Working a 9-to-5 Doesn’t Make You Less of an Artist
Every creative has dreams of becoming an overnight success and making a living from their medium.
Successful authors and musicians may be imagined as thriving with New York City penthouses, cocktail parties, press events, and spending the day making art in a silk robe. But it’s never imagined that even successful artists have to work a day job.
Find the value in a job
During an interview with Larry King, comedian Eric Andre shared his experience of working endless temp jobs by day and performing stand-up comedy by night. He didn’t let the daily grind kill his creativity, he embraced it and brought the experience to his comedy. It helped the young comedian refine his concept for a talk show, which he described as bringing the contempt of temping to the talk show medium. The idea ended up becoming the Adult Swim mock talk show, The Eric Andre Show.
Fellow comedian Bill Burr also shared his experience of balancing work and creativity on his Monday Morning Podcast. He described working in a warehouse for a living and practicing stand-up comedy during his time off. He said that it took bombing sets for years to really get a grasp for the art before he really started to get traction. Even after he began to make a living off of stand-up he continued to work in order to…
