Winners and Artists (a Survey)

It has long been my observation that there are two types of people in this world: Winners and Artists. 

Winners, win. I don’t know how much of it is nature or nurture but they certainly seem to carry themselves with an air of confidence that is lacking amongst Artists. It seems that Winners truly believe they have superior intellect and ability, whereas an Artist seems more open and self-conscious of their beliefs and skills. Furthermore, Winners seem to have a special knack for getting what they want and succeeding in whatever they pursue.     

As kids, Winners were selected first in backyard sports games amongst their buddies.

As they got a little older and entered organized sports, they were the crème de la crème. They could do no wrong, regardless of their performance. If they made a grave error, they were never punished. When they did do something right, you could bet without fail that all would know about it. 

In Corporate America, the Winners’ natural ability to shake the right hands, attend the right barbecues, and maneuver themselves to the front of the line, has caught my eye time and time again. With the ease and smoothness of a Bobby Jones golf swing, they are typically showered with lucrative salaries, praise, and opinions that go unchallenged. 

There is a spectrum of Winners, of course, varying in skill and industriousness. Not all Winners are the same. Like Artists, there are some who are highly skilled and industrious and others that are not so much. But the fact remains so: they seek, find, and take.       

Now let’s turn our attention to the Winners’ cousin—Artist. 

Artists, struggle. 

Unlike Winners, they are a creative lot, filled with endless ideas and dreams and artistic aspirations but seem prone to anxiety, self-doubt, and submissiveness. 

Artists know they have to work four times as hard as a run-of-the-mill Winner, just to be seen as average. They’re picked last for sports teams, their talent and work ethic are underappreciated. They are constantly being reminded of their shortcomings. Their opinions are not taken seriously. Their output is always critiqued and made to conform to a Winner’s ideal.  

Everything an Artist has—their job, their income, their house, their possessions—they had to fight tooth and nail for. 

This is not a grievance at life’s injustice, but the reality in which I see it. A reality in which an Artist must recognize and accept.  

Both the Winner and the Artist want to be viewed favorably amongst their peers and society for the work that they do. This, I believe, is a universal desire. 

For the Winners, this comes rather easily and naturally. But for the Artists it is a constant struggle that requires immense effort, setbacks, and emotional pain. The Artist instinctively understands that for them to command the respect of the world (and themselves), they must form their own worldview. 

They must throw the rulebook out the window. 

They must carve their own path. 

And they must call their own shots. 

Any hint of dishonesty in their art will be guaranteed to fail. The Artist will then have no choice but to sheepishly walk back to the Winner, tail tucked between their legs, and admit that they were wrong. 

So the Artist must make up their mind as to what they are willing to fight for, because a fight is unavoidable. 

Will the Artist fight for someone else’s dream, or their own?