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May 25, 2021

Can creative types get ahead in a left-brain world?

The phrase "starving artist" may be a bit overused, but it’s no secret that few creative people make a real living with the work they love.

Can creative types, dominated by the right side of the brain, get ahead in an orderly, left-brain world?

California-based author Lee Silber believes they can. And in Money Management for the Creative Person: Right Brain Strategies to Build Your Bank Account and Find the Financial Freedom to Create he tells them how.

Through his writing and speaking engagements, Silber's job is to help creative souls – who often aren't sure how to effectively use their talents – manage their careers and money.

If you want to have the money to create, you have to be really creative with your money, he maintains. 

That's what led actor Miata Edoga to form Abundance Bound, a company who’s mission is to develop a community of actors able to pursue their financial goals free from the crushing weight of financial stress.

Only a couple of years old, the company claims to have helped scads of struggling L.A. actors develop business and marketing skills. But it's an uphill climb, Edoga admits.

The left-brainer is usually goal-oriented, likes tasks completed at the end of each day and is reliable, Silber says. Then there are those impulsive, emotional right-brain types – among whom Silber counts himself – brimming with great ideas and not always sure how to follow through.

Silber provides written exercises and quizzes to help the easily distracted get to the core of their financial being, such as reviewing spending habits and listing your Top 10 financial dreams.

He often asks clients to write a "money biography" by looking at their life and writing their life story using money as the narrative theme. This will help you clarify where you went astray and give you clues about what to do next, he believes.

Here’s a series of success stories of people who’ve done just that, courtesy of National Public Radio.

Are you a right brainer? Your partner? How has this affected your ability to make and manage money?

By Gordon Powers, MSN Money

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...