Feb
19
The Power of Art and Money
Filed Under Entrepreneurism, Leadership, Miscellaneous
Artwork by Jonathan McCubbin, age 10
I was raised by an artist. In the 70’s my Mom cut hair at a salon that also taught belly-dancing. Nonetheless, she was an artist of hair. Later, she became a nationally recognized Interior Designer. Later still, a more conventional artist, with oil paints and a canvas.
My house, growing up, was always changing. One day we had French doors that were white; the next day we had something else.
As a kid, I remember going to visit her at Ethan Allen, where she worked earlier in her career, and playing on the carpet samples for hours and hours.
Roles shifted, and as a young adult and fledgling entrepreneur myself, I convinced her to go into her own business www.janicemccubbin.com. This scared the crap out of her; yet further developed both her art and the quality of her client base.
I was also raised by a financial planner. My Father worked for Smith Barney as a financial planner; specializing in options. Puts and Calls. He taught me about money. How money is a tool. It can be leveraged. It can be dangerous. It can be rewarding. And It should be respected.
They both spoke to me for hours on end about their careers. When I was lucky I would get to meet their clients. Both of them served the wealthy. The VERY wealthy.
And I was a sponge. I learned.
Could I sum up my Mom or Dad’s career in one sentence?? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
That would be both offensive and presumptuous.
BUT… I can tell you one of the most important lessons I learned from these amazing people.
– and here it is –
Money is a tool; it has no soul. – But it can be made to dance, and sing. It can be leveraged to create. It can serve a purpose beyond itself. It can feed people. It can provide blankets to the homeless. It can create a bridge for laughter. Love. Light. But it does exist. And it must be respected.
Art is expressive; it has soul. – But it can be made into a blunt object of force. Words, paint, music, religion, expression. It can be leveraged for power….and abused. It seems innocuous. But its beauty has both beauty AND a razor sharp edge. It can create a bridge for laughter. Love. Light. And it does exist. And it must be respected.
Power can exist over people in many ways. Their strength, and protection, is in realization of this truth.
P.S. The artwork featured in this blog is from my 10 year old son, Jonathan.
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3 Responses to “The Power of Art and Money”
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Hello Gene! You may not remember me, but I worked for you at Webxites around 8 years ago. I was just sitting at home on a Sunday night and you popped into my head. I said to myself, “I wonder what Gene McCubbin is up to these days”. So I Googled you:). Anyhow, glad to see that you’re still the ultimate entrepreneur! During my short time at Webxites I witnessed a young guy do some very extraordinary things. Things like motivate a sales force to achieve sales goals, build a business and most importantly push people beyond their limits to achieve great things. Let me explain the latter statement. During my first few weeks at Webxites I saw a young guy drive into work in a nice car. This was motivation for me. In my first few weeks I saw a young guy run a successful business. Again, motivation for me. In my first few weeks I saw a young guy who challenged his sales team with trivia questions to make them think daily. I still remember the answer to one of these questions being Napoleon Hill. I remember being the only person who knew who Napoleon Hill was. It was that day that I decided that maybe I was different (not better), just different from my co-workers. At that moment I felt it was time to move on. Shortly after leaving Webxites I got into the energy business. I started with Reliant Energy as an entry-level analyst before being promoted to a business analyst/project manager. After a stint at Reliant I decided I wanted to get into the energy trading business, so I joined Shell’s trading development program. Not only did I learn about the entire energy trading business at Shell, but they also sent me to business school where I earned an MBA in finance free of charge. More recently, I moved to North Carolina with my wife where I took a job in corporate/investment banking while she runs a private medical practice. You may wonder why Im telling you all of this?? It’s simple. All of this is the result of watching a young guy do what he needed to do to succeed and make a wonderful life for his family. Your business drive played a key role in my success. Although I’m not entirely where I want to be, I feel that I’m on my way. Just remember, no matter what negative things people say about you just know that you helped motivate someone. So, you must be doing something right. Continued success to you Gene!
Sincerely,
LonDee Smith
Well said Gene !!!
Lessons we all should learn….