The Limit Does Not Exist.

The day job is a f*cking lie.

The career that I have chosen is a conundrum of sorts. It is not secure. It often, or in my case, has always required a second job. A flexible job. Not a 9 to 5. Nothing too serious. We call it a “day job”. The job you do day in and day out while you pursue your other career, but that other career is often referred to as the ART.

Here’s the thing about the way society mostly looks at “art”. It is something that can be gotten for cheap or even worse for FREE.

Go down this rabbit hole with me, please.

I, the artist, derive value from my work because I gain experience and inspiration from my own life. There is no separation between THE WORK and MYSELF. So, am I valued? Do I have value?

Here’s the shit stick. I do have value, but monetarily my art isn’t worth much…until IT IS.

For now, the art type work that I get to do on a daily basis is often done at the expense of my own time, effort, and money. The day is often structured around the “day job” because that brings in the money at an hourly rate. The more day job I do in the day, the more money I have. The daily art practice often gets relegated to the nooks and crannies of my day. The money becomes the priority because it is how I survive. The art is not secure. It does not guarantee a paycheck. I laugh because I KNOW that I have spent more money being an artist than I have actually made as an artist.

As I look ahead to the things I want out of my life in the next few years, like starting a family, I remember that I have agreed to the craziest lottery anyone can play.

To rectify the situation I can only think of one thing.

The “day job'“ has to change or be redefined.

Taking it a step further, I need to entirely SLASH the idea of a “day job” because it does not give me the confidence I need to pursue the life of an actor and writer.

My actual life and my actual art are inextricably tied to my day to day experiences. The key to making the best art that I can is actually by creating a day to day life that I LOVE. There is no “day job”.

Actually, I’m going to completely eliminate that phrase from my vocabulary right now. I am an actor, a writer, an artist, AND an educator. If I don’t like one, I need make the decision to change a title.

To all of the other creatives reading this post, I have a proposition. Let’s start encouraging other artists to live out multiple dreams at once. Let’s stop saying “don’t have another job” and instead say “BE EVERYTHING” you want.

It IS the era of the multi-hyphenate.

AND stability matters.

Two things CAN be true at the same time.

Also, can we please stop spreading this propaganda to baby actors that “serious actors” can’t be anything else? I call B.S.

Jessica Chastain, Margot Robbie, and Reese Witherspoon are all producers. Ryan Reynolds, George Clooney, and Brad Bitt all have liquor companies. Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, and Reese Witherspoon (again) all have lifestyle companies. See where I’m going here?

At this point, I truly believe that successful actors and creatives NEED to be entrepreneurs, and we have to start going into the arts thinking this way.