** This is an excerpt from The Urban Survival Guide, the most recent update to The Starving Artist’s Guide to New York City. It’s available as a free download here (also, it’s cooler looking than plain text), or for $7 as a paperback here.
A Re-introduction to The Starving Artist’s Guide
It’s happening all around us. The world seems to be
spinning out of control. Tsunamis, hurricanes, blizzards,
earthquakes. Why does mother nature seem so pissed off these
days? What happened to our sense of connection to nature? Why
is it that so many people seem so unhappy? Can we stand up and
change our society? How can we prepare for the worst while not
giving up our sense of well being?
I won’t answer all of these cinder block-shaped questions
in the short time I have in this (mini?)book. This is not a guide on outdoor survival. If you want one of those, pick up a copy of The Armed Forces Survival Manual. It has all the information a layman needs to survive in harsh, outdoor conditions. Or catch up on some Man vs. Wild or, my favorite, SurvivorMan (both available on Netflix.)
On the contrary, this book is for the young soul who
moves to New York City or another creativity-driven city in the hopes that they will make something of themselves in the world of art, music, comedy, film etc. Having lived here for over four years, I know a few of the pitfalls along the strange journey that NYC has to offer.
This is only an addendum. Pick up a copy of the first
edition to see a ton of other advice that I’m not going to repeat in this document. It’s got everything you’ll ever need, and then you can move up to speed by reading this here thing in front of you.
Since I released The Starving Artist’s Guide to New York
City in the Fall of 2010, I’ve learned a few things. The first of which is to let go. Seriously. Let go of expectations while maintaining the desire to create. As soon as you let go of your expectations, you will begin to glimpse how every little part in your life is connected.
Paradoxically, letting go is simultaneously the hardest and
easiest thing for you to do in the realms of creativity. Once you let go, you can begin your life as a professional artist.
There’s that word: Creativity.
When it rears it’s oddly-shaped head, the only thing you
can do is saddle up and ride the beast wherever it takes you. To force it in a direction in which it doesn’t want to go is borderline insane and to stifle it is to starve yourself of a fundamental right (and duty) bestowed upon you by the universe.
Don’t starve your soul.
In the past year, I’ve been through a hell of a lot of
obstacles. I’ve dealt with the tyrannous abuse of NYC’s newest
unwanted tenant: Bedbugs! I’ve also learned how to cultivate my own urban garden, make wine, kombucha, incredible homemade
juices and cider for pennies on the dollar. I got a job as a staff writer for a music magazine, began teaching sculpture and science classes, started a publishing company Sublime Minds Press, wrote a poetry book called This Will Swallow You Whole and recorded a new album called Holograms. Whoa! What a year!
When I haven’t been working on all of this stuff, I’ve made it my business to find cheap bars, cheap eats, experimented with more cheap home-cooked meals, and found some great websites to help guide the noble artist. Here we go.
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