If you’re not starving, are you really an artist? I say if you’re not starving or threatened with starvation, where’s your motivation?
Jennifer at CatalystBlogger had a great post about contingency plans in the freelance world. Jen was inspired after reading Ben Stein’s musings in the New York Times about uncertain economies and freelance scriptwriters. The inconsistency of our existences (all freelancers, not just scriptwriters) forces us to be on our game all the time.
Know what? To me, that’s a huge benefit. What better way to become smarter at marketing than as a way to avoid starvation or failure of some sort? How much lazier would we be at our business if work came to us? I know in just the last two years I’ve learned so much about how to market my skills and how to expand into new areas. Did I think six years ago when I started on this roller coaster that I’d come to write for nursing magazines, CPAs, emergency physicians or financial engineers? Hell no! But here I sit, having done all that. It’s called survival. Maybe it diverted me from my goal of having a few published books by now, but it has helped me channel money to the college kid, pay off the car, and expand the business base a bit.
We don’t wait for layoffs – as Jen pointed out, we’re laid off all the time. For us, it’s no great shakes. We’re simply on to the next project. But there’s the rub – no one is there handing the projects to us. We have to come up with ideas (marketing or article), develop them, find a home for them, and sell them. And then when that’s all done, we have to deliver the promised goods.
And after a while, aren’t we all going to be looking for, devising, and selling ways to earn more income with less output? Would we do that if there wasn’t the constant pressure to keep the bank account liquid or to pay down the bills and keep the kids in braces? It’s why I’m glad my better half and I keep our finances separate – why rely on someone else to shore up my financial bottom line?
How about you? How much better have you become at your job thanks to the constant pressure of finding new work? What are some of your success stories?
8 responses to “Starvation as Motivation”
I’ve written about this before, when I’m faced with people whining their excuses about not having time to write. They don’t have time because it’s not enough of a priority. When that’s how you pay the bills, it’s a whole different mind set. You can still love it, but you cut the excuses and get it done.
I haven’t had enough coffee yet — can’t even spell my own name. Sheesh!
LOL! I hear you, sister. I’m only semi-caffeinated myself. :))
Kristen once said something that stuck like glue – if you look at this job as your ONLY alternative, you’ll work harder at it. So true. The minute I put all back-up jobs out of my mind, this job became much more lucrative.
It also helps to envision where you want to be. If you can sit down in a meditative way and really see yourself making progress in whatever way, you’ll be surprised at how much faster you start working toward that (and how much faster you actually get there).
I’m blessed in that my family doesn’t have to live off my little income offerings. 🙂
I’m never sure if it’s the pressure of freelancing that keeps me going or my total inability to work a regular job. I’m a heck of a worker and a horrid employee. I’ll do most anything to avoid a 40 hour week with a commute, even write 😉
Thanks for the link love! I confess that since I’ve started this business I’ve never felt more stable–not because my income was stable, but because I was in a situation I actually liked and felt like I could stick with. There’s more to stability than a paycheck.
Angie, I took this job on as a single woman. It’s just my habit to make like it’s all I’ve got. 🙂
Anne, LOL! You crack me up. You strike me as someone who enjoys people but not so much the office politics. If so, count me in, too.
That’s the way I feel too, Jen. I remember going on interviews after my job disappeared. I’d talk to these interviewers, who were obviously envious and wanted to know more, about the ups and downs of freelancing. And honest-to-God, I knew then that this was my real job. I couldn’t work in an office again unless forced by some unnatural circumstance. This is home. 🙂
They say freelancing is feast or famine, and from what I’ve seen, it’s true. What I’ve found is that with each famine, my feasts become a little more scrumptious – meaning that as I go through the cycle, I improve my marketing strategies and grow my client base. Luckily, it’s been an upward spiral.