How to Maintain Your Creative Passion When You Get Discouraged

00:00:00
What do you do when it feels like nothing is working? When the money is not flowing in from your creative gift? When you don't feel like you've got followers or supporters? Does it even make sense to keep going? Well, this podcast you're listening to right now faced those same struggles.

00:00:18
And yet here we are seven years later, after publishing the book that started this podcast in six years. S after this podcast began, we're still here. And we're here to encourage you to keep going with what you have in your creative life that God placed on the inside of you. This is a special episode. We're going to share one of our behind the scenes member calls that only usually our coaching clients get to hear.

00:00:44
But I'm going to make sure that you hear the heart behind this podcast as we're getting ready to celebrate 250 episodes and seven years of existence as the community that we are. So if you're new to our show, give me just a moment to welcome you so you see what we're all about, and then we'll get right into this inspiring conversation.

00:01:22
Hello and welcome to our show. Thank you so much for making this podcast a part of your creative day. And if you are new to God and Gigs, you are in the right place at the right time with the right people. And let me explain why. Number one, I'm your host, Alan Paul, the founder of God and Gigs.

00:01:40
We founded this about, I'd say right exactly at this time that I'm recording about seven years ago. The book God and Gigs came out in 2016, and then in 2017, we started this podcast right around this time. So it is our anniversary month. It's the time that I love to just reflect and make sure that you know you're in the right place and that you've joined a community that has stood the test of time. So as a freelancer musician, creative, anyone at the intersection of the arts and entertainment space, but also with a heart for ministry and a heart for God, if you've been wondering how to connect the dots between your spiritual life and your creative life, this is where you can do that.

00:02:23
So, again, you are welcome. Thank you for joining us. And make sure that you subscribe in any app you're using now so that you can stay connected to us. And I'll give you some other ways to do that at the end of this episode. But while you are here, let's talk about what we can do to stay committed when things don't look so great, when money's not coming in, when followers aren't coming in.

00:02:48
And I know I'm talking to you right now, whether you're at the beginning of your creative journey near the middle, whether you've been doing this forever, you have gone through a season where it seems like things are not working out. Now, this call you're about to hear comes from our 360 Gold coaching program where creatives like you have invested in themselves and now have joined the community and get weekly and biweekly accountability and training and support from each other. And we have got so many amazing testimonies and people who have succeeded because they have joined 360 Gold. And this particular call really hit right where we are now because we are in our anniversary month and because I'm sharing what it really feels like to stick with the program and see it become successful. Not necessarily just because of monetary goals, not because I have a thousand or a million or a billion followers, but because you in this community have found a place where you belong, where you have a home.

00:03:52
Because so many creatives over the last seven years have come on this very podcast. Grammy winners, stellar winners, dove winners, every award they've won, they've always said real success comes because of the relationships they've built and the principles they followed as God has guided them through their creative careers. So this call was shared with my friend Charmaine. She's going to be on the show actually very soon. She's a god and Gigs lifetime member as far as I'm concerned.

00:04:21
But she asked this question of me at the end of one of our member calls on how I stay passionate, how I've stayed committed to this even when it felt like it didn't seem like it was going to work. And I thought there was no better excerpt to share with you at this time of year as we're pushing forward to our 8th year of existence, than to share this part of the member call so that you stick with what you have going for you in your creative life. Whatever God has placed in your heart, if we can do it, so can you. So I'm not going to take any more delay. This is going to be a little bit of dialogue.

00:04:59
You'll hear Charmaine come in and she's going to ask a couple of questions that I'm going to then share my response. And again, this really is the heart behind God and Gigs and why we've been able to stick with it over the long haul and how you can do the same no matter what happens in your followers, your finances, even whenever your faith gets a little low, this will help you stay the course. Let's get into this clip from one of our member calls at God and Gigs 360 Gold. How do you stay passionate when you're not reaching your monetary goals? Yeah, first of all, when you do your podcasting, does it eventually help you break even financially?

00:05:40
Or if it doesn't, is it a passion? I think the best way for me to answer that is probably well, number one, I'll be very transparent in front of you and everybody that's watching God gigs is not a huge pillar of my income produced production. No, it's not.

00:06:03
Has it led to huge parts of my income? Yes. My best example of how this particular thing does not necessarily directly have the income production that I would love it to have, of course, but that it led to it is because the full time job I have at my church is because I did God and Gigs podcast. And my pastor looked at me and said, you do a podcast? Okay.

00:06:31
Produce hours. And I went from being a part time worship band director to being full time worship band director and podcast producer. So just do the math on how much my salary obviously, I'm not doing, like, putting up my numbers there, but yeah, it obviously went to full time income that was sustainable for me to take on that position. So in terms of the individual, like, hey, is this making money? And am I distracted or discouraged because it's not making money?

00:07:05
I would have to answer it in terms of me looking at the why. Right? Number one, the why, and then not just the why, but I don't want to be like just super woo woo about it. Yes, the passion has to be about, I do this as if it didn't matter if I was going to make money. But I also know that, like my coach Sam says, money makes the mission possible.

00:07:28
So I'm doing this with an eye of how does this, each step I make build a brick that will lead to something that's profitable, lead to something that has the sustainability, that can actually create, like the business model that will create recurring income. That's what I'm doing right now. Everything I'm doing is based on businesses like this that have these attributes, can create reoccurring sustainable income that could even outlast me if I put the pieces in place. So really, that's how I stay passionate because I know I'm doing the right things. Long story short, I'm doing what Alex Hormone is doing, and he's making $100 million a year.

00:08:08
I'm doing what Shane Sam's is doing. I'm doing what I am doing, what other creatives are doing in the process that they're doing it. And when they've done it and had that infrastructure when the spigot actually turned, the income flowed. So I stay passionate or I don't get discouraged because I remember that the steps I'm taking are the right steps, even though I don't see the results right now because it's literally like planting the seeds. And I just like, okay, it doesn't look like it's working, but I've seen the template work, I've seen the blueprint work, and I'm not like and I also can say that very honestly, when it hasn't produced income, I can usually point back, not to necessarily the thing I'm doing, and say, that's not working.

00:08:53
I could point back to my effort and say, I didn't really go wholeheartedly into that. You know what I mean? And you could be like, I didn't really try as hard because I was scared that it wasn't going to make money. And then I kind of held back and it didn't make money. It's like it's the faith thing, right?

00:09:14
I didn't really have faith in this, so I held back a little bit and I didn't quite push it. And then if I did it again, if I did it 100%, I know the mistakes I made the first time where I know that it could produce more income, but long story short, affiliate marketing, all the things that could bring an income. Obviously this is a recurring thing with God and Gigs 360. It's a membership. The podcast I've never specifically monetized the podcast is still basically like my discovery tool.

00:09:48
So I've never tried to look for sponsorships for the podcast, but I could. But it's not necessarily where I think that's the power of that is. So I think it's still in the community. I know I'm building a community, and I know if I build a community with the right kind of framework, that people will pay to be a part of it. And my experience and my knowledge and gifting that God's given me provides me a way to share that knowledge in a way that people will pay me to offer it.

00:10:13
So I know I'm doing the right process. And that's the part I want to be very transparent about. This particular the member calls as much as they energize me, when it's like, man, is this really working? Is anybody coming? Is anybody watching the podcast?

00:10:32
You see the dip in the stats and you're like, yeah, you just have to remind yourself, just like Jesus said, you have to endure the cross, despising the shame for the joy set before you. It's got to be that because it is demoralizing. The numbers can be demoralizing. Like you said, the money, the time, feeling like I didn't really have time to put again. I know God of Gigs could grow if I just dropped everything.

00:11:00
It just did nothing. But this. I'm very sure I can build this thing up, but I can't blame the time. I have to look at, okay, here's the resources God gave me. Here's a grace for the season I'm in.

00:11:12
How am I maximizing that right? Versus how big should it have been had I been like full time out here speaking every other day? You know what I mean? So it's not giving yourself a pass, but it's being very like you said, I think you said earlier, being self aware, really thinking about, okay, here's where I'm at. I can't pretend like this is not reality.

00:11:36
I could just make the most of it. So I think that's how I stay motivated. The depth of the conversations and whether or not I could have better conversations with people that then would whether it's in the music, obviously, same thing. Like, I know if I want to do more in terms of music and build more income music. I got to get more serious about my platform.

00:11:56
Yeah. So I'm aware of it again. It's that wholeheartedness, like, how much am I willing to pour into it? And then I think it goes back to the productivity thing you said, if I'm going to be in these spaces, what do I have to say no to right now? Yes.

00:12:11
I have to say no to those things because if I'm just spinning my wheels trying to do 100 things what was the quote? The artist that tries to do everything perfectly succeeds in doing nothing. Nothing. Yes. Well, my friend, I hope that sums up my feelings and my true sentiment when it comes down to not just the podcast that you just listened to, not just being subscribed and being a follower and being a part of our community, but really what this platform is all about.

00:12:45
It really is about serving people like charmaine people like you and helping you to find whatever it takes for you to become that incredibly satisfied, fulfilled and productive and profitable creative that God made you to be. It's why we've been here for the last seven years as a platform, for the last six years as a podcast. And it's why I pray we'll be here for as long as God gives us to serve you as the creative who is really reaching for everything that God is putting right there in front of you. You just got to reach out and grab it. So if you are interested in being a part of our core community, the God and Gigs 360 Gold program, where a call like you just heard happens every two weeks, where we're consistently talking, sharing, encouraging, inspiring and holding each other accountable.

00:13:44
If that sounds good to you, I could not encourage you more to go to Godandgigs.com Gold or simply tap the link in this description and get into our program. It's just where this synthesis of everything we've been sharing for the past five, six years really comes down to the individual conversations that you could be having to get you out of that stuck feeling, that place of not. Being sure what's next and always only being one call, one post, one step away from a creative that knows what you know and wants to grow the way that you want to grow. That's what we offer. That's what I'm so glad we have now in God and Gigs 360 Gold.

00:14:28
So consider this your open invitation to join us by going to Godinggeeks.com Gold. Well, my friend, I can't say any more. Thank you. Actually, I can. But just follow us on our social media post and our pages.

00:14:42
Twitter. Facebook? Oh, I can't call it Twitter now. I guess I had to call it X, whatever it is now. But follow us on all those social media channels, facebook and our YouTube channel is also blowing up.

00:14:56
We'd love to see you over there because we also post in the community tab so you can follow us and of course watch the episodes that you are able to check out over there. But until next time and as we continue on with our anniversary celebration and the next one and the next one, and the next one continue to become the creative that you were created to be. God bless and I'll see you next episode. Thanks for joining us here at the God and Gigs show. Please leave us a review on itunes like our Facebook page or visit godandgigs.com and tell us what you thought of this show.

00:15:33
We'll be back soon. In the meantime, go create something amazing.