tlblack, I was just about to write the same thing.

I have a creative job, and my attitude towards the work has gone through several evolutions over the past 12 years I’ve been doing it. At first I was deeply intertwined with the work, putting all my creative energy into it, caring intensely about the final output. However when you’re creating something for someone *else*, they always have the final say on what it’s going to be, so I quickly learned not to be so personally invested in my own creative output.

However it’s emotionally draining, somewhat mechanical and boring now, and I don’t have the energy to put into my own creative work anymore. Even though I freelance and can set my own hours, it’s always been a struggle to find the right balance.

YMOYL somewhat changed the attitude again… my work became about simply earning money, which has the potential to buy future freedom… But how does that help me keep going with the work I’m doing NOW? I can’t live my life waiting for this future freedom… That’s no way to live, either.

The problem with money is that there is *never* passion attached to it, directly. Because it’s an abstraction of materialism, the passion is always at least one step removed. I.e. the only thing that could contribute to my material existence that I could see myself being truly passionate about is something like establishing a garden to grow my own food, or trying to reduce pollution in the community, or some such thing. Direct, immediate, physical involvement, rather than saving for some future returns far down the road…

I tend to agree with tlblack and stephanie, I’d rather be challenged by a job than be passionate about it. I have a feeling only a tiny amount of people who are truly passionate about their jobs feel that way over the long-term. If a job challenges me, I feel like I’m not wasting my time/life/brainpower, not to mention getting paid is a nice perk.

I have passions outside of work that, if I counted on to earn money, would probably not be as enjoyable. It would be nice to have more time for those, of course, but for now I’m happy with the balance.

I spent my 20s preparing to be a professor in a field about which I was passionate. Then for 15 years I worked 70 hour weeks for the lowest paying field in academia. At 45 I said “enough” — quit academia, moved to a rural area, and got a job that paid half as much, but also required only 40 hours a week and little creative energy. Now it’s 10 years later and I’ve been able to cut back to 32 hrs/week and hope (health insurance reforms permitting) to retire from “regular” work at 60. For me there’s no question, I’d much rather have my life (and fewer $$$) now while I’m young enough to enjoy it, than hope to live well in some future retirement.

@stephanie – I also somehow doubt that the “my job is awesome” crowd really think that their job is awesome all the time. Either that or their definition of awesome is different than mine.

I knew a wise guy in HS that loved to play the piano. He told me he specifically did not want to choose this as a career because he was afraid that playing as a job would ruin it. I thought that was great. (Later he switched his major and started playing pro. I don’t know if he is happy now.)

@Jacob

The people may think that there job is awesome because their mind changes their perception about the job they have. See this video, where this is described http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html

Great post! “Money is not the only solution” Just the reminder i needed!

@tlblack – I was in a similar situation. A creative job based on an “up or out”-model. More work resulted in the next position, not higher pay, because the competition was very high. And if you’re not thinking about the work 100% of the time in such a situation, you might as well forget it because someone else will. Ditto for 12hr days. Regardless, the direct problem is that there’s little creativity left after work (because work never stops). Of course creativity is not exhausted like that. A more nefarious problem are creative jobs that do not allow you to think about anything else during “work hours” even though the inspiration may suddenly strike.

@AlexK – I have never noticed an annual variation in the number of new subscribers. The only correlation I have found is participating a lot of carnivals.

My story is pretty identical to tlblack’s and stephanie’s. I work as a graphic artist in the advertising industry. I got where I am by having loads of ambition and a strong work ethic. The truth is, my self-worth was tied into my job performance. But eventually that love passion turned into hate passion.

I resent that my creative energy is used up by the end of the day. I yearn to work on my own ideas and projects, but after a mind-numbing 9-to-12 hour day of corporate retardedness, I can’t even remember what I was excited about in the first place. Now, I only care about the paycheck. My productivity has plummeted, and I’m surly at work.

I’ve tried to quit. I put in my resignation about once a year. The plan is always the same, to take on stimulating seasonal work, usually outside, and freelance in the off season. But, I get cold feet, and people with “my best interests in mind” manage to convince me that my dreams are unrealistic.

That’s why I visit this blog daily…It reminds me that I’m not alone, and that dreams ARE possible.

@Jason: If you haven’t already done so, maybe consider reading Paul Terhorst’s book ‘Cashing in on the American Dream’. He retired at 35ish, and he wrote a lot about the mental/emotional process of making the decision, and how his friends and family responded, and how he dealt with it. The book is out of print now, but you can get a used one on amazon or similar sites– I got mine for about $5. He wrote the book in the 80s, so some of the financial stuff is a bit dated, also you have to adjust for inflation with regard to his numbers (just multiply by 2– close enough).

After getting a BS degree in Math & Physics, I worked for 3 industries, (5 years, then 19 years, & 23 years). During this 47 year career, I mostly considered myself, self employed. IE by setting my own goals, effort, extra hours, etc. This was in a salaried position. The creative part was not only in the projects, but in working within the politics of what was possible in the organization. Many times I stuck my neck out by bucking the system (I knew I was right), and failure meant job loss. However this style worked for me and gave meaning to what I was paid to do.

@TylerOSU – Some combination of stoicism and cynicism (the latter should probably be looked up). The closest thing I get to religion is probably zen buddhism, but I am not actively religious.

I have always done work that I enjoyed doing. Enjoying it has been my primary objective. In other words, everything I’ve done I’ve done from a place of passion, not for the money. When I stopped having the passion, I moved on to other work. Maybe this was the wrong approach, but it has been the only way I have been able to do anything in my life.

I’ve run out of things to be passionate about that I can trade for money at a job. So now I’ve taken a different approach. I try to live frugally so that I can work minimally doing stuff that people will pay for that I can tolerate for a few hours a day. I have more time each day to not be stuck in a place I would rather not be.

I can make money accumulate in my account and enjoy a life of freedom right now working part-time and being frugal. It will take me a bit longer than doing it the way it’s described here. But it works pretty much the same as what is described here and I get to be happy right now, not in 5 or 10 years. At the other end of this, I see myself continuing to live super frugally, possibly living a mobile lifestyle (I love being a nomad). A permanent frugal lifestyle is the key, it seems.

Hi Jacob,

I totally agree about being a part time capitalist. I am always looking for ways to make money or build a business. That could be a new revenue stream from my blog or a programming idea that can become an online service.

Also, I don’t know if it is really harder to find a part time job than a full time job. For an employer, it is a much easier decision to hire a part timer. Especially in uncertain financial times (like now). They don’t have to worry about benefits and it is easy to fire the employee.

George

I happen to be passionate about my job, and even more passionate about my personal projects and after-career projects/stints. Given the nature of my work I run into the same problem with creativity, and as Jacob mentioned, “A more nefarious problem are creative jobs that do not allow you to think about anything else during “work hours” even though the inspiration may suddenly strike.” To combat this, I keep notepads scattered about the peripheral of my desk and listen to podcasts while I’m doing numerical analyses, and music while I’m reviewing reports/writing reports. My aim is to get my brain running on all cylinders to make connections across both work and personal projects, effectively working on everything, in a way, at once. At my core, I am incredibly lazy, thus I must devise means to be as efficient as possible. The biggest setback so far is leaving time for my brain to effectively go on strike and space-out, as mental discipline and focus for 11hrs/day is rough. The coolest part is between that, martial arts, and and the hacker/makerspace I frequent, I sleep beautifully but am not tired. I’ve been lucky so far. Almost one of ten years down!