So You Want to Be An Artist Influencer, Huh?

So everybody wants to be an “influencer” these days, right? The lure of followers, the excitement of sharing your passion with thousands who are listening to your every word. Trust me, it's a thing and it's exciting! But what’s God’s methodology for becoming a person of influence?  

First of all, let me say that wanting to share your passion and inspire others is awesome! And it could very well be a part of what God's called you to as an artist or art teacher.  But it's important to come at this from a healthy, grounded perspective because for Christians, concepts like laying down your life, serving others first and allowing God to raise you up in His timing come to mind pretty quickly.

In that context, here’s 5 other practical ways you can approach your dream of leading and potentially influencing others...

1. Develop Masterful Competency in One Area. Yes, one.​
   But Matt, I love to do so many creative things! Yes, I know and that's awesome, but it's not how you develop mastery. Focusing singularly on the development of your artistic voice and the unique aesthetic you carry is a major accelerator for your growth as an artist both creatively and financially.
2. Do it so well and so uniquely that others can’t help but notice.
   The Bible is clear that a person's gift makes room for them. As you develop mastery over an area of your life like your art, and start sharing your story authentically with those who are interested, that in itself will start to open doors in the marketplace.
3. When they start to ask how you did it (and they will) and if you could help them, humbly say yes and ask how best you can help.
   When you are doing great work and telling your story, you will garner the attention of others... both buyers, partners and students. As you notice the conversation happening - it's focus, it's frequency - embrace it and use it to develop relationships with your audience members
4. Day by day, multiply your results in the lives of others and help them achieve even greater results
   The responsibility to influence others as an artist who's on a Kingdom assignment is great. Not heavy, but important. Your role in that relationship is to inspire, point them to Jesus and help them grow in their own gifting so they can be the person God created them to be. It's definitely not to create a bunch of mini-me's.
5. Tell the stories of those you’ve helped and the transformation you helped them achieve. Invite others to the same journey.
   One of the best ways to grow in influence is to allow other people to praise your work and influence in their life. Let your students and clients tell your story through testimonials, video and social media live broadcasts. And when you're telling the story of what you do, make sure you're focusing 2/3 on your impact on others, rather than your own awesomeness, which I'm sure is limitless :)

Now, all that being said, I couldn't resist giving you 5 Ways Not to Be An Influencer. So, here they are:

1. Plaster your "brand" all over the web and social media along with your latest __________ (class, ecourse, book, album, etc) telling everyone how awesome you and your ___________ are.
2. Show no demonstrated mastery or progress in your life over time in the area you're wanting to encourage others in.
3. Step into the role of coach, expert or advisor when you’ve never helped anyone else achieve real lasting results in their life in that area.
4. Look for recognition of your position before seeing demonstrable, measurable results in your life and in the lives of others.
5. Seek leadership and authority before being a great follower who’s under authority.

It's been said "Your talent will take you where your character can't keep you" and I wholeheartedly agree. ​Remember, just because you can make influence happen through technology and marketing strategies doesn't mean you should. Rather, listen to the voice of the Lord, watch the fruit He's bringing forth in your life and listen to those who are organically following you.  

Psalm 75:6-7 "For promotion and power come from nowhere on earth, but only from God. He promotes one and deposes another."

Lastly, in the Kingdom, those who lead have a greater responsibility. We hold the hearts of our followers in our hands and have the ability to point them in any direction. Make sure your own heart is grounded in a healthy identity in Jesus and who you are in Him, rather than what you do. Otherwise, believe me, it will be really easy to draw others to yourself rather than to Jesus and His purposes in their life.