The Project Driven Artistic Life

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Aaron Shumaker via Compfight

I can remember where I was when I realized I was a project-driven artist.

My wife and I were having dinner at a local pub-estaurant we love and I was talking about how my day job as a corporate sales trainer was good, but not artistically fulfilling. Sure, I was thankful for the job, the pay and the people I worked with and the trainees I’d helped, but a part of me was needed a little nurturing.

That part wasn’t being fed or watered. I felt it inside me grasping for breath.

My wife mentioned that she thought we were ‘project people’. That is, we like to birth an idea, cultivate it until it can stand on its own and then release it and move onto the next project. Sales training was the opposite of that concept and though I enjoyed several parts of the job, I wanted more.

I wanted to contribute more. I wanted to see the process through. And I wanted it for myself.

That last part…the ‘for myself’ was probably the most difficult to come to peace with for me.

“Why do I need to do something for me? Why am I so individualistic? Am I being selfish?” I thought. Continue reading “The Project Driven Artistic Life”

How to Enjoy Your Day Job

I’m an artist.

I love creating. I love those who create. I love the whole vibe from creative people.

This past weekend I got to do 24 Hour Plays, where a play is cast, written and performed all the course of 24 hours. Awesome and challenging. It was such a thrill to experience that creativity explosion with other writers, actors and directors (here’s my 24 Hour Play experience from last year).

On Monday, it was back to my day job which isn’t always creative. Like most day jobs, there’s a lot of redundancy, e-mailing, spreadsheets, meetings and numbers.

But…

I love my day job.

  • I love that my employers know I’m a creative person and allow me to do creative things that benefit the company.
  • I love that my day job doesn’t rule my life–it simply borrows me for 1/3 of my Mondays thru Fridays.
  • I love that my day job fuels my creative projects like this blog or writing this book to help other creative people.
  • I love that my day job is teaching me things about business that I wouldn’t know otherwise. Continue reading “How to Enjoy Your Day Job”