Drawing Out The Inner Artist That Has Always Been Inside with Patrick Carney

Kathi: Hi everyone, this is Kathi and I am back today. I'm so excited because I'm speaking with Patrick Carney. Born and raised in New York City, Patrick started hanging out in New York's West Village in '64, and he dedicated his time to drawing and painting the world of rock and roll music, where he soon became an influential documentarian artist of rock's most celebrated musicians. He traveled throughout the US attending rock concerts, painting whatever he felt inspired to do, capturing the passion and creativity, and caught this stuff in real time forever. Known as The Artiste, he loved sharing stories at his art shows of these chance meetings, and went on to form strong relationships with so many famous musicians. I'm so excited to have Patrick on because I really want to talk about passion and art and how you can turn what you love to do into a living. So Patrick, thank you so much for joining me and giving me your time on this show today.

Patrick: Thanks, Kathi. I appreciate being here.

Kathi: Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so you were in New York City, you were hanging out. When did you start drawing? Did you start drawing when you were a toddler or what?

Patrick: Yeah, so I cannot remember not drawing. My mother always said to everybody that I came out of the womb with a pencil in my hand.

My mother always said to everybody that I came out of the womb with a pencil in my hand.

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Kathi: I absolutely love that. And growing up in New York, you were able to be around a lot of really stunning caricatures, or characters, that you could sketch.

Patrick: Yeah. Well, what I would do, which was really one of the great starts to having the ability for relationships, was when I was on the subway or on the train, I would actually pick somebody out to draw and hand it to them before they got off the train. And it just said on there, "Call me," with my phone number. And 100% of the people called me.

Kathi: Wow. Well, you're so good. I've never had a sketch of myself that's just good. So, of course, they're going to call you. Wow. So you would meet some crazy people on the subway. And what a gift. So basically, you have a gift and you're giving it back every day as you're on the subway.

Patrick: Yeah. And I still do that today. I have three grandchildren now, and I capture them, and now I capture my friends, who are going through the same thing, their grandchildren, and just send it to them, because there's Dave Corbin, Dave Corbin the illuminator, and Tim Flannery, second base for the Padres. We're all going through this at the exact same time. So I like capturing that kind of thing, and it's my give back.

Kathi: That's amazing. So if you had any tips for fledgling artists or musicians that really want to do this for a living, what would you tell someone who is starting on that path?

Patrick: Well, the first thing I would tell them, which I wish someone had told me, is to document everything. That's the first thing. Document, document, document. And then find mentors, find individuals that are doing what you would like to do. And what I have learned over the years is that the bigger they are, the more access we have to them. As you know, and you spoke there, I have a mastermind every Tuesday morning. I've been running it for 41 years, and I have invited 174 of the top speakers in the world there, and 172 have shown up. Now think about that. And it happens because you have your ask in gear. So if you're an artist and you need to learn something, or you're not sure about the business part of art, you find a mentor, sit down with them. I went to the School of Visual Arts in New York City, an art school, and one of my great teachers was a painter named Chuck Close. He was just starting out, and now his paintings sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. And one of the first things I learned from him was always have an empty chair next to you, so a mentor, a friend or another artist could sit, and you could interact and build what your knowledge needed to be.

Always have an empty chair next to you, so a mentor, a friend or another artist could sit.

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Kathi: Wow, that's astounding. And wow, so everybody is six degrees away from you anyhow in the world. So I think that's amazing advice. Now, I know that you are mentoring kids. So tell me a little bit about your kiddo program and what you've been doing here to help the next generation become artists.

Patrick: Well, when the pandemic hit and we started to hang out and not go anywhere, I moved my mastermind to Zoom for the first time in all these years. And a friend of mine, Scott Duffy, started a radio program that I was helping him with, called What Now? And during one of our conversations, he said to me, "I would love to have my two daughters have art lessons with you." And I was thinking, "Wow, that could be something I do. That could be a great gift back." And so I created two different lessons that worked out really, really well for these kids. One was how to take the object and understand what the object really is, what it feels like, what it tastes like, what it smells like. So let's pretend a flower. Okay? So we'd spend two or three minutes just on the stem, and move to the leaves, and then move to the petals. And when they had it, when they felt the passion of that flower, when they really understood what that flower was all about and they had it in their soul, put it down, so I could see them put it down. And I would have them draw that flower with their eyes closed. And you can't believe what they would create. It was amazing. So when we had them paint it with their eyes open, it was so easy, because the passion flowed out right from their heart, down their arm, into their hand, to the brush or pencil. It was amazing.

The passion flowed out right from their heart, down their arm, into their hand, to the brush or pencil.

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Kathi: That's incredible. So they start drawing it with their eyes closed, and then they open their eyes.

Patrick: Yeah. Keep their eyes closed for the whole thing, the first one, and then the second one they do it regular. Because how many people have told me in my lifetime, "I cannot draw a stick figure"? I mean, it's got to be thousands. And I say you're wrong, because we have it all. The neuroscientists tell us we have it all until we're approximately seven, and then society and parents and friends and all of the schools get in the way. So it's still in there. So let's just tap into it. Now, I'm not saying you're going to be Picasso or whatever, Michelangelo. What I'm saying is you have the ability to draw.

Kathi: That's incredible. And I love the idea of being very visceral, being very 3D with the image of the flower. And I think it's a very similar thing when entrepreneurs are starting their business: what's it going to feel like? What's it going to sound like? What's it going to taste like? How is it going to work in my life? Seeing it as a 3D entity that their passion is going to flow into. And then I think they can definitely branch out and create a much more successful business by doing that. And I think it's a similar thing with what you're doing with the kiddos. Boy, I think you should do that as YouTube classes, Patrick. You got another thing to do.

Patrick: Yeah. Well, you're talking about entrepreneurs, and how entrepreneurs typically end up alone. We're doing everything. We're wearing all 15 hats and all those kinds of things. And what I learned really early, I was very lucky to learn this early, is that life is a team sport, and that we must surround ourselves with key people who motivate us, inspire us and push us, which is exactly why I facilitate that mastermind every Tuesday morning. I would highly recommend that entrepreneurs find and join a mastermind. A mastermind group is generally a small group of like-minded people who meet regularly to support each other's growth. One and one is three. One and one is 30. One and one is 300. One and one is 3,000. What do I mean by that? In my mastermind, there's 12 members. However, each meeting, there's not just 12 members there. There's every influencer, every mentor, every parent, every sibling, every uncle, every aunt, every professor, every teacher, all in that room. So typically we have two to three thousand people in that room every time we meet and go through the hot seat. So think about that as an entrepreneur. If you're sitting home in your office and you're blocked from inspiration, or your passion is kind of subduing, and you got to meet each week with those 12 entrepreneurs and the two or three thousand influencers, what would that do for your business? That's why I have a mastermind. I mean, there is not one week in all these years that I haven't received a nugget that I could use. That's fantastic, and that's what it's all about.

Life is a team sport, and we must surround ourselves with key people who motivate us, inspire us and push us.

Kathi: Yeah, that's such good advice. And man, I could just dissect this whole podcast. I have quote after quote after quote that I'd like to use from you. I don't know where I'm going to begin. Anyhow, wow. Yeah, I agree. And if you're feeling like you're not energized and you're feeling burned out with your business, I agree. I totally agree. The best thing to do is to find like-minded individuals. Join yourself a mastermind. And if they don't have a mastermind that you want, make your own, right?

Patrick: Absolutely.

Kathi: What would you say is your best tip for someone who wanted to start a mastermind on their own, if they can't, maybe they're out in Idaho all alone and can't find anybody?

Patrick: Read Napoleon Hill's book, Think and Grow Rich, number one. And obviously, you can find anything you need on the internet on how to run a mastermind. I mean, it's all there. Or they can call me.

Kathi: I love it. Yeah. And you are an amazing resource. You've been my helper and my friend for many, many years, Patrick, and I appreciate it. So look, you guys are not going to believe it. You need to go to Patrick's Twitter, and we'll have the link down below so that you can see all of his amazing art. It's just off the charts insane. So good. I really appreciate that. So if there's anything that I should ask you that I've not asked you about your life or your business, what have I missed? There's so many nuggets already. I don't even know where to start. But what would you say would be something that I should have asked you that I didn't?

Patrick: Well, you know what, it's funny. I ask myself a question every single morning. Every morning I ask myself, what is the first or next step? That question creates for me heart-stopping excitement. When I was a young artist just starting out, no one told me about what I would be going through. People said I was going to starve. I must have heard that, I don't know, 10,000 times. No one said to me, "Hey, go read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill," or How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, or The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, or Dare to Lead by Brené Brown. So for the last 30 years, I've hung around with these people. I get to hang around with them like you do, and I painted their portraits. So nobody back then took the time to do these things for beginners. I wish somebody had. So I applaud you for doing this and having this conversation, because it's important that we ask what is the first or next step, because that's what we need to do, and prioritize. I mean, I hate rules and regulations, okay? I just hate them. However, I have come to realize that they work. So when you start out as an entrepreneur, before you do anything, before you hire anyone, before you get a mentor or any of those kinds of things, create what I call the rules of the game. If you don't have the rules of the game set, who's going to write them? Okay, the employees, or the people we interact with. So it's important for us to know where we're going. Now, we can adapt those rules over time. However, start out with a set of rules. I had a friend of mine, and you probably know this individual. I'm not going to name them. However, probably five years ago, they called me and said, "Oh my God, I expanded my business and I hired my very first CEO." And I'm like, "Oh, great." "Not so great." She tells, and the tears start to flow. And I go, "What do you mean?" And she goes, "Well, she's doing this and she's doing that." And I said, "Well, I just have one question. Did you write the rules of the game?" And she said, "No." I said, "Well, it's a little late to write the rules now. However, I will come and facilitate with you, and we'll create the rules." So five years later, the CEO is doing phenomenal, because now they're on the same page.

If you don't have the rules of the game set, who's going to write them?

Kathi: Ah, so it's writing the rules of your game, your business.

Patrick: Yes. What you believe, what you understand and how the business should run.

Kathi: Right. So take, for instance, what would be a rule, just for those out there? Something visceral.

Patrick: It could be around integrity. It could be your mission statement, it could be your vision statement, it could be anything that deals with the hours that we work, that you're expected to be here. It could be all of them. I mean, whatever you could dream up could be a rule of the game.

Kathi: Yeah. I find that too. It kind of goes back to the mission statement. It's the ethics. One of my rules is creating sustainable skill sets for my clients, not just doing it for them, creating sustainable skills. It's part of our code of ethics as a board certified organizer anyhow, but for me it fits very, very nicely in my package of my business. So yeah, but I don't think people really think about that, and I think that's an amazing insight, Patrick. That's huge. So create the rules for your business, gang, especially before you hire people.

Patrick: Yeah, because, as I said, they'll write the rules. I mean, if I don't write the rules, somebody else could write the rules. So that's number one. And then, when we started the mastermind, we desired rules of the game. We also desired vision and synergy and win-win attitude and out-of-the-box thinking, entrepreneurial spirit. Being in integrity, we just talked about being in integrity. Oh, purposeful action: even on your own, when you're not being directed by me, and you see action that needs to be taken, take it. Inspired creativity and coachable employees. Employees that desire to spend time with a mentor to get somewhere or take a course, because I say to some of the entrepreneurs that are doing decent, why not pay for college for these employees and create this win-win? I mean, think about the people in our lives, that we're in gratitude because they're in our lives, what they've done for us. And they're all givers. Everybody that we hang around with are givers. And that's how we have to surround ourselves.

Kathi: Yeah. The more you give, the more you get. And you get these unexpected things from relationships, which are huge gifts that you didn't even know that you needed until you had them, and they're like, "Oh, how did I do that without that the whole time?" So wow. Well, I so appreciate your time, Patrick. I'm always inspired and in awe with you every time we talk. You're really, really inspiring to me, and I appreciate your time being on this show, and I know that everyone out there is going to get a bunch of takeaways from this podcast. So thank you so much.

Patrick: Thank you. I appreciate it.

Kathi: I appreciate it, Patrick. Take care.

Patrick: Take care.