I'm at a particular crossroads right now. Continue being an average shmuck with a 9-5 job, or sacrifice that so I can focus on what I really want to do (writing), and hopefully be successful at it.
Did you just vomit when I said I want to be a writer? Don't blame you. It's the ultimate cliché. I'm completely ashamed whenever my wife brings it up randomly in a conversation. She'll mention a script I just finished, and the ensuing dialogue will go something like this:
Them: "Oh, so you're a writer?"
Me: "Uh, yeah."
Them "So how's that going? Anything published?"
Me: "Nope, still a loser."
So then here's the obvious question: if you haven't gotten anything published yet, why give up your day job?
Because I'm a moron.
You hear all the time about "starving artists". These are people who have decided to abandon the normal life of waking up to go to work, clocking out for lunch, then clocking back in and stare at the clock waiting to get your fifteen minute break, two hours from now.
This isn't always the case, though. Some "starving artists" are people who could get a dream job, but are more in love with their dream. Mark Zuckerberg is one such person; instead of getting a seriously awesome job with his Harvard education, he took the risky route and started an internet business.
DISCLAIMER: To be honest, I only have that Facebook movie to go by; I don't really know what I'm talking about.
But if the movie's at all accurate, we know that Mark dedicated all his time and effort into starting Facebook, and succeeded wildly. But how many other people have done the same exact thing, only to come up with nothing? How many young people have seen "The Social Network", and were inspired to do the same thing, only to have jack squat to show for it, after losing a lot of time and money?
Hollywood success stories are evil beyond belief. You hear the actor talk about the crappy one-bedroom apartment he/she lived in, while living off the McDonald's Dollar Menu; until that one lucky day that he/she got his/her big break, and look at him/her now sitting on stacks of money. These stories are dangerous, because they trick other people with dreams into thinking they can channel that actor's experience and succeed just like they did; they don't realize just how unglamorous this lifestyle reallly is. How many aging actors are there, who are still holding on to their dreams? How many thirty-year keep reminding themselves of Sylvester Stallone, who didn't reach success until he himself was thirty?
But then, this brings up an interesting question: at what point do you quit chasing your dream, and hang yourself with a 9-5? Eminem famously was about to quit rap several times, including just before he got discovered, and was going to hang up his mic for good; and Eminem had every reason to. A grown man with a daughter who's trying to be a rapper, while struggling and barely making ends meet, would be considered a giant loser by anyone who knows him. Add to the fact that Eminem was a white guy trying to succeed in a black man's art, then you can imagine how people must've shook their heads at dreamer who obviously won't amount to anything. Flashfoward, he's one of the most successful musicians of all time, regardless of genre.
So what have I decided? Basically, that I'd rather die then work a 9-5 the rest of my life. Thankfully, I don't have kids yet, so I don't have to factor them into my decision. But I am married; and I do have judgemental in-laws. And I am the Man in this relationship. But for me personally, I just can't continue on living without doing what I love. I seriously just may bite a bullet if I have to answer to clock in to a shitty job every day. Okay, I won't actually bite a bullet, but that bullet will be extremely appetizing for the rest of my life.
And I don't want to live like that.
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