Bruce Outridge
Artist | Author | Radio & Podcast Producer | Television Host
Stop Chasing the Money-Chase the Joy: Career Tips for Young People
I have never been about chasing the money when looking for work. In 2026 however this is how many young people are looking for jobs for the future and many of those jobs may not be there in the future with artificial intelligence on the horizon. So should you chase money or love of work?
Recently I was having a conversation with a friend about careers and we noticed that many young people well into their late twenties and early thirties don’t even know what they want to do for a career. They haven’t found the main career they would like to follow and are looking for jobs that are paying the most money. While I understand that in today’s world having a decent paying job is very important, it can also cause you to work in a career that fails to inspire you and causes burnout or other problems.
Learning what you like to do and even if it doesn’t pay the most money getting very good at something I have found to be the secret to a solid career. When I got into the trucking industry back at the age of 17 I didn’t know what I was getting into. I began to enjoy it and started moving up the ladder very slowly. I enjoyed the travel, the change of scenery, and meeting new people. Your career will change time after time, possibly every five years. The secret is to find a career that has a central focus such as insurance or trucking but also has lots of options for career direction.
How do you find that start to your career path? You have three options for finding your career path. You can be guided into a career by someone you trust already doing that type of work. You can just get a job and accidentally find that you like that type of work and progress making it a career. Your third option is to make a list of what you like to do and what you’re good at and see if there is a match. This is the best option if you are targeting a certain type of career.
However you go about your future career, I can offer one piece of advice: money doesn’t make you happy. Having fulfilling work offers you a much better perspective on life. All the best.
About the Author
Bruce Outridge has been a media entrepreneur for over a decade helping creative entrepreneurs build successful businesses. He is a professional cartoonist, podcast producer, radio host, and produces two television shows for Your TV. He has been passionate about helping people have successful careers and you can learn more about Bruce and his work at www.bruceoutridge.com
The Professional Artist Mindset: What It Really Takes to Succeed in 2026
The Professional Artist Mindset is what It really takes to succeed in 2026. Becoming a Professional Artist is hard work and no easy feat, technology has made it easier for people to enter the market without learning the true skills required. Our competition may not even be real people in today’s world of art, it may be artificial intelligence? If being a professional creative entrepreneur such as artist or musician is so tough then why do people do it? Creativity is inside you and those that choose to let it out create a beautiful world from their talents for the rest of us. Being an artist is a drive inside you that can be very hard to keep buried. Many cities when starting to rebuild will introduce the arts first, then restaurants, and then business. Culture comes first! So even though there are opportunities in the neighbourhood artists still have a hard time making money, why is that?
I recently did a podcast interview for the Cashing in on Creativity Podcast with Miriam Schulman. Schulman is an artist / artist coach from New York City helping other visual artists create successful businesses. She wrote a book called the “Artpreneur” as a guide to go along with her courses. After our conversation and reading her book I realized much of the same issues in my career and much of it has to do with mindset. Do you have the mindset to be in business? Are you focused on the customer? Are you operating as a business owner? This is where many artists go wrong. The mindset is what really needs to change to let you sell your art.
Being a professional artist takes so long to master properly that many artists don’t move out of that mindset. They have taken years to learn their craft that many times you never feel as though you have reached the finish line. You keep practicing and practicing and practicing. This makes you hold onto your art out of love, instead of treating it like a product and letting it go. Most of us with successful creative businesses spend more time marketing and building relationships than creating art. The practice becomes the doing. A good friend of mine that is a professional violinist says he spends 75% of his time marketing and 25% playing and that’s at a professional level.
Many times we focus on trying to be like others in our market and not enough on being ourselves. We stop putting ourselves into the mix and stop being unique. Then technology comes along and makes everyone look the same. The secret is you! Art is suppose to be unique to the artist but too many artists fall into the trap of looking like everyone else because they don’t want to put themselves out there, but that’s why we are buying their art in the first place. So add you to the mix and don’t be afraid to let people know about you.
To sum it up here is what you need to do:
- Change your mindset from being an artist to being a business owner.
- Market your business, treat your art as a product and not a lifeline.
- Keep your business unique by adding you to the mix
About the Author
Bruce Outridge has been a media entrepreneur for over a decade helping creative entrepreneurs build successful businesses. He is a professional cartoonist, podcast producer, radio host, and produces two television shows for Your TV. He has been passionate about helping people have successful careers and you can learn more about Bruce and his work at www.bruceoutridge.com
AI: Good or Bad?
Is it goor or bad? It’s not are you using artificial intelligence (ai), but how you’re using it that has become the big issue this month. I was the first to be against artificial intelligence “AI” because I could see the dangers that it would cause. I was thinking more identity theft and the crimes that could be created from being online. With the implementation of AI we knew it would take a number of jobs in various parts of industry and while that’s happened it has also impeded in areas I didn’t see it happening such as the arts and music. We thought about manufacturing jobs or tech based jobs, but the arts have been depleting fast. Artificial Intelligence has made it easy to steal, cheat, and share without any consequence. Are you a thief? No! Do you dislike the arts? No! Do you want your fellow citizens to be out of work? No! So is artificial intelligence good or bad? That decision is up to you!
Why is this happening? Artificial Intelligence has been around for years, maybe even decades, we just didn’t know it was developing. A musician friend of mine said artificial intelligence has been around for years developing things like drum tracks, electronic beats, and other musical benefits using technology. I have another friend that bought a tool that when he sings into it makes him sound like the beach boys so it has been around for a long time. What’s happened with artificial intelligence is that is now easily accessible. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it makes us all look good on paper or profiles.
Just like social media we all look good online, but over time we begin to see the damage a one sided argument online can do. The same can be said for artificial intelligence. It’s fun we look good, but in the background it is decaying our jobs, our skills, and our creativity. Technology is moving faster than ever and the freedom of access is moving faster than the regulations that can govern them. Many sites that are developing this technology are also taking actions against it such as companies like Google. YouTube in 2026 is now demonetizing channels that are only offering ai content. What artificial intelligence is really doing is stealing from many creatives.
When you look at artificial intelligence and understand how it works you will see how it is stealing from creatives. Sure some jobs will be lost due to efficiency and redundancy. That is not new and has been going on for decades. Walk into any manufacturing plant and you will see machines doing what people used to do. That is smart business! What artificial intelligence does differently is that pulls information from different sources. That picture you downloaded is drawing from years of learning from different artists. When you use Chat GPT it is pulling from multiple web sources which are websites and information from people that have taken the time to write down their thoughts and findings. When you create an ai song it’s from artists that have spent countless years of learning to play music and perfecting their skills. It’s like stealing a piece of art and selling it while taking all the profits.
So what can you do? Hey I am not saying don’t use artificial intelligence, you’re probably already doing it. I use it so I know you do too. Use it the way that it is meant to do, to inspire! Inspire your creativity and to make your own creativity better. Don’t let it be your creativity. Remember that artificial intelligence is gathering information on the backs of people that have taken years to perfect their skills and create their craft. Don’t steal it at the press of a button. Don’t use artificial intelligence to pretend or do something you can’t do. Don’t steal from an artist because you don’t want to put in the work to learn it yourself. Artificial Intelligence is a great tool to enhance our lives, don’t let it take over our lives.
About the Author
Bruce Outridge is a creative entrepreneur based out of Burlington Ontario Canada. He is a professional cartoonist, podcast and television producer, and creative business owner. He is the President of Outridge Enterprises Inc for the last 20 years. You can learn more at www.bruceoutridge.com
Get Organized for 2026
It’s time to get organized for 2026 and January is the perfect time to do this. January is generally a slower month for most businesses as people recover from the Holiday Season.
I like to use January to get things organized for my processes and my working space. Do you need to change around your office or studio, is it time to put up things that inspire you, should you start a new hobby, or improve your business? This is a great time to do so.
Since my home studio is where I spend a lot of my time this is an area I like to make sure is good for the year. Do I need to add lighting, change microphones or other things that will help my workflow better.
Whatever it is for you take the time now to make your studio a better place to be.
About the Author
Bruce Outridge has been a media entrepreneur for over a decade helping creative entrepreneurs build successful businesses. He is a professional cartoonist, podcast producer, radio host, and produced two television shows for Your TV. He has been passionate about helping people have successful careers and you can learn more about Bruce and his work at www.bruceoutridge.com
Are You Ready for the New Year
Are you ready for the New Year. As an entrepreneur while everyone is being busy with holiday items you may be trying to figure out what to do in the new year to grow personally, professionally, or both.
It’s easy for us to stay comfortable and keep doing the same thing year after year, but sometimes it is better to make a change. It may even be a drastic change. I have been revamping everything from shows to profiles and more over the last couple of months to get ready for the new year. If you are not sure what to do why not turn to artificial intelligence (AI).
START HERE
- Ask AI to search your business and see how you come up?
- Ask AI how to improve your business?
- Evaluate the findings and create a plan that fits for your business
- Execute your plan!
- Review your plan on a regular basis and adjust as necessary.
I have been doing this simple system with all of our businesses and main products and it has helped to streamline some profiles and processes, I suggest you try it.
IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW I USE IT AI-Click Here!
Whether you are working on your business or not I would like to wish you all the best for the future. Happy Holidays if you are reading this in December 2025 when originally posted. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
About the Author
Bruce Outridge has been a media entrepreneur for over a decade helping creative entrepreneurs build successful businesses. He is a professional cartoonist, podcast producer, radio host, and produced two television shows for Your TV. He has been passionate about helping people have successful careers and you can learn more about Bruce and his work at www.bruceoutridge.com
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