You CAN do what you love

[BogusJoe]

The biggest mistake everyone makes when attempting to make a career change or head down a certain career path is... listening to other people.

It doesn't matter who you are-- when you ask too many people their opinion on your chosen career, you're going to get everything from "wow, you'll do well in that field" to "are you crazy- there's no money in that"..

see... the first person you ask says "yeah! go for it! good choice!"

and the next person you ask says "no way.. you'll never make it"..


so, in other words.. don't ask other people for advice on what you want to do... DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.

other people do not matter; they do no not count; and they have no impact on what you choose to do. Forget them. You need to do your own research and then head out to do what you want to do.


Want proof?

I'm living proof that you CAN do what you want to do. And you can go against everyone's oppositional beliefs, just like I did and am still doing each and every day.

And I love proving all these people wrong, on a consistent basis.

Let me cut to the chase.

Since I was 4 years old, I liked drawing, sketching, painting. I was obviously artistic and creative at a baby age.

My parents never, EVER once acknowledged my talent or even mentioned it to me. I drew and painted as a kid my entire life, and they never once made a comment on it or cared to look at what I was creating.

This proved to be a MASSIVE obstacle later on for me.

I graduated from art school with a degree in my mid-20s.

After school- guess what? No job. Surprised? Lol. Of course not. It's the most typical story of an art graduate.

Went into a 9-5, 40 hours a week. Nothing to do with art, of course. Hated it. And saved every penny over an 8 year period working this same day job.

Got married, got a car, house, kids, all that jazz. You know, the usual. Was still working this stupid 9-5 monkey-job. Hated everyone around me, hated the lack of education, talent, passion about the people I worked with. Nothing wrong with no education, talent or passion, but it usually reflects the character of people around you- trust me, this isn't just a stereotype, it's very common for people without high school diplomas to be of a lower-standard type of lifestyle- a.k.a. the "high school drop-out". This of course doesn't reflect everyone in that boat. I'm just speaking from my experience at a large corporation requiring a grade 4 education to get in.

Anyhow- working the 9-5, good money, and hating every day of it. And wishing I was working creatively in my field- art.

I was always doing artwork on the side. Always. Something here, something there. A small commission for someone here, a mural for someone there. A few hundred bucks extra a month was great. I was absolutely ecstatic that I could make 300 bucks extra a month just drawing or painting for other people.

Eventually I began drawing caricatures of all my co-workers (while on the job, in fact). The respone was crazy- everyone loved it- they put all my work up on the main office wall-- a hundred peices or so of co-workers- and they were all good peices- they all looked like them, too. All my co-workers began telling me that I was wasting my time in that place- and that I should get out there and 'draw caricatures'.

Sure. Draw caricatures for a living? Lol. Come on.

So I applied to a local theme park just for the heck of it on weekends- got the job, and began working weekends.

Again, hated it.

BUT- I saw what the business was like- and it was nuts. The theme park was making thousands per night on a few caricature artists.

I thought- jeez, people really like having their portrait/cartoon drawn by an artist. In large flocks, too. Line-ups all night.

The light-bulb went on in my head.

I quit the theme park. I started applying to my own events, fairs, festivals, you name it, as a caricature artist. I was accepted to just about every one of them. I just had to pay the rent for my space for a few days, and everything I made was mine.

Started working these local events.

I began cashing in pretty good that I quit my crappy day job. My day job paid pretty good, too- 45K a year. But drawing caricatures was paying even more, so long as done frequently enough.

I'm now a few years into my new career- and the numbers are good. Not rich people's money, or big money--- but this wasn't about money.

A minimum of $1000 can be made per 3 days in this business if you're good and fast enough. And I'm consistently acheiving these figures each weekend, so business is good. Better than a sh*t 9-5 job.


SO--- here's the point of the post.

You can do whatever you want. Yeah, we've all heard this a million times before.

But what success requires is persistance. Again, this is a common comment.

But it is 100% accurate and true.

When you start your business or your search for your new career path-- you're going to begin as a newbie, and you're going to think you're going no where. You're going to make little to no money, and you're going to feel hopeless every now and then.

When you stick with it, even though you appear to be going no where-- this is when you're on the path to your own individual success- because your future will unfold infront of you very slowly and unexpected.

So long as you stick to your goal and you're willing to put money out of the picture--- you are going to get where you want to be.

Look at me-- I went from a 9-5 in an industrial job to drawing cartoon faces- and having everyone call me a joke because of my choice--- and now I'm able to make a good living from it-- much better and more free than a restricted 9-5. It just took some serious dedication and hard work.

Now I draw cartoons for a living on weekends, and chill during the week. And and making more $$$ than I was at a good-paying 9-5 job. It IS possible to get what you want. All you need is a clear plan and a to make real decision on what you'd like to do.

Again- DO NOT LISTEN TO ANYONE ELSE. Do what you choose to do, and go there. Fight through it, make no money when you start out, take all the risks.
My own parents continue to discourage me to this day on what I chose to do-- and I keep shoving it in their faces daily. Everyone is a hater, and will discourage you. No one wants to see someone else get ahead. Screw 'em. Go forward without them- it's what I did.


Thanks for reading. I hope there's some encouragement in my post for you guys/gals.

[abridgel]

Thanks for posting your story - its very inspiring - only problem is I have no idea what I like to do.

[BananaHunter]

Good stuff. But what if all you want to do is play games/go clubbing/get drunk? Tons of people have no real passion in life. They just want to have lazy fun and this rarely can translate into a career. Some passions are just more practical than others.

For every inspirational story like yours, there are probably 9 others who'll fail. And those 9 people probably aren't going to post here. So one has to work really really hard to become that minority.

My post isn't meant to discourage people. If you're truly passionate and love what you do, other's opinions shouldn't matter to you to begin with.

[norgos]

Good stuff. But what if all you want to do is play games/go clubbing/get drunk? Tons of people have no real passion in life. They just want to have lazy fun and this rarely can translate into a career. Some passions are just more practical than others.

For every inspirational story like yours, there are probably 9 others who'll fail. And those 9 people probably aren't going to post here. So one has to work really really hard to become that minority.

My post isn't meant to discourage people. If you're truly passionate and love what you do, other's opinions shouldn't matter to you to begin with.

the only profession i can think of where you just play games, go clubbing and get wasted is prostitution. You practically work in that environment :P

[george benjamin]

You will never be successful if you are doing something you don't like.

People going into accounting, law, medicine, just for the money, they will never be successful. Because success is about being happy, not about making money.

How can we characterize someone that hates his job but makes 90k a year as successful ?

[lightning_king2000]

The hardest part for many people is finding out what it is that they love.

[adehbone]

anyone got the cliff notes version? thats a long post....

shall read it later.

[heymikey]

People going into accounting, law, medicine, just for the money, they will never be successful. Because success is about being happy, not about making money.

Not really. I'm sure there are people who live and breathe accounting, law, medicine, etc.

[geronimo]

Excellent post BogusJoe! +1000

It is essential that you chase after your dreams, whatever they may be. Out of your various passions, pick one in which you could earn a decent or better-than-decent living and enjoy life.

Not really. I'm sure there are people who live and breathe accounting, law, medicine, etc.

They said for those people who only get into these careers for the money, not for all people in these careers in general. Of course there are many people who truly LOVE accounting or law or medicine.

[BogusJoe]

And another positive note-

from my experience, I'd say that the 'career choice' idea starts playing in people's heads sometime in the mid to late 20s, and this seems common.

Don't sweat it.

I'm approaching my mid-30s, and that's still considered very young, with a lot of time ahead. And only now am I getting the ball rolling.

So there's lots of time to search for what you'd like to do. For me, it took 8 years or so to really get on track.

So long as people in their mid/late 20s are truly thinking about it, then that's a good sign- it means they'll get to wherever they're going succesfully in due time. It might take years, and that's fine. Just keep moving forward, that's all.

[Churo1]

Excellent post BogusJoe! +1000

It is essential that you chase after your dreams, whatever they may be. Out of your various passions, pick one in which you could earn a decent or better-than-decent living and enjoy life.




They said for those people who only get into these careers for the money, not for all people in these careers in general. Of course there are many people who truly LOVE accounting or law or medicine.

Aren't you still a student? I would advise you and others like you to wait until getting out in the real world to make such comments. We were all young optimistic students once. I'm sure you've heard the multitude of "wait til you get out in the real world..." talk and just thought it was bitter old people being bitter and old. Well, the truth is, it's tough out there. Life is hard, it's hard to do what you love, and even if you are, you probably have to do it so often in terrible weather, when you're not feeling well, on other peoples watches and so forth.

[Islander101]

Great post Bogus Joe!! Loved it!!! Bet your family is proud of what you're accomplishing.

One of the key aspects of your post I think (and the ones following) - is that you had to work hard to get were you are at. It sounds like you thought strategically and took a well-thought out risk.

[BogusJoe]

lol no, my parents are my worst enemies with my choice.

They are actually a big reason I found it so difficult to believe that I could make money as an artist for a living- because as a child, they paid no attention to my artistic creations. None at all. They never once told me that I was pretty good at drawing- infact, my parents used to throw out a lot of my work when it was lying around- during their clean-ups of the house, they tossed some work out like it was garbage- I clearly remember seeing this infront of me and I suppose it just installed this thought in my heads that art was nothing special.

And even today, they tell me "don't quit my day job" or "your business won't last forever", and that I'm nuts for doing what I do. So now, I eliminate them from the whole process; I don't dicusss what I do, and I don't tell them where I'll be on the upcoming weekends, because I don't want them showing up to discourage me. I hold serious resentment towards them for this- after all, aren't parents supposed to support their kids with their decisions? Doesn't matter though lol, I'm too old now to worry about their thoughts, but it's definitely the major reason I stumbled for so long with a career path involving art.

This probably leads me to my first paragraph in this entire thread- don't listen to anyone else who tells you that you can't make it in your chosen field. No one can tell you that you can't become successful so long as you're determined to get where you want to go.

[rharor]

lol no, my parents are my worst enemies with my choice.

They are actually a big reason I found it so difficult to believe that I could make money as an artist for a living- because as a child, they paid no attention to my artistic creations. None at all. They never once told me that I was pretty good at drawing- infact, my parents used to throw out a lot of my work when it was lying around- during their clean-ups of the house, they tossed some work out like it was garbage- I clearly remember seeing this infront of me and I suppose it just installed this thought in my heads that art was nothing special.

Awesome post. I would recommend you actually go thank your parents. The reason being is that I think their hate for it drove you to prove them wrong and show them you can do what you love. So thank them for doing that, it'll piss em off for sure

[Mysteek]

Thanks for posting. I really enjoyed reading that, especially since I'm a student just about to enter post secondary and I have no clue where I'm headed.