James Rhodes: "Find What You Love And Let It Kill You"
My writing ethos is basically how James Rhodes goes about music -- according to the quote above from Bukowski -- and I'm not the least bit regretful or sorry for that.
In addition to my column and radio show, each of which I approach in a pretty intense way, my book is due June 30. I slave to get the science right, and clear, and make it something worthwhile, and what that takes is, for the last few months, not leaving the house, barely seeing my friends, and the support of my boyfriend, who is very sweet and kind to me and brings me mail and groceries.
As the subhead to Rhodes' piece in the Guardian goes, "My life as a concert pianist can be frustrating, lonely, demoralising and exhausting. But is it worth it? Yes, without a shadow of a doubt."
What people do have to do is make decisions about their lives -- whether to live a more "balanced" life; whether they want kids and a job and more job security than the "what you love" jobs tend to provide.
You really just have to choose instead of just going along.
I've been long telling my children that they can do many things in their lives, as long as they "right-Size" their lives...
There are many who would say 'they're to young to have the burden of that decision. I think if you talk about things in this way from when they are young, they will integrate it.
"If you want to be in X industry, how much can you expect to make? OK, that means you can/can't have houses and cars and a big family and educations and so forth..."
The biggest mistake I made was think "I'll just figure it out..." Because some of my choices foreclosed other choices.
IMPORTANTLY, you have to make sure any mate you have is onboard with your decisions.
If you are a starving artiste, and you have your eye on someone who has always wanted a big wedding, and a big house, you are probably courting disaster.
These sorts of decisions are the base framework that you can chose a job that you will love and fight for, a family you will love and fight for, and a lifestyle.
And then you have to realize that the best laid plans of mice, oft go astray, no matter what.
SwissArmyD at April 30, 2013 8:48 AM
Right on, SwissArmyD.
Set your expectations to meet your reality.
Sabrina at April 30, 2013 11:07 AM
I find a lot of people have a hard time closing doors. They want all options to be available forever. These people are frequently starting over. But some of the most interesting doors don't open until you close other doors.
MonicaP at April 30, 2013 11:44 AM
Better life advice.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at April 30, 2013 5:44 PM
I have been doing relatively the same type of tech job for over 15 years. That includes overtime, nights and weekends. At the same time I enjoy what I do. Troubleshooting, thinking around corners and bringing logic to a problem to solve it is enjoyable.
I don't mind managing software or hardware. I never want to mange wetware. But since I have a sit down job, I have no real retirement demands on me until my mind starts to go.
So working until I drop is not such a horrible thing.
Jim P. at April 30, 2013 7:14 PM
Dilbert weighs in:
http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/dilbert-slideshow/20130430-dt130430-gif-photo-050103908.html
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 30, 2013 11:18 PM
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