Life Without a Fallback Plan

It’s about to get real, folks.  This week I begin my life as a full time artist, blogger, and photographer.  I’m done working for someone else, and I’m ready to begin working for myself.  Consider it my New Year’s Resolution, I guess.

With the economy the way it is, it’s kind of a risky decision. I mean really? It’s almost kind of stupid.  I had a stable job with a weekly paycheck and my days were planned out for me.  I didn’t have to motivate myself – except to punch the clock.  Sure it was boring – but it was stable. Now it’s all up to me to make myself succeed – and it can seem a little daunting.

I was miserable at my job.  I realized that I would never be able to discover any kind of potential if I wasted my time there.  One of my best friends told me something a few weeks ago that really seemed to light the fire toward changing my routine.  She said -

“If you have a fall back plan, you’ll always use it.”

Big dreams require big risks, and I am slowly starting to figure out that I might need to give up my stability and some of the “sure things” in my life in order to get anywhere.  Sure – you need to pay the bills and I’m lucky I have a loving husband who’s willing to support me and tighten his belt while I figure this out (it helps that he’s invested at STA too!)  But in the end, it’s the whole “you never know until you try” mantra.

So this is my proclamation to any of you that might be reading.   This year I’m going to make it on my own, and dive head first into the dreams I’ve been treating like hobbies. And don’t get me wrong – day jobs are required some times to get you where you need to go.  But in the end – artists in any medium just have to take a leap of faith. And this is mine.  I’m going to devote my life to Save The Artist, growing in the art of photography, and making something of myself.  However – after much research and planning on my own, I have come up with a set of requirements for being productively self-employed.  I thought I would share them with you, so here they are:

5 Rules to Being Successfully Self-Sufficient (according to Heather!)

1. Follow The Map - As my husband constantly points out to me in posts, creativity needs a map.  Artists need clear long-term goals: for the week, the month, the year, and so on. Make sure to have a list of steps to follow that help you meet your milestones along the way.  As you check off the steps and reach closer to the goals you set, DO NOT get distracted by things not on your path.  See each project through to its completion, and if you meet with roadblocks – focus on how to get past them in order to stay on the trail.
2. Morning Motivation – Those who are self-employed could *easily* sleep in every day and work whenever they want.  Hell – when you’re self-employed, you don’t even have to show up for work that day because no one’s going to fire you for a no-call, no-show.  But those who do that don’t STAY self-employed for that long.  I am determined to set my alarm each morning, make sure to get up and show up for work each day and working until the list of tasks I’ve set for the day are completed.  Without having at least somewhat of a routine or a deadline for my workday, that’s how you end up sleeping until noon and being sucked into the facebook time warp (and for artists, that could mean you’re doomed to hipster hell).
3. Personal Projects – In order to keep my inspirational juices flowing, I am determined to keep myself working on different projects that will keep me on my photographic toes.  This means that while I’m *not* blogging and working at the house, I’m out photographing and working on something that will  supplement my flow of ideas in my work.  It never hurts to beef up your portfolio – it can only help in the long run! Even if I have to look back and say “That wasn’t my best” at least I’m doing something.
4. Make Connections – The larger your network of colleagues and supporters, the more accountability you have toward keeping your promises.  Having a group with which you can share your successes, failures, and questions is HUGE as far as reaching your goals.  I am still ultimately the one in charge of motivating myself, but if I have clients to work for and fellow photographers to work with – well, it’s just an extra little kick in the pants. After all – no artist is an island.
5. Don’t Panic! – Starting something new like this, it’s bound to get scary sometimes.  You’re the funambulist walking a tightrope – and it would be easy to look down and freak out (and probably fall to a very grisly death) – but no matter what stands in the way of making it across, you have to breathe and stay balanced or you’re sure to fail.  Everything might not go smoothly all the time, and you have to be alright with that and be able to have the grace and poise to take it in careful stride and reposition yourself to keep going.