Bart Merrell spent his entire youth chasing one dream: joining the FBI.
He studied accounting even though he hated it, because that was the “easiest way in.” He did everything right. Then one experimental eye surgery disqualified him for life. Just like that, the dream was gone.
Often we face setbacks like Bart did. But when they come, that’s when we realize how good we actually are at taking the old adage to heart of: turning lemons into lemonade.
The Death of a Dream
“I was devastated,” Bart told me. “My dream job as a kid got blown up.”
We’ve all been there. Some of us seem to live there. Maybe its the rejection email, the canceled project, the silence after the audition. Funny how the world doesn’t owe you your dreams.
Bart didn’t stay there. He pivoted and went to Japan, helped build a bungee tower, and started pushing people off it for a living. That’s where his new identity began — not as an FBI agent, but as what he now calls the Side Hustle Samurai.
The Rebirth of Identity
Anything that crosses your path — good, bad, or ugly — ask, “Can I monetize it?”
He learned it from his father, a pig farmer who turned every opportunity into something bigger. Bart took that mindset and built a life around it. From DJ-ing high school dances at fifteen to training dogs and even monetizing his own amputation, Bart turned survival into strategy.
When he lost his leg in 2024, he didn’t just recover, he built a business helping other amputees navigate the same journey. “I knew it was going to happen,” he said. “So I asked, how can I monetize it?”
That’s what it looks like when you refuse to let tragedy define you.
The Creative Truth
Artists talk a lot about passion, but not enough about adaptability. Bart’s story reminds us that the dream isn’t the point, the mindset is.
He calls it Monetize Your Mindset, and it’s not about chasing money. It’s about turning what you already know and love into something that sustains you. It’s about asking better questions:
What do I like to do?
What do I need to do?
What am I already doing?
The gold, he says, bubbles up from those lists. And when you find the thing that lights you up, you’ll feel it. He says he can even see it in the countenance of the people he coaches. When they realize where their experience, passions, and abilities intersect to create opportunities, a visible change comes over a person.
The Lesson for Creatives
Bart’s story isn’t about losing a leg or missing out on the FBI. It’s about what happens when your identity dies, and you decide to build a new one anyway.
For creatives, that’s everything. Because the truth is, your art will break your heart. Your dream will collapse. But if you can turn that collapse into curiosity, you’ll find freedom on the other side.
As Bart puts it:
“Your dream dying isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of who you were actually meant to be.”
Listen to the full conversation
🎧 LightMinded Arts #34 – When Your Dream Dies and You Still Win
Available wherever you get your podcasts.
For more on Bart Merrell: https://ai.bartmerrell.com/blindspot
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