Create Stuff or Make Money? Why Not Both?

This is an age-old conundrum.

Murray "MJ" Blehart
5 min readMay 21, 2024

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painter creating, hanging, and selling art. create stuff and make money,
Photo by Ilse Orsel on Unsplash

There is a long-standing, age-old belief in the world that being a professional artist of any sort doesn’t pay. Right alongside this idea is the notion of the “starving artist”.

Many people will tell you how impossible it is to make money writing, painting, cooking, acting, singing, and so on. Pick an art and you’ll pick a way to earn little to nothing, they’ll insinuate or state outright.

Lots of messages out there will tell you that you can create stuff or make money.

Why not both?

Be relentless

It’s not easy to create stuff and make money at the same time. At least, not right off the bat.

The myth of the overnight success is pervasive and, frankly, invasive. Lots of stories both true and false are out there emphasizing this. The reality is, however, that most creatives put in time and sweat equity, plus energy and perseverance to create stuff and make money.

You must be relentless. Relentless, in this instance, is how you treat yourself and what goes into the pursuit of your goals. To both create stuff and make money takes constant, ongoing work.

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Murray "MJ" Blehart

I explore mindfulness, positivity, philosophy, & conscious reality creation. I love to help & inspire. And I also write sci-fi/fantasy. http://www.mjblehart.com