Don’t mix up your products with your art

A friend of mine is an accomplished restaurateur. His restaurant specializes in selling smash burgers. He is also a successful chef, cutting his teeth at one of the best restaurants in the city. A couple of times, I had his pasta for dinner. I made this realization the other day, though I haven’t asked him about it: Burgers are his products, and cooking is his art. In building a burger restaurant, he still retains his craft through cooking. Another example: while I offer business services like business writing and speaking, writing at this blog, and my book, remain my art. I have a new product coming out, The Consistency Journal, that started off as an art project, and is quickly becoming a product. When you’ve got a skill and you’re finding a place in the market for it, you’re offering a product or service. When you’ve got a skill and you’re focused on expressing it the way you want, you’re making art. Making a product meet your standards for art will only cause you frustration.…