Financial Independence For Everyday People

Trust Yourself To Make The Best Decision For Now; Only Hindsight is 20/20

Our culture is focused on doing things “best” and doing things “right;” there isn’t a lot of room for experimentation.  In order to learn how to be a financially independent person, you will need to acquire the confidence that only comes from personal experience, and that means that you need to give yourself permission to make mistakes.

Give yourself permission to make decisions that result in fabulous winners and spectacular losers. You will learn from both.

The permission card shown here came from a wise painter and teacher, Robert Burridge.  I discovered Bob several years ago when I serendipitously decided to start painting after visualizing three canvas panels on my living room wall.  I looked for a class, and Bob was teaching nearby.

What a find!  Bob was exactly the right teacher for me as I was struggling with the need to take up a little more space of the world by expressing myself on large, full-color canvases. The accountant in me was much more comfortable with 8.5×11 black and white paper with 10-point type.

Bob started the workshop by passing out the Permission slip above.  It was exactly what I needed to hear, and I almost wept with joy.  Then, he passed out two more cards: Oops and Yes.  Oops was to remind you that it is okay to fail.  Yes was the answer to every rhetorical question that you could possibly divine during the creation process: should I add more red?  Yes.  Should I collect more assets?  Yes.

Bob and his wife, Kate, are also a fascinating business story.  They dumped the corporate gerbil wheel some years ago and built a successful painting and consulting business that enables them to live in a style that they enjoy.  Rather than being territorial about his painting prowess and market, he has reached out to new and seasoned painters nationwide offer ing marketing advice and support.

His business philosophy is quite simple, and I’ll paraphrase him here:

“I’m not selling out, I’m cashing in. And, you should, too.”

You can find wise advice about money in quite surprising places. Bob is a great artist, prudent business man, and inspirational teacher. You can learn more about his art and Kate’s brilliant art marketing at their website RobertBurridge.com.