I truly believe that things happen for a reason, as cliche as that may be. I resonate with this in the sense that I’ve been finding my current career difficult. Despite the fact that I write for a company, which is technically my dream job, what I write about saps all my motivation and energy. I want to write beautiful, inspiring things.. not boring corporate things.
My goal is to start taking steps to go freelance this year and part of me wishes I could just leave my current position and dive head first into freelance job searching. I feel in my heart that if I knew my income depended on finding clients, then my motivation levels would skyrocket and a tenacious energy would take over.
I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to watch on the sidelines as the career you built starts to seep away, but I’m rooting for you and this new chapter!
Thank you for saying this. 🖤 I can actually relate to what you're saying too! A few years ago I decided to try corporate again, after 8 years of being self-employed. I found what should have been my dream job, but it completely destroyed all my confidence and energy. It was two very long months of being reminded why I can never work for someone else again. Sometimes these things are really good for highlighting exactly what we don't want.
I can't tell you what to do, but I will say my journey to being self-employed a decade ago started because I was laid off and had to figure it out on the fly. I had been planning to go that route for a month or two when it happened and I'm forever grateful that it did, because it forced me to make it happen. I had a tiny cushion of savings and not a lot of responsibilities or bills at that time, and so I went for it. It was lucky in a lot of ways, but I also worked REALLY hard to make it happen, and that never goes away. But I also can't imagine it any other way. Some people need the cushion of feeling like it's all figured out before they leap, others need to be forced into the decision and made to make it work. It sounds like you and I might both be the latter!
I appreciate your kind words so much — I'm rooting for you too!
I’ve never worked for myself before but no matter what job I’ve done/do, it leaves me feeling fed up of building other people’s dreams and leaving mine scattered to the side. I guess, like you say, corporate or ‘normal’ jobs just aren’t for everyone!
It sounds like working for yourself was meant to happen, just being laid off gave you that nudge. Having a cushion is certainly a bonus if you do have responsibilities/bills, like I have.. although I currently don’t have huge savings. I guess all I can do is keep trying to take steps in that direction for now and trust that everything will fall into place when it’s meant to.
This is so very common, I hear this a lot! Corporate life can be helpful if you're still figuring out your path, as there is something to be said about the pressure of turning a creative hobby into work, but sometimes, I think the corporate path is meant to be temporary. It just depends on the person, the timing, etc. But it seems like you have that fire in you too — and I trust that you're going to figure it out. We both will! <3
Also, not sure if you’d be in a position to do so.. but Amy Suto writes From the Desk and posts freelance job offers for paid subscribers. I know for certain I’ll be upgrading my subscription when I eventually start freelancing.
Hi! I'm in the same boat (animation industry is in tatters right now) but lack your energy haha- I'm so glad for you that you are gaining so much from this and your positivity is inspiring. Thank you :)
Hi!! I'm so sorry to hear you're in the same situation, I had no idea the same could be said for animation. :( What a fascinating career, though. What do you do in animation?
I hope things get better for you soon, I know how hard this stuff is. <3
It mostly looks like I sit at a computer all day haha-I work on the advertising side though, not cartoons/broadcast. I’ve actually been freelance for over a decade but these past two years everything has dried up due to a number of reasons. Kinda don’t know where to turn but… we’ll see!
hahaha I always say the same about my job in music. It sounds exciting but actually it's just bothering people via email all day.
I hate that we're both going through this, but it is comforting to know that industries are changing across the board. It's tough out there right now. <3
Haha so universal that with any creative job/endeavors, people expect us to be creating the entire time when it’s a lot of… emailing/outreach/boring stuff.
What a simultaneously realistic and uplifting post! I definitely recognise (/am having) those obsolete feelings after leaving a long career, and at the same time, I'm back to being the most creative I've ever felt. I saw that you were on the fence about sharing this - so please know it has shone a light in my day and is genuinely refreshing to hear someone else feel the same at this moment in time 💛
I'm so sorry you're going through some of this with your own career. It's really weird to dedicate so much of yourself to something only to have it effectively evaporate. I feel like it's just really hard out there right now. ❤️
I appreciate you saying that, it really does mean a lot to me. 🥹 Thank you! We'll get through this!
Will keep an eye out for any US-based roles for you Angela! I'm in PR for smaller businesses and very much relate to your sentiment - it's a tricky industry at the best of times, let alone when everything's going to shit 🤣
Thank you Soph! 🥹 I really appreciate that. I've thought of/tried to break into PR outside of music but always found it such a tough sell and tricky to know where to break in. So much is changing, and I guess I also feel old because I was about to write "and I can't keep up!" which must be how our mothers feel about the technology and just ever-changing nature of our generation 🤣
I hope you find something soon! I am also in the middle of a job search. I really loved how you shifted to this description of your firing cylinders!! I found this very resonant - at least, it made me think more positively about me own situation 💗 anyway, I just loved this paragraph!
“Although life has been fully in the toilet for a while, I have never felt more creatively alive. I feel like my neurons are firing on all cylinders, like everywhere I turn, I have a new idea. Like I am the embodiment of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. It’s as though my mind is so primed for soaking in any and all opportunities that it’s working overtime. Things I would generally scroll past are jumping out at me. Emails I’d normally delete are becoming beacons of creativity. I’m grasping at ideas like those gooey vending machine hands you throw to the wall, just to see what sticks. I thought spending hours and hours of my day looking for work would be exhausting and sure, the stress of watching my decade-and-a-half-long career fall to pieces definitely is, but also, if I can just ignore that for a moment, it’s kind of incredible watching the way my mind is hustling to fill in the gaps. My mind is a hustler. Who knew? But everywhere I turn, it’s like, “Oh well, what about this?” “
I truly believe that things happen for a reason, as cliche as that may be. I resonate with this in the sense that I’ve been finding my current career difficult. Despite the fact that I write for a company, which is technically my dream job, what I write about saps all my motivation and energy. I want to write beautiful, inspiring things.. not boring corporate things.
My goal is to start taking steps to go freelance this year and part of me wishes I could just leave my current position and dive head first into freelance job searching. I feel in my heart that if I knew my income depended on finding clients, then my motivation levels would skyrocket and a tenacious energy would take over.
I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to watch on the sidelines as the career you built starts to seep away, but I’m rooting for you and this new chapter!
Thank you for saying this. 🖤 I can actually relate to what you're saying too! A few years ago I decided to try corporate again, after 8 years of being self-employed. I found what should have been my dream job, but it completely destroyed all my confidence and energy. It was two very long months of being reminded why I can never work for someone else again. Sometimes these things are really good for highlighting exactly what we don't want.
I can't tell you what to do, but I will say my journey to being self-employed a decade ago started because I was laid off and had to figure it out on the fly. I had been planning to go that route for a month or two when it happened and I'm forever grateful that it did, because it forced me to make it happen. I had a tiny cushion of savings and not a lot of responsibilities or bills at that time, and so I went for it. It was lucky in a lot of ways, but I also worked REALLY hard to make it happen, and that never goes away. But I also can't imagine it any other way. Some people need the cushion of feeling like it's all figured out before they leap, others need to be forced into the decision and made to make it work. It sounds like you and I might both be the latter!
I appreciate your kind words so much — I'm rooting for you too!
I’ve never worked for myself before but no matter what job I’ve done/do, it leaves me feeling fed up of building other people’s dreams and leaving mine scattered to the side. I guess, like you say, corporate or ‘normal’ jobs just aren’t for everyone!
It sounds like working for yourself was meant to happen, just being laid off gave you that nudge. Having a cushion is certainly a bonus if you do have responsibilities/bills, like I have.. although I currently don’t have huge savings. I guess all I can do is keep trying to take steps in that direction for now and trust that everything will fall into place when it’s meant to.
Thank you so much! We’ve got this 🤍
This is so very common, I hear this a lot! Corporate life can be helpful if you're still figuring out your path, as there is something to be said about the pressure of turning a creative hobby into work, but sometimes, I think the corporate path is meant to be temporary. It just depends on the person, the timing, etc. But it seems like you have that fire in you too — and I trust that you're going to figure it out. We both will! <3
That’s such a great way of looking at it! Thank you 🥰
Also, not sure if you’d be in a position to do so.. but Amy Suto writes From the Desk and posts freelance job offers for paid subscribers. I know for certain I’ll be upgrading my subscription when I eventually start freelancing.
I haven't read Amy Suto; thank you for the recommendation! This sounds like a worthwhile one, I'll check it out!
Hi! I'm in the same boat (animation industry is in tatters right now) but lack your energy haha- I'm so glad for you that you are gaining so much from this and your positivity is inspiring. Thank you :)
Hi!! I'm so sorry to hear you're in the same situation, I had no idea the same could be said for animation. :( What a fascinating career, though. What do you do in animation?
I hope things get better for you soon, I know how hard this stuff is. <3
It mostly looks like I sit at a computer all day haha-I work on the advertising side though, not cartoons/broadcast. I’ve actually been freelance for over a decade but these past two years everything has dried up due to a number of reasons. Kinda don’t know where to turn but… we’ll see!
For real! 😆
hahaha I always say the same about my job in music. It sounds exciting but actually it's just bothering people via email all day.
I hate that we're both going through this, but it is comforting to know that industries are changing across the board. It's tough out there right now. <3
Haha so universal that with any creative job/endeavors, people expect us to be creating the entire time when it’s a lot of… emailing/outreach/boring stuff.
This is so energetic and inspiring. You’ve got a fire in your belly!
🥹 thank you! Some days it feels like clawing my way up, but I'm trying!
What a simultaneously realistic and uplifting post! I definitely recognise (/am having) those obsolete feelings after leaving a long career, and at the same time, I'm back to being the most creative I've ever felt. I saw that you were on the fence about sharing this - so please know it has shone a light in my day and is genuinely refreshing to hear someone else feel the same at this moment in time 💛
I'm so sorry you're going through some of this with your own career. It's really weird to dedicate so much of yourself to something only to have it effectively evaporate. I feel like it's just really hard out there right now. ❤️
I appreciate you saying that, it really does mean a lot to me. 🥹 Thank you! We'll get through this!
We will! We’ll get through it 😊❤️
❤️ I believe in you!
I knew you would, Misha ❤️ 🥹
Appreciate you more than you know ❤️❤️❤️
Will keep an eye out for any US-based roles for you Angela! I'm in PR for smaller businesses and very much relate to your sentiment - it's a tricky industry at the best of times, let alone when everything's going to shit 🤣
Thank you Soph! 🥹 I really appreciate that. I've thought of/tried to break into PR outside of music but always found it such a tough sell and tricky to know where to break in. So much is changing, and I guess I also feel old because I was about to write "and I can't keep up!" which must be how our mothers feel about the technology and just ever-changing nature of our generation 🤣
I hope you find something soon! I am also in the middle of a job search. I really loved how you shifted to this description of your firing cylinders!! I found this very resonant - at least, it made me think more positively about me own situation 💗 anyway, I just loved this paragraph!
“Although life has been fully in the toilet for a while, I have never felt more creatively alive. I feel like my neurons are firing on all cylinders, like everywhere I turn, I have a new idea. Like I am the embodiment of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. It’s as though my mind is so primed for soaking in any and all opportunities that it’s working overtime. Things I would generally scroll past are jumping out at me. Emails I’d normally delete are becoming beacons of creativity. I’m grasping at ideas like those gooey vending machine hands you throw to the wall, just to see what sticks. I thought spending hours and hours of my day looking for work would be exhausting and sure, the stress of watching my decade-and-a-half-long career fall to pieces definitely is, but also, if I can just ignore that for a moment, it’s kind of incredible watching the way my mind is hustling to fill in the gaps. My mind is a hustler. Who knew? But everywhere I turn, it’s like, “Oh well, what about this?” “