Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it. ~Henry David Thoreau
A man’s work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened. ~Albert Camus
I can’t imagine anything more worthwhile than doing what I most love. And they pay me for it. ~Edgar Winter
I met a woman on Halloween dressed in a witches’ costume. I complimented her outfit (no one else at the train station was wearing one) and we began to talk.
We were taking a train back to New York and she told me, in the course of our discussion, that she was very unhappy with her work and she wished that she could live a creative professional life. I had been telling her of all the things that I do to live a creative lifestyle. Yet, as much as she was agreeing that she should follow her muse, there was reluctance and, yes, fear, in all of her agreeing.
My father did a job for 26 years that he hated. It wore him down, but…he had a family to take care of, and that was that. This woman also was in a position that she did not like, that she said was soul killing, for well over 10 years. Even though I swore I would not do what my dad did, I got stuck in the money trap for 15 years; due to being married and having children I needed to help support. But… I was unhappy every single day. That only changed when, in my mid-30’s, I quit my job and followed a burning desire.
A lot of people seem to think that the only time that they can do what they really love is when they retire. Why does that sound 
wrong to me? Why do we have to wait until we are older to enjoy what we do professionally? Who says we can’t enjoy what we do on a day-to-day basis right now, right here, in our own terms?
In this horrible economic time, people are more afraid than ever to leave the position that they already have. Yet, the security that many used to feel that they had in their pockets is slowly fading away. I feel that the structure of the secure position… The future of the workforce is changing, and we are not changing fast enough to meet the new demands. There are other alternatives out there: we just have to MAKE them work for us and change the paradigm of work.
I can speak about what it’s like to be a teaching artist today. If we do not alter the way that we approach our jobs, if we do not take it to a new professional level, and if we are not treated as professionals, then we will get left behind. I love being a teaching artist. I also see that I have to change the way that I do things or have done things to survive.
Change is good, as long as we see it that way. As long as we are not afraid of it. As long as we accept the challenge of it and don’t let it overcome us. How we going to do this?
It takes a creative leap of faith.
What creative leap are you willing to take?
bornstoryteller 
Nov 06, 2011 @ 08:43:57
Interesting article about changing your mind about what you want to do with your life. We shouldn’t be afraid of change and should welcome it with open arms.
Nov 06, 2011 @ 08:55:01
Thank you Sulekah. I never understood the fear of change. Sometimes it can mean the world!
Nov 06, 2011 @ 10:12:28
Fear of change is due to different priorities. For some, security is the first, at any price. For others, it’s freedom. Or self-fulfilment.
But more often than not, it’s about confidence. If you’re not sure, that this is your path, you’re not gonna jump.
Nov 06, 2011 @ 11:15:21
Andrea: yup..it does take confidence and courage to take a risk. I know it first hand…it’s the “if I ask the pretty girl out, will she laugh at me” syndrome from when we were teens.
Me? I’d rather jump than stagnate.
Thanks.
Nov 06, 2011 @ 10:13:44
Love it! Honestly, I am scared of change because of fear of failure. I will keep this in mind next time I hesitate. 🙂
Nov 06, 2011 @ 11:17:11
Instead of fear, embrace it as a learning lesson. When I created my theater company, it was a HUGE risk for failure. I’m glad I did it.
Thanks Melissa.
Nov 06, 2011 @ 10:32:28
Insightful post! I’ve come across some reading material every so often that said something like, if we don’t change or embrace change, then we don’t grow and there is no progress. Much of this is something that I find in Buddhist texts, but, it can apply to anything.
I’ve taken a leap of faith more than once. Most times, those leaps have left me financially broke and wondering how I’m going to pay my bills, so I understand the point and purpose of doing what one loves but I can relate to those who are concerned about where their next meal is going to come from if what they love doesn’t pan out.
Nov 06, 2011 @ 11:20:05
I’ve been broke a number of times (like right now), but I fi9nd persistence, planning, and looking at ALL options the key. Then, do it again.
I feel what you learn from it’s not panning out to be key for future growth: what not to do, or who not to be like, is very important. Thanks Nicole
Nov 06, 2011 @ 10:41:49
Well said, Stuart. I wonder how many people know what it is they want to do. What do they love?
Nov 06, 2011 @ 11:21:14
JR…that is actually ,my next one: what do you love to do? I like both sides. Thanks for all this support already.
Nov 06, 2011 @ 17:23:00
I left a menial job that I loved when I started 25 yrs ago, and learned to hate. I was a cashier at a convenience store. When I started it it was a small family owned business but grew into a large family own business and their priorities changed. The customer and employees were no longer important, only the bottom line. I left and had no prospects of a “job”. Creatively my husband and I lowered our living expenses ( like they could get much lower), he loves his job and now I once more love mine. Mine is to help care for mama and all the little ones of my children while parents strive to make ends meet. This is the best thing I could have done, I found my camera, I found the blog world and I am no longer stagnating in a dead end job. I don’t know what the future holds, I know I will never be rich in $’s but truly I have so much more since I was willing to make the change.
Nov 06, 2011 @ 17:28:25
So darn cool a story Jan. I feel the same as you: richer in life, but not in pocket. I hope, for you and yours, you remain so rich.
Nov 06, 2011 @ 18:51:07
We fear change when we fear failure and also when we fear success!
Our rational mind cannot get this and still I have been trhought this with myslef and my clients. Welcoming change cna be done easily once we have seen our fears in the eyes.
Thanks for this post!
Nov 06, 2011 @ 19:20:53
Patricia, Thank You..and]…you’re welcome.
Nov 07, 2011 @ 07:41:01
Great post. Follow your passions. To me that is the only way to both live and work.
Nov 07, 2011 @ 07:44:26
Thank you Larry. While I understand the need to pay bills, I don’t understand being miserable 40+ of your waking hours.
Nov 08, 2011 @ 22:17:09
As a father and the sole provider whose job has benefits, I can’t call stepping into change “courageous” if it leaves my 4 and 9 year-olds high and dry if there’s a medical emergency (not to mention the braces for which we’re already paying). Do I love what I do? Well, I love my kid’s, and I love knowing they’re secure. The rest will have to wait.
Nov 08, 2011 @ 22:25:39
Chuck: I understand where you are coming from. I just do believe there are other choices one can make, still be secure, and you can beana happier too.
Change IS courageous. Not all changes should be made right now, but…don’t turn your back on them. There ARE things you can do to satisfy yourself. worked full time and did theater at night.
Find what makes you happy now: the kids do grow up, and they do grow away.
Dec 19, 2011 @ 15:48:32
I work full-time at the moment, which is the polite way of saying I’m paid to be chained to a desk and do the dirty work for everyone else.
You guessed it. I hate my job.
I enrolled in Cert. IV in Prof. Writing & Editing this year. I study part-time so I won’t lose my security or income and I’ll finish the course next yr.
Really, I’m playing my work. I’m using it for the income but I write and read every day and promise myself I will finish and publish my manuscript and no editor or publisher is going to stop me. I do what I want. And by God, I’m getting my manuscript published as a book one way or another.
Yup, I think being stuck at a job I hate has made me feel like I’m working to a deadline. I can’t stand being there one minute longer so I’m pushing my writing/editing career as much as possible at the same time.
Thanks for listening to my rant. I feel good now.
Dec 21, 2011 @ 09:43:16
I’m glad you got to rant and get it off your chest. Glad you are taking this job as incentive and not let it be the negative force it is. Good luck.
May 06, 2012 @ 12:19:01
Chuck – I’m a sole provider as well, so I understand where you are coming from. I would never leave my day job unless I had something secure, with benefits, in its stead, because it would cause my family to suffer. It’s much different if the risk is yours alone – I don’t think people who have no dependents get that. I find ways to enjoy my job, instead of allowing myself to feel trapped by it, and I do what I like creatively on the side.
As far as children growing older and growing away, they don’t all do that either. My son is autistic and will likely be with us for as long as my husband and I are capable of caring for him. I’m not going to take any great leaps or throw caution to the wind, for his sake, but I’m not giving up my dreams either. You can do both.
May 06, 2012 @ 17:22:01
Chantal: I think you and Chuck are reading this wrong: What I’m saying is that you can find other work (or try to) to achieve something better for yourself. I NEVER said just quit your job and have nothing backing it up. That is irresponsible. What I do disagree with are those who settle and are unhappy; it spills over into their non-working life, and if you think that’s not true then…
Do what you have to…dream…and if it happens you can find it, then do it.