While it is likely one of our competitive advantages, we realized that no one will follow this advice so we’ll give it away for free. If you’re having a hard time making a decision, personal, financial or otherwise you can utilize art to give you an edge. It sounds crazy but we’ve used it several times and it has not failed us once. 100% success rate. All you have to do is enter a large museum or art exhibit for a day. With that backdrop, we have no doubt that this will be an unpopular post, fading into the archives along with some of our other content.
Step 1 – Large Museum/Exhibit: For once you can interact with the masses (joke, you’re going to do this alone). You’ll want to find a very large museum with multiple levels. Ideally, the museum will also have various types of art (Body Art, Ceramics, Computer Art, Ceramic Art, Modern Art, Sculptures) with various materials as well (oils, paint, glass etc.). This will give you a wide range of items to view and create a consistency.
Step 2 – Put the Camera Away and Focus: Most people go into exhibits and swarm the popular items to take photos. This is not how you’re going to operate. You’ll put all electronics away and create a different type of focus. This type of focus is going to be entirely on the present. Stand approximately 10 feet away from the first exhibit and stare at it intensely. This will unlikely be one of interest to you but you’re doing it to focus entirely on exhibits. You will know that you’re zoned in once you can hear people walking around but have no idea what anyone is saying.
Step 3 – Walk Slowly: Take the speed at which you walk and decrease this by about 50%. Make sure the distance between you and the exhibit remains around 10 feet (don’t focus on keeping the exact distance at 10 feet we are simply creating a rough framework). Walking by each exhibit slowly you’ll stare with a blank expression as you walk by each exhibit. In addition, by moving quite slowly you’ll give each item a chance to capture your attention. When it does stop. Remember, this entire process you’re thinking only about exhibits and focused on walking no other thoughts (a blank mind)
Step 4 – Stop and Stare: There is no need to read the explanation of the art that is usually placed next to the exhibit (for now). Instead stare at the exhibit and see where your eyes wander. Take some mental notes on what is most interesting to you. Maybe you’re being drawn to photos of war, paintings of nature, specific sculptures etc. If this is your first attempt it is perfectly fine to scribble something on a note pad. The key is to find the consistency in *what* is drawing your attention. You’ll end up spending at least 5 minutes staring at the same exhibit, otherwise it didn’t capture your attention enough.
Step 5 – See Every Single Exhibit and Go Back: Do not miss a single one. This will take time but you’re only in the museum to make a decision because you’re surprisingly unsure about what to do. By the time you’ve seen every single exhibit you’ll have a small list of items that caught your attention. Typically, we’ve found that approximately five of them will be interesting (it may be different for you). On your return visit you can take out your cell phone and 1) take a quick photo, 2) take a quick photo of the artist and the description and 3) quickly read the description. You’re done now.
Step 6 – Find the Consistency: Now you have everything you need to make a decision. We suggest getting into a positive state of mind, think of a recent positive event, and begin the review process: 1) find out if it is a specific type of material that you were drawn to – paint, pencil, ceramic etc., 2) figure out if the artist is the same – you’ll be surprised sometimes it is, 3) decide if the scenery is the same – war, nature etc. and 4) see if the descriptions have a specific overlap in symbolism.
Step 7 – Analyze and Make Your Decision: Here is the part where we’ll lose everyone (hence the example piece below so you’ll see we’re not psychotic). The reality is that you’re constantly thinking about your problem in the back of your mind. It could be anything. Art is nothing more than access to the back of your mind. The item that you consistently find is your answer. If you’re constantly drawn to sculptures of battle (war) it probably means the answer is keep fighting down the path you’re on. If you’re stuck between two choices and you are drawn to photos of the ocean, it probably means you’re better off taking the more risky choice. If you’re drawn to exhibits of torture and pain, it likely means the life path you’re going down is not for you. So on and so forth. In short you’re using art to help develop your gut instincts.
Art Interpretation
Now that the vast majority of you think we’re insane at this point (by the way we’re fine with that), we’ll go ahead and use our twitter account as an example. Here’s our favorite all time photo with our own description “The enormous competitive advantage of being born poor vs. middle class in a single photo”.
Positive Responses: 1) “The Flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all…. You don’t meet a girl like that every dynasty”, 2) “The lesson of appreciation”, 3) “The rich girl is bored with the abundance of flowers surrounding her. The poor girl appreciates the one flower”, 4) “The rich girl has grown bored of her decadence while the poor girl feels inspired and hungry to achieve greatness. I’ll take that any day” our favorite response so far; 5) “It’s assuming that the one who worked hard to grow all the flowers does not appreciate them or share”; 6) “Golly… Being poor at the beginning is Gospel. Be prepared for success by being prepared for poverty until you figure it out. Period.” our second favorite response; 7) “Poverty is the best education”; 8) “Abundance vs. Scarcity Mindset”; 9)
Negative Responses: 1) “For children, yes. But for adults with responsibilities, the reality is the opposite. The picture is comforting for child-minded adults”, 2) “rich girl will eye for that one flower though having in abundance”, 3) “I would guess that the flowers are the millions of deadbeats that the middle class has to takeover while the poor woman has 1 herself?”, 4) “Middle class have hedges and rose gardens?”, 5) “So middle Class is 1% now?”, 6) “Except there is no middle class”
Neutral Responses: 1) “Do the flowers represent resources available to the individual”, 2) “Photo?…Illustration… Reminds me of Guy Billout’s work… But his work made a heck of a lot more sense”, 3) “It’s assuming that the one who worked hard to grow all the flowers does not appreciate them or share, 4) “This would make sense if the flowers represent food but then it doesn’t… hmm”, 5) “Looks like; ‘I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden’ AND ‘rose ceremony’ rolled up as one”, 5) “the point is that the poor can more appreciate the small things in life but idk why a middle class woman has a million flowers”, 6) “I was thinking the one person was happy with what she had the other person was unhappy at what they missed”, 7) “Our joys can easily turn into sorrows, if taken to excess”, 8) “Keep it Simple Stupid”; 9) “The flowers represent opportunities; the poor having little zealously grab any they can get & run with it, while the middle class are always looking for the next best thing”; 10) “Blondes actually don’t have more fun”.
There is nothing wrong with any of the responses since it’s a simple picture and people will interpret the art as they will. The part we’d highlight is that the positive responses mainly came from people who are fans of the content (twitter/blog etc.), not surprising! If you can use art to find people who will view the world in a similar way as you that’s called a “coincidental connection” (something we don’t believe in). Art can be used as a tool to see how someone else feels at the moment. If it can be used to interpret a person’s mood at any given time, it can certainly be used on yourself.
Positive Responses Mood: There is no way to check this but we’d wager that those who viewed the photo positively were feeling good at the moment. If you started from nothing and made it that photo will likely make you feel better versus worse. You’ll recall your first win, your first success and your first step in the right direction. If someone started from nothing and made it there is practically no way they could view that photo negatively. If they are rich and happy today they won’t view the flowers side of the fence as a negative.
Negative Responses: Likely unhappy. Trying to spin it as a negative likely means their mood is not good. It could be temporary or it could be permanent. We don’t know. All we know is that the negativity should be avoided so we don’t respond and move on. No point in making enemies since they will likely be in a better mood tomorrow (hence why we don’t respond to negativity and delete all negative comments from the blog).
Conclusion: Now that all of you believe we’re crazy, lets see if someone is currently trying to make a decision. Lets see if someone actually tries it and reports back (we doubt it but it would be interesting indeed). On that note, back to stacking chips and our next post will go back to business as usual. Outlining ways to get money and avoid burning valuable time.
