.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of people even talk about the plans they have to take their writing to the next level or to start doing something.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: However, I'd say that out of every ten people I talk to about writing, probably only two or three of them follow up and actually do anything about it.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: And probably that's kind of a high estimate.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, a lot of people like the idea of writing, but only a small portion of those people will actually go through with it.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: This was kind of discouraging to me until I realized something that should have been obvious to me all along, and that is that artists are like farmers.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: So let me explain what I mean.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Farming has three basic steps planting, cultivating, and harvesting.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now all three of those are separate steps, but all three must be done if you want to result from your labor.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: And each of these steps takes time and involves a lot of work.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: As an artist, you hope to impact other people with your work.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: You could be doing writing, music, graphic design, drawing, dance, or something else.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: But the end goal of what you do as an artist is to influence and impact others in some kind of meaningful way.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: The problem is that sometimes we forget that this process can take time.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can write a book and never know the ways your work might impact somebody.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: You can perform a dance routine on stage and you might never know that you brought tears to somebody's eyes.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: You can create a painting and hang it in a gallery, but you may never know how it touched everyone's life.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: On the other hand, sometimes you have people who do let you know how your art impacted their lives.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: You get notes, comments, and emails thanking you for creating something that they enjoyed.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: As an artist, sometimes you're planting a seed.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Through your creative work and through conversations, you're introducing concepts and ideas and art that is new.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: And these ideas take time to settle in.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason why is because change comes slowly to all of us.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as an artist, sometimes you're cultivating seeds that you or other people have planted.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: You're helping people work through problems and difficulties.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: You're talking them out of quitting.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: You're sharing stories of how you overcame discouragement, and you're teaching lessons that you've learned along the way.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And other times, as an artist, sometimes you're harvesting a crop.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: People may be signing up for your email list.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they're buying your products or service or your art.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they're taking an interest in your work, or you're getting some other kind of benefit from your art.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: So, in other words, as an artist, sometimes you're planting, sometimes you're cultivating, and sometimes you're harvesting.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, what can you take away from this insight?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there's three things that I want to point out in particular.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is that you have to plant before you can harvest.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: You must do the hard work of making art before you can enjoy the benefits and the results that come from it.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Number two is try not to get discouraged when people don't seem to respond to your art right away, or maybe sometimes they never respond at all.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: This is part of the whole process.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Our job as artists is to plant and cultivate as many seeds as possible.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we don't see the result of that effort.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: What this does mean, however, is that we need to be generous without always expecting something in return.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, as a creative person, you never know what seeds that you're planting through your art and how those seeds might take root and what the results of those might be.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: So sow as many seeds as you can and be as generous as possible, because you never know how it might come back to you.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then number three, out of all these three components of farming, which is planting, cultivating, and harvesting, harvesting is the one that you control the least.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to focus on planting and cultivating.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: The more that we plant and cultivate, the bigger the harvest will be.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: So don't get discouraged when it seems like people aren't as responsive as you'd like them to be.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Just keep on doing the work and make adjustments as needed.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Plant and cultivate, knowing the process can take a while.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: And in due time, the harvest will be ready.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: So what are you doing to plant and cultivate seeds for a future harvest in your creative work?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to hear your thoughts.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: You can join the conversation and find the post and the links that accompany this episode at KentSanders.net slash farming.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: When you visit my site, you'll find all kinds of great resources to inspire your creativity.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'd also love to share a gift with you when you subscribe to my newsletter.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: You can check it out and learn more about my books, writing, and services at KentSanders.net.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: I love to connect and you can tweet me at Kent Sanders, or you can find me on Facebook and Instagram as Kent Sanders.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that you'll also check out our Born to Create Facebook group by visiting KentSanders.net slash Facebook group.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, remember that you were born to create and design to make a difference.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: What will you do with the time you have left?