Archive for September, 2009

Art on the Side

Friday, September 25th, 2009

Gary V talks about how you need to do your passion, that if you don’t love what you do, you need to change—immediately.

And I believe that, I really do. But I also think you can find your passion via a little moonlighting, and be just as satisfied AND fulfilled.

I know this goes against what I at times champion in this blog—do what you love at all cost! Don’t settle! Find your passion!

But some times you need to be practical, folks, AND live your passion part-time.

I guess the point of this post is: Don’t let the dream die. Even if it’s not the central focus of your life.

OK, the backstory to this semi-change of heart: I went to the 8th annual San Diego Film Festival to support two local filmmakers/friends/colleagues, Brooks and Jay. I was half expecting some half-assed student-made films with shaky camera work and bad, bad acting (except for my friends’ film, of course)…but instead got some intelligent storytelling, amazing production value…and sheer entertainment.

The film by Brooks and Jay, Pop the Question, was bright, funny and wha!—featured good acting!

And bonus: A film by another guy I sometimes work with, Andrew, who created a bad-ass short about a young girl with unusual eyes with a lot of cloaks and rain. Too freakin’ cool.

Now Brooks has a steady 9 to 6 with my company as our media producer; and although he gets to edit at times (and does a damn good job!) he also has to deal with a lot of different requests for footage, or archiving old media, and more standard day-to-day stuff. And I’m not sure what Andrew does on his day-to-day (I do know he edits for us and other companies), but I’m pretty sure he’s not out filming scenes from M. Night Shyamalan thrillers on a regular basis.

But that’s OK, because even though the day may get a little mundane, these two know what they’ve got to look forward to: their art on the side.

So if you’re less than thrilled with the work you do, and know you need to stick it out and make a living, the question becomes: How else can you cultivate your passion? What could you get going on the side? What’s the first step to get you started? How can you make time for something that thrills and fulfills you?

And don’t say you don’t have time, because you’ll make the time if it’s something you love to do or work on.

So get moving to your passion…part-time or otherwise…

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