The Professional Loafer

 

                          

They say if you chase two rabbits, you'll lose both. It's also been said to do one thing and do it better than anybody. There is also the school of thought that the best way to earn money is by diversified income and to do more than one thing. So, who's right? 

Is it possible to do one main thing and have side gigs like a job or is it recommended to have just one thing but use it in different ways?

My late mentor once said we must answer "yes" to three things to have true success at something:

1. Can you make money doing it?
2. Are you good at it?
3. Do you like doing it?

The first thing that has be considered, and is of paramount importance is that a person must make money. Without it then there is no need to continue reading the rest of this article. I'm not talking about a hobby or something to do in my spare time, but is there a way to earn money doing what I'm doing or doing what I want to do?

Second, am I good at it? I once knew someone who wanted to be a professional skateboarder and even though I was horrified at the prospect of such a career, I enquired at the potential of earning money doing it. I must admit, with reservations, there was the outside chance that money could be earned at it and after reluctantly checking off the first box, I asked if he was good at riding a skateboard. Even though he thought he was a talented rider, and to his credit, he practiced often, even at the sacrifice of schoolwork, I discovered he wasn't very good at riding a skateboard. He could ride one, to be sure, but he didn't have the skills to do so professionally. Not by a long shot. 

Unfortunately, I couldn't check the second box. He didn't follow the formula for a successful career as a skateboarder.

The third thing is liking what you do. I knew a guy who was an accountant and got paid decent money for it but didn't like doing it. As a result, he never rose above the mediocre level.

I had to honestly assess myself about my career endeavors in  drawing. I've gotten so much heat over the years about how there "just isn't enough money in drawing" to make a decent living at it, but I proved that theory wrong years ago. 

I'm pretty good at it and I like doing it, especially compared to the other lax jobs I've tried. So, guess what? All the boxes are checked.

My next endeavor is how to diversify drawing?

Why Are You Doing This?

                         

Indoctrinated

 I've Often written in the past and published in Shut Up Draw and What's Your Tomato, stories of how my childhood and early adulthood was overly influenced by the opinions and expectations of those closest to me and societal norms in general. 

"Drawing is nice" I was told  "but you have to have a real career."

"You can't make any money with that."

"You got to work to make your boss happy."

The mantras and opinions are still ringing in my ears and in fact, those bits of "helpful" advice perpetually, even today, find their way back around to me. 

As a young person I accepted this indoctrination as the truth and I told myself, 

"All these people can't be wrong"

It's true that when it came to my family members, they did want the best for me. Well, in many ways, but as far as the clamor of the rest, little did I know, they did not want the best for me. All they wanted was to be right because misery loves company. 

As far as my family was concerned, all they've known was working to earn a living and that's all that was important. No one said I had to like my job because the important thing was to just do it and please the boss. I respect that philosophy as long people decide they have little else to contribute, but as a kid, all I heard from my father was how he hated his job, and he complained about it often. 

Being raised by a single mom, I was alone a great deal of the time, left very much on my own for hours each day without supervision, guidance or the discipline a growing boy needs because Mom was working so much just trying to keep us fed and housed. 

Was that a great way to demonstrate to a child that having a job was the best way to go? 

The ones with whom I've crossed paths who saw the way, before I ever did, who either purposely or incidentally verbalized it, are the ones I would have benefited from listening to. People like my closest friends, girlfriends, my instructors from college or my coworkers in the meager jobs with which we all suffered.

"Why are you doing this?" I was often asked when they saw how my talents lie somewhere other than punching a time clock at 6 am and working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.

My answer had the mediocre stamp of approval on it. 

"Because I have bills to pay"

So, I continued doing the "same old same old" and my dissatisfaction slid into destructive thoughts like anger, sorrow, self-loathing which then manifested into behaviors like putting the needs of others before my own even at my own detriment. It also lead to depression and melancholy. My sincere unhappiness and perpetual lack of sufficient income did not support the notion put forward by others that my purpose in life was to get a job and make my boss happy.  

They told me it would be better than this

Things are changing and it took long enough. Even though I've come to the conclusion that the popular narrative is wrong, I've still not realized the income but at least it's no worse than before. I still have my doubts. The echoes of my early days still resound, and they have never really gone away. "What if I've made a huge mistake?" I often ask myself. 

"What if I'm wrong and 

all those others were right?"

I've proven to myself that it isn't necessary to earn a living by "pleasing the boss". Isn't it ironic that the very suggestion I was given as a young person was actually the worst I could have possibly been given because my record of "pleasing the boss" has been dismal, to put it nicely. 

Did You Say You'e an Artist?

You Can't Make Any Money Doing That

Of course, I’ve been drawing since childhood, as all children do, but as I grew older, my interest in drawing stuck with me when most of my friends went on to pursue other interests and careers. A problem with an occupation in art arose, however, because I was indoctrinated as a youth to believe that a person couldn’t make a decent living in art and unfortunately, I believed it. So, for most of my adulthood, my work life was a lesson in how miserable I could be with doing things I hated doing. Instead of succeeding at a career, I always wanted to find an escape from it and drawing was a way to do that accompanied with desires about earning a living with it.

Better Than Average

Getting fired isn’t the end of the world. Statistics show that a person gets fired an average of twice during their working career. I’ve got that beat. I’ve been fired four times and on one of those occasions in the late 90’s, it led to  inconsistencies in the philosophy about not being able to make any decent money as an artist because over the years, thanks to the internet, I grew to discover countless artists who earn a living drawing caricatures. They get hired to attend a party or other event, set up a drawing table, bring pens and paper and start drawing people in cartoon form.

The Four-Hour Workweek

I knew I could do that too, and I decided it would be a great part-time job for extra money. Little did I know at the time that this “extra money” often turned out to pay more in 3 or 4 hours of drawing than my weekly paycheck at my regular crappy job in 40 or more hours.

I started by renting a space at Traders Village, a large flea market in Houston, and with my drawing table and supplies in tow, I set up in a small and empty 10’ x 5’ space and began drawing shoppers for $5 a head. The price soon went to $10 for black and white and $20 for color. Who said there was no money in art?

The Green Cow

That’s how I started using caricature drawing as my cash cow and this allowed me to discover other ways that drawing as a career and not just a hobby. For me it’s never been a hobby but a pursuit.

Now, it’s to the point that my cartooning is my main source of income and still growing. Not bad for a kid who was programmed to believe an artist can’t earn money.

Riding Busses in Finland

 

The Helsinki Bus Station

Arno Minkkinen is a Finnish photographer who uses an illustration called The Helsinki Bus Station to describe the creative process over time. The way someone finds distinctiveness in their art form is like buses leaving a station.

When the buses initially embark, they all follow the same route and it’s likely that some even make the same stops. After several stops the buses then begin to diverge as they follow different roads the further away they get from the departure point.

Stay on the Bus

A creative person who may be pursuing an endeavor like drawing, may initially determine his work is rather common and unoriginal, so he may decide to return to the “bus station” and start all over again only to discover the process repeats itself. The solution is to stay on the bus. It eventually follows a different course from the others.

Pursue an art (or other endeavor) that looks much the same as everyone else’s initially but, soon, you’ll develop your own style.

Something Good to Read

Nothing New

 Now-a-days many profess to have discovered journaling; a "new" trend, a vouge way of "manifesting" and it's the rage of news segments, talk shows, books, memes, social media personalities and self-improvement gurus. The fact is journaling or keeping a diary has been a common practice of people for thousands of years by the famous, infamous, successful and the not-so-successful.

• People have documented their lives on clay tablets in the bronze age.
• Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius in 167 A.D. wrote his thoughts in a 12-book journal collection called Things to One's Self. 
• One of the most famous and widely Read diaries was kept by Ann Frank and became a famous work of literature.

I not only keep a journal myself (actually several) but have been doing so since I was in my 20's.  As a Marine I found it quite useful as a way to record the many adventures I experienced on deployments and a few other escapades were thrown in as well. My first go at it was written on a paper plate in the high desert of California while training for desert warfare and the practice stuck with me for the last 40 or so years. There is hardly a period in my life when I didn’t keep a diary.

An alter ego

One reason is because it’s intensely therapeutic. It’s like talking not to myself but to someone who really listens and understands what I’m going through whether good or bad. Often, I have a tangle of ideas and thoughts in my head, much like a cluttered desk, and getting those deliberations out of my head and onto paper cleans things up and helps organize my notions. It’s as if while I’m writing, a second, unseen person appears and joins in to respond in the discussion and helps me determine if what I’m thinking is suitable and if not, I find other solutions.

Crystal Clear

Whenever I write it helps me clarify my thinking or emotions and crystallizes my imagination. They become no longer just a vague impulse but genuine visuals I can see in the form of words.

Writing helps me to reason my way through decision making by allowing me to see more clearly the possible results of my actions.

Of course, keeping a journal is good practice as a writer as long as I seek to improve and be better at it.

                           I Can’t Write Just One

I have several journals of all kinds and sizes, each for a different application including handwritten ones, a digital journal, a bullet journal and of course a slew of sketch journals. Each one of my drawings has the date on them and they help remind me about the time I drew, why and what I was thinking. It’s a funny thing about a sketch or drawing; it helps me remember the smallest details of an event and can take me on a voyage revisiting the experience. Remember the old saying, "one picture is worth a thousand words".

I have a small pocket size notebook and pen I almost always have in my possession for those unexpected moments of inspiration. I also have a very large journal I use for long term drawing and writing.

Know Me Better, Boy!

Another important reason for journaling, at least important to me, is for posterity; a legacy. I have members of my family who are today very young and may not have a chance to know me well and if they are so inclined in the future, they can get to know me better even if I'm not around.

I Write Because I always want something good to read

I sometimes, well, often, I find conversations with others regularly leave me aloof and sometimes outright bored, but the journal is always stimulating and thought-provoking. It hearkens back to the feeling of having a conversation with a second person. I talk about what’s on my mind and the listening page always answers back.

I'm Not Deranged. I'm an Introvert.

 

I don't need to see a psychiatrist to cure my introversion. People tend to say to introverts, 

      "Why don't you talk more? Why are you so quiet?" 

and many times, I hear,

                      "You need to come out of your shell."

I find those remarks rather off-putting and even insulting because it's an indirect way of saying, "your personality sucks and you need to change". 

It would be no different than me telling an extrovert "Why don't you shut up? You talk too much." and- 

"You need to crawl into a shell".

The fact is, being an introvert isn't a personality flaw for which I need to seek therapy any more than an extrovert needs to seek mental treatment for his or her personality (though sometimes I think some should). 

Extroverts talk to think, and introverts think to talk. 

I've always been a reflective person and most often through my life, from childhood till now, I've been the quietest one in the room. I tend more to listen to the others in the group and get amused about how so many think their input is more valuable than anyone else's. People often say dumb things, and it makes great material for my cartoons. 

A better question might be, are cartoonists great introverts or are introverts great cartoonists?

Bill is Spying on me!

 I've been spending time over the last couple of years with a group of men for coffee immediately following a meeting of the Katy Business Connection. This group of us turned into a type loosely based on the mastermind group originated by Napolean Hill long ago. It was a discussion of our recent ventures into business and a discussion of our projects. A type of group that inspired us to stay focused on our respective visions.

Sadly, it has of late, drifted away from those intentions I just mentioned and has become more of a social group and the dominating topics are politics and conspiracy theories. Recently another member has been added to the group and now, our group texts have descended into a hodgepodge of sophomoric memes usually denigrating the democratic party and elevating Trump to a god-like status. 

All fine and good but I'm not one who likes to participate in such things, but it was tolerable just to spend some time talking to others about writing, drawing, marketing, creativity and other things of applicable interest. Even the few jokes and other diversions were fine, but it seems the substance of meaningful discussions seems to have diverged and taken a back seat to useless information such the hidden fortunes in a shovel full of dirt that will change the world or the thrust-to-weight ratio of the F-111. 

About two weeks ago, the scales really tipped for me when a member of the discussion group said the reason, he doesn't drink Coca-Cola products was because they contain nano-bots.

"Why do you think they contain nano-bots?" I asked.

"Because" he said, "Bill Gates is paying Coca-Cola to put nano-bots into their products."

"Why would he do that?" 

"So, we can be kept track of."

"Do you mean there are tiny little robots in Coke?" I asked.

"Yes, and all Coca-Cola products." He answered.

I stared at him with astonishment at his answer and it was just then when another member of the group, who was listening unbeknownst, chimed in and said, "in the same way they put them in the covid vaccine". Again, I was bewildered at this.

I was compelled to then ask, "Tell me something, do you believe the world is flat?" He replied in the affirmative. 

"And the moon landing, it was a hoax?" Again, yes, to him it was a hoax. 

I inquired a little into the belief system of the others and they shared the same opinions and without making suspicious inquests, and with a few other observations, some which have gone unnoticed over the preceding weeks and months, I've come to a decision: I need to cool my participation with this group. 

Here are some of the other interesting behavior traits:

• Donald Trump is a genius
• fasting cures cancer
• "I refuse to pay $7 for a cup of coffee"
• Purple shirts will change your life
• The US government flew planes into the World Trade Center

Topics of discussions such as these are a waste of not only my time but also of my mental energy. I have much more urgent matters on my mind which have to do mostly with my professional wellbeing, not the perceived prowess of Bill Gates' connivances.

Maybe my friends have all reached a point in their life where they can freely discuss such matters without guilt or fear of losing valuable time and maybe they're right about everything, but it's not where I am for now. 

I'm smarter than that. I'm not saying these men whom I've come to know aren't smart, because they are. But their ways are not my ways, and their thoughts are not my thoughts. It's risky for me to make such a decision because I need all the help I can get and I've made poor decisions and choices in the past, but this one can't be denied. If they are right about everything then that's fine too because if they are, I've not lost a thing. But for now, I can't waste my intellect on what I perceive to be an ineffectual squandering of mental effort. 

What am I to replace it with?