Flexiblity and survival in our current times, or any time

Always consider your options and try to remain flexible

My niece came to me a couple of years ago and asked for advice.  She was going to college and wanted to know what I though was important.  I told her to never go anywhere alone and to make sure she had an alternative way to get home.  I gave her other advice as well but when it came to academics, I had to let her know I wasn’t that kind of aunt. 

I’m all about survival.  You can clean up any mess in the morning, as long as you survive the night.  It is all about longevity and that is important to me right now.  I want to be an artist, I don’t want to be anything else.  Right now, it is getting a bit harder to figure out how to maintain that without a part time job.  So, I am constantly looking for ways to improve my odds of survival.  I am trying to pay attention to my surroundings and where I am doing my art and what it is about.

I’m doing smaller things, easier to buy for people and quick for me to do.  I watch down the road for pitfalls and try to make sure that I have options.  If you have a bunch of options, and something catastrophic happens; you have a place to jump. In order to do that, I am nosy and I ask questions all the time.  I am respectful, but slightly pushy.  This isn’t about them; it is about me and my chances.  I am constantly looking for new options.

I try not to get stagnant; I push my art constantly. I am always looking for new options and I pay attention to how I feel about them.  I take notes, my phone has lists everywhere in it; and I carry small notebooks as well.  I hoard contacts, I have phone numbers for people and businesses that I haven’t spoken to in years.  You never know what you will need and who might have it.  I try to avoid ruts as well and I listen to others in my field as well as other businesses.  You don’t know what gems may fall in your lap when you do that.

I try to keep my options open.  Try not to say no, instead; think on it and tell them what it is what you are going to do.  Why to cats always land on their feet, they are flexible and can twist in mid-air.  Now I am 50 so my twisty days are over but I can still remain flexible when it comes to my art and my choices, and so far I'm still landing on my feet.