Pursuing a creative or artistic career can certainly be fulfilling, but it’s far from certain. Over the years, we’ve heard about the struggles from thousands of artists and creatives – it’s incredibly challenging and it can be tempting to wonder – what if you hadn’t pursued this path. We asked artists and creatives from across the community if they’ve every had those doubts themselves.

Niko Zorich

Definitely. Don’t get me wrong, I sometimes feel a bit out of place or apart from “the real world”, especially when work slows down or I find myself struggling to make ends meet. It’s advised to not compare yourself to others, as we all lead different lives, but sometimes it’s hard not to. Although overall, as far as work is concerned, I am happiest when I am doing what I know I’m good at and truly love. Whether it’s producing a song for a recording artist or designing a logo for a business, I’m passionate about being able to create something for someone. Read more>>

Kyle Auga

This question is quite interesting to me and has a deep, life-changing answer. I originally discovered balancing sculptures and started making them in 2012. However, In 2016, I owned a small business and I had a warehouse for my employees and products. During this time, I had the ability to bring my metal working tools to the warehouse and work on metal in my spare time or after normal hours. Read more>>

Jon Hunt

Back in the stone ages, when I was around 15 years old, I worked at a stone yard breaking, shoveling and bagging rocks. So yeh, literally, it was the stone ages for me. This was a part-time gig that didn’t last very long, but I had a lot of time to think in the hot summer sun as I filled bags with decorative landscaping rock (I earned 50 cents per each 50 pound bag). Mostly what I thought about went along the lines of “If this is what people call a ‘real job’ then I NEVER want to do a real job again!” Read more>>

Christian Figueroa

What can I say? 2021 was a crazy year for me. I never thought that I would have made the decision to leave a corporate job that I was at for over four years. I realized that I wasn’t happy at all and that there were days that I wanted to just want to walk out and leave. While I value what I learned during the time I was there, I knew it was time for me to invest 100% towards my business. Early on, I had often asked myself “how would things be if I was still at that job?” but lately it doesn’t cross my mind at all. I believe this is because of how happy I am in the decision I made. Being able focus full time on my photography business and continue to work with my students in my group fitness classes everyday is a blessing. Read more>>

Natasha Wing

There have been many times when I thought I should quit writing and do something else. Sometimes it would be because of the rejections. The publishing industry is full of rejection! Sometimes because there are just too many people to compete against to get published, especially with the growth of self-published books. And sometimes I’d get that imposter feeling of “I don’t have any kids! Why am I writing kids books?” Then there are the times when I worked so hard to promote a book and 2 people show up to the event. Or when I get a royalty statement from Amazon for $1.98 – for the quarter. The most recent time I thought about quitting was when I was between agents and I was shopping my stories around myself. Read more>>

Vicky Zimerfeld

I don’t see myself doing anything else. I have degree in dietetics, I really wanted to major in photography in college but at the time didn’t believe in myself, wasn’t sure if my dreams would take me far in life. Always believe in yourself, do what you love and you’ll be very good at it. You live once and if you wake up everyday excited to go to work that’s success. Read more>>

ENZI

I find myself often exploring what my life would be like if I wanted less. I am currently a senior songwriting major in college and this fantasy has been particularly present this year. I go to a school where a lot of students come for things like nursing or business. I often fantasize about what it would be like if that were me. I would be in class, not worrying about what I’ll be doing after school because everyone needs a nurse or business student. In my head, there’s not nearly as much scarcity in those job markets as there is in the entertainment business. Read more>>

Laurin McCracken

I was an architect for almost 50 years. The year I turned 60, I took some watercolor lessons and discovered that I could paint. For the next few years, I painted on weekends and evenings while I continued to run marketing and strategy programs for large architectural firms. Over a period of about 4 years I transitioned into painting full time. Read more>>