We used to be told:

“Don’t be an artist, because you won’t make money!”

The past 100 years or so, society has trained entire generations to be obedient, compliant, and follow strict rules.

The main reason being that industries needed cheap, replaceable people to be like cogs in a giant machine. The entire system has been built to serve this one purpose: schools, job descriptions, resumes… all are meant to produce people that can be quantified, used, and… fired anytime we no longer need them.

“Do as you’re told, and we’ll reward you.”

It worked! Huge companies have created huge amounts of wealth… at a dear cost that many are paying now.

Now, the only job security we have is to do MORE than our job description.

Now, we need to be ARTISTS.

Should we all learn how to paint, or to dance, or to play music?

The artists we need to be now are creative individuals who CARE about making a difference. An artist, by today’s definition, is someone who is passionate about sharing their gifts with others. And this, by today’s definition, can be anyone who wishes to be.

The server in the restaurant, who goes out of her way to delight customers.

The engineer, who writes additional code that nobody will ever see, but makes the user experience smoother.

The doctor, who spends an additional minute with her patient to connect, share feelings, and genuinely care.

The customer service rep, who listens to the angry person with empathy, and stays on the phone as long as it takes until the customer is happy.

The entrepreneur, who connects great people with one another without asking for anything in return.

Those people, those artists… do what they do without anyone telling them to do. They CREATE value just because they know it’s the right thing to do. They never worry about getting or keeping a job. In fact, they are the kinds of people who quit a job that doesn’t share their world view of caring. After all, we spend most of our life at work, so it better be meaningful.

We all need to be artists now. Not only our lives are much more fulfilling, but this is also the smartest and most profitable choice we can ever make.