Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Frequently we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.
This Q & A is with Lisa Congdon a Fine Artist, Illustrator, Author and Blogger. Known for her colorful abstract paintings, intricate line drawings, pattern design & hand lettering. She works for clients around the world including the MoMA, Harvard University, Martha Stewart Living, Chronicle Books, Simon & Schuster, and Cloud9 Fabrics. She is the author of several books including the starving-artist-myth-smashing Art Inc: The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artist, and illustrated books 20 Ways to Draw a Tulip, Whatever You Are, Be a Good One and Fortune Favors the Brave. Her latest book The Joy of Swimming: A Celebration of our Love for Getting in the Water will be released in 2016.
1) What was a pivotal momentum of reinvention for you?
I spent the first 15 years of my adult life working in public education, first as a teacher and then through a non-profit organization. I felt exceptionally committed to the cause of public education, but I also felt like there was something missing from my day-to-day experience. I For years, I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. As a way to relieve the stress of my job I started to take art classes in my early 30’s. Pretty quickly, I fell in love with drawing and painting, and I realized that having a creative pursuit was what was missing from my life. I was a pretty horrible artist at first, but it woke something up in my that I’d never experienced before. At the time, it never occurred to me that I could make a living as an artist or build a business around my talents. I had friends who’d gone to art school and were struggling to make a living, and they had twice the talent that I did. But I was lucky: around the time I discovered drawing and painting the Internet was beginning to blow up as a place for artists (new and experienced) to share their work, sell their work and to build an audience. I jumped into the internet bandwagon early on and realized if I worked steadily and patiently, through the Internet, I could eventually make a living doing this thing that I loved– no matter how statistically “unrealistic” my goals. From that moment on, I focused intently on finding my voice as an artist, putting my work into the world, and making sound financial decisions that would support building a thriving business. And slowly, but surely, everything fell into place.
2) Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?
You would think as an artist my greatest mentor would have been another artist. But my greatest mentor has been my accountant. Even though I’d been making a decent income in the world of non-profit education, I wasn’t a financially responsible person. Once I became self employed, I had to find an accountant, because doing my taxes was going to be too complicated on my own. The day I met her changed the course of my life forever. She gave me real straight talk about getting out of debt, saving, and bookkeeping. Fortunately I was ready to listen. She even had me over to her office on numerous occasions to help me understand how to use Quickbooks, balance my accounts, and understand every aspect of accounting and money management that it was important for me to know. That was over 10 years ago, and to this day she is a valuable confidant, mentor and advisor in my life and ever-growing business. Every year we chuckle about how far I’ve come.
3) What is your biggest goal right now?
For years when I was starting out, I worked alone. I did everything myself. And then, even as my business diversified and grew, I found that I was still doing almost everything myself! I now have a team of people working for me and my goal is to get really adept at delegating — at trusting a few smart people to do the work that doesn’t have to be done by me. I still do all of the art-making and teaching, but now I work with others to market my business, write books, answer email, book travel, etc. Now I say, “How did I ever survive without a team of people?”
4) What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?
I wake up at about 6:30 every morning. The first thing I always do is meditate for at least 10 minutes, but up to 30. Before I began meditating, I found that my day would be run by what I was worried about when I first woke up — which was sometimes a myriad of overwhelming and competing priorities. Now, before I allow myself to go there, I walk to the next room over and sit. I have done some meditation programs and practices that have really helped, because meditation is so hard. It grounds me in the day. Then I walk downstairs and share coffee and morning conversation with my wife and then head to the gym or out for a run. Now that I have an employee who shows up at 8:30 and starts to answer my email, there’s not such a rush for me to jump right into work first thing the morning. Having a relaxed morning sets the tone for my day. I could not manage my crazy schedule and workload without it!
Check out Lisa Congdon’s full 40 Over 40 profile here!
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