I spent most of my first two and a half decades of working life in a corporate job. It is a fairly stable career that assures a reasonably good life. After years on the grind, one might feel there is limited upside, but there is also limited downside.
A creative life is different. The upside is potentially unlimited, not just materially but also for the satisfaction it provides. But there is also a flipside – a downside that could also be potentially unlimited, if one doesn’t have the financial freedom to withstand it.
What if it doesn’t work out? What if the book we write, the story we tell, the product we make, the music we compose or the painting that we give shape to, doesn’t sell? What if there are no buyers? What if there is no market? What if we are not lucky? What if we are not good enough?
There is a flipside, for certain. A few lucky creatives can tolerate the flipside, and focus only on the joy. Or few keep getting better learning from the flipside. Some embrace it as a lifestyle. Some find themselves on a bicycle where one wheel is for their passion and the other is to make a living.
But the flipside is not for everyone. If you find that the game you are good at isn’t working, and the flipside worries you, change your playing style or find another game. There is no hurry to get anywhere if the journey itself gives you joy. Stay alive to fight another day.
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