Whatever your creative talents, and however much you nurture them, the chances are, like the majority of creative people, youre not able to make a full time living through them. Maybe this is through not yet being in a place where you have enough exposure and opportunity to earn money from your creative work. Maybe its because the work you create is not something that could be easily marketed in large enough volumes or at a high enough monetary value to enable you to live off solely. Or maybe youve made the choice that your creative work is not something you wish to do for profit at all, and the experience and pleasure of creating is whats important to you. Whichever of these applies to you, we all have some basic needs in our lives and many of these require us to earn money. So working in a day job that you can enjoy, is not too stressful, pays your bills each month, and gives you time to create the work that is important to you, makes a lot of sense. Here are 7 of the top reasons why a creative day job can, more than being a financial necessity, actually be fantastic for your creativity in a variety of different ways - 1. You can generate extra funds to invest in your creativity. Whether its to buy materials, equipment, books, or courses, having extra income to put aside to invest in your creative efforts can make a huge difference to your development as an artist. At the simplest level, if you dont have the equipment you need to create, youre not going to be able to create! 2. It can be a constant source of inspiration. Working somewhere thats busy and stimulating, such as a caf, shop or school, can provide an endless source of inspiration. Once you begin to form the habit of absorbing your environment with senses hungry for creative ideas, youll notice your creativity is continually fed and stimulated. 3. It relieves the pressure of having to be constantly creative. However great our talents, none of us can be creative every waking hour of every day! By committing time each day/week to working in a day job, we give our creativity some time off to recuperate, and ease the expectation (mainly from ourselves) of having to produce amazing works of creativity in every single act we do. 4. You can meet a wide variety of new people. People are as interesting as you want them to be. By having a strong sense of curiosity and a desire to be genuinely interested in the lives of others, youll not only make friends quickly, youll also find life so much more interesting and stimulating yourself. 5. It increases your confidence and self-esteem. Choosing to take responsibility for yourself and your life shows strength, independence and that you care about yourself. This naturally builds up your self-esteem and leads to greater confidence in all things you do, including the creative projects you undertake. 6. You make new contacts and build networks. Depending on the creative day job you have, there are a number of opportunities to talk with people about your own creative work and share similar experiences, joys and struggles. For example if youre a budding painter, and work in an art supplies store, its fairly easy to break the ice and start chatting to other artists who come in to buy similar materials to those you use. 7. You retain greater creative authenticity. Some people may see working a day job to support their creativity as a compromise in integrity or selling out in some way on the true purpose of their creative work. In fact, quite the opposite can happen. By relieving the pressure of having to make money from your creative projects, you can be freed to create the work youre truly passionate about, without having to make any compromises. If you have a creative day job already, which of the above do you relate to? Are there any other advantages you can add to the list? If youre considering finding a creative day job, maybe these reasons will help you decide whether its the right choice for you, and what kind of job may best suit your creative life. Remember theres no shame in supporting your creativity, and, as you can see from the evidence above, theres an abundance of great benefits to be enjoyed. Copyright 2006 Dan Goodwin
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