3 Lessons from Van Gogh for Virtual Assistants

Two weeks ago I attended the Vincent Van Gogh exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It was a phenomenal exhibit and I left massively inspired by Van Gogh's beautiful artwork… and by the story of his life.

Van Gogh’s life was as interesting as his artwork. Troubled, but interesting. [He is the guy who cut off his own ear, after all. #ouch]

I’ve thought a lot about the exhibit and how we as Virtual Assistants can benefit from some lessons from Van Gogh’s life and am sharing those lessons with you below.

3 Lessons Van Gogh’s Art Can Teach Virtual Assistants

Lesson 1: It’s never too late…

Van Gogh is one of the most world renowned painters in history, and yet he only started painting the last 10 years of his life.

Before he painted, he tried his hand at many other career paths…

So if you’re thinking about starting a VA business but think it might be too late in your career path to get started…

Or…

If you’ve been a VA for a while and think it’s too late to change niche’s or start offering another service because you’ve been doing something else for so long…

👉 Remember: It’s never too late! 👈

[Side note: If you’re interested in starting a VA business, I’ve got a few places I recommend you check out: assistu.com, IVAA.org, vaclassroom.com, and TheVirtualSavvy.com. These are all great starting points for finding out if being a VA is the right career path for you. Or send me an email or message; I’m happy to share my insights with you!]

Lesson 2: Find the people who will support you...

Vincent Van Gogh’s brother Theo was his #1 fan. So much so that he often times financially supported him when Vincent wasn’t making any money. But more important than that, in my opinion, was that Theo BELIEVED in Vincent’s artistic abilities and would ENCOURAGE him through letters. Vincent Van Gogh led a troubled life for sure, but he always had the support of Theo.

So if you already have an amazing support system in place, great! Make sure you are leaning on them when you need too [because running a business can be hard!]

But what to do if you don’t have a good support system in place?

Here are a few suggestions on where to start to find your tribe:

• Join local network groups to meet like-minded business owners. Show up regularly and genuinely start to build local connections. Invite a new friend you meet there for a coffee connection.

• Attend conferences to meet your future business besties.

• Reach out to your current colleagues and industry peers to search for an accountability partner.

• Hire a business coach – paid support is still support. 😉

Lesson 3: Always keep learning and growing…

The final thing I’d like to share about Van Gogh’s exhibit that really inspired me was that he was always studying others work and learning new ways to be better as an artist. He never thought to himself “Nah, I don’t know to learn – I know everything about being an artist.”

How can we apply this to our work as VAs? For me, it’s a great reminder to set aside money in my business budget each year for continuing education.

For example, if you do social media for your VA clients, you should definitely stay on top of social media trends by investing in courses that help you to do so.

If you’re new to business and don’t have a lot of funds, read the major social media blogs [such as SocialMediaExaminer.com].

Whatever your niche or specialty is, make sure you are devoting time and resources to being the best Virtual Assistant you can be.

So, there you have it… 3 lessons we as Virtual Assistants can learn from Van Gogh!

I’d love to know which one resonated with you most… Drop a comment below! 👇

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