More by: Marlee
well here it is 2012 and i’ve got some big plans.
i made a list and typed it up real nice and hung it up next to my bed. but alas, i think the real answer is to BE MY OWN BOSS.
do you do this? do you know someone who has?
what’s the trick? what’s your niche? i wanna know i wanna be a part of it.
conversations have been popping up all over town, the internet, and my days in general. how can we NOT work in the service industry anymore? how can we put our talents to use? how can we gain momentum as artists and inventors without losing our minds and eating only weeds we find in our yards forever and ever.
but it is so so easy to get content and stagnant. i am lucky to have a job (at all) that i feel safe at, get paid above minimum wage, and have a flexible schedule that works with my artsy fartsy community organizing self. and while i am there i am generally in a positive mood. but it wears me out to the core. and i’ll say it : my time is worth more than handing people water and smiling when they snap at me to get them more coffee.
and i’ll put an extra limb out there and guess your time is worth more than that too.
so i am interested in starting a dialogue. why do you do what you do, work where you work, and how is your time spent? share this with me, and others. if there was a time to take hold of what we want, it’s now. it was yesterday.
i can rationalize why having a day job is a good idea forever and ever. consistent income, something to shape my days, and money in the bank. but etsy and ebay exist, so does pay pal, and so do my weary hands.
i’m ready to make more, do more, and have more time to do what i really believe in. i don’t want to see my time wasted, or the time of other artists who i really believe in.
fake it til you make it. get rich or die crafting. feel bo$$y.
how anyone finds out what they enjoy and like is by going out on a limb. It seems like almost everything i enjoy doing is something that I didn’t know how to do at one point but I had to go out of my comfort zone. I decided to take a chance and try something different for once.
You wouldn’t BELIEVE how difficult that last sentence can be to try! And how many times i’ve talked to people who tell me they need variety and new friends and new hobbies and new experiences, but at the end of the day,they just lay on their bed and turn on the computer.
If you work at a job where the people you work with are nice, and the work isn’t mind-numbing, but the pay is lousy, don’t quit. If you work somewhere you hate waking up in the morning for, and you’re ashamed every time someone asks you “where do you work?” because you ask yourself “why DO i work here?”, but the pay is nice, quit.
I think there is a certain sense of entitlement in modern society, people assume that they shouldn’t have to work day jobs and should be able to just make art and do all the things they want off of that. I think it needs to be looked at a different way. I am so glad and so lucky that I have a job that can help me pay for all the stupid things in life so that I can focus on my art stress-free. If you had to rely on your art to make a living, you would look at it quite differently. All the sudden that fun project you haven’t quite gotten too is how you pay for your next meal. It is certainly possible to get by without a job, to find work here and there or hone a craft that you can profit from, but generally I think it’s a bad idea to look at jobs in general as bad. I think Karen had it right, if you are happy enough at your job and it helps you get by, stick with it.
p.s. love you sis, keep on truckin’, just do you
If you have good health, the resilience of youth on your side and passions in your heart, there is NO reason not to try for this non-dependency. It is VERY hard for me not to kick myself every day for being complacent in my youth. I am now twenty some years ahead of you and just as many behind in my dreams.
Choose the rich pungency of turning your earth, uprooting & reseeding yourself – you will cultivate a riot of growth in more directions and variety than you can imagine. And from that place you will imagine a thousand more versions of YOU. If you “fail”, you learn, grow, expand who you are – in my book “fail” has been given a bad name, HA! Especially compared to the stale stasis of complacency. All of our great spiritual leaders and thinkers know that when you follow your heart, follow your bliss, you are doing what you are here to do, you are raising your consciousness, therefore your vibration and the universe opens up and gives you what you need – what has always been there for you. Have you ever had days or weeks where everything falls into place and synchronicity happens? That is when your heart and your mind are open and in blissful tandem…you are whole and at peace – happy…a state worth aiming for.
I feel so strongly about this, that I am nearing the point of doing it, even if it could turn out to be my last hurrah (I need insurance)…I heard a song a while ago about not wanting life to be about preparing to die – wanting to live it out loud every day for all it is worth. That is why I have been trying new and scary things lately. This just came across my FB feed…
You are the chooser ~
-EVOLVE into something more aligned with a higher vibration and greater states of LOVE.
-REVOLVE in the familiarity of your comfort zone remaining in the lower vibrations of denial and FEAR.
YOU are the only one who can set yourself free.
Sorry I haven’t offered anything concrete – I know that is what you are looking for. Find sustainable ways to reduce your needs, such as maintaining your own garden & growing as much as is possible through any means during the winter months, bartering, etc. Hey! Why don’t you find people like me, who are in a place that is quite difficult to let go of the security of their day job, but who know the dynamic value, both for the individual and for the whole (we are all connected) and are in a position to sponsor/support you…kind of an extended KickStart. I would hope that many others in my position would see it for it’s real worth, investing in your creative output that feeds our community. I’m in for $5.00 or $10.00 a week if you can organize and manifest that concept. It takes a village…it takes every one of us to heal and create a new and sustainable system of living on this planet…it all starts, lives and breathes through the heart (scientifically proven to be the largest generator of electrical and magnetic fields in our bodies – 100x and 5,000x larger respectively than the brain!
I hope to hear from people who have actually taken the leap! (who have concrete offerings)
ahhhh sam i’ve always really admired the way you balance work and your music. thanks for the input.
Sounds like I was in a similar spot back in 2000. At that time I didn’t have the resources to become my own boss and also maintain a home…I just didn’t have enough money to pay the rent and build a business from scratch. I was lucky to find and join a collectively-run worker cooperative in the service industry – and found the work far far more satisfying than other service work I’d done in the past. It wasn’t “being my own boss” in a strict sense, but I didn’t have a boss by any measure, and the work environment was one I learned more from than any other jobs I’d had at the time. Having a collective work environment allowed for us to make the work we did something different than a traditional service job – there are many ways this manifested in our daily work, meetings, and community engagement.
Later I went on to work at a couple different worker cooperatives and started helping new coops get started. Starting a worker cooperative from the ground up is a lot of work, but it’s also rewarding on personal, financial, and other levels. There is now a network of current members of worker cooperatives who can offer their help, if you’re interested: dawn.coop
I struggle so much with this, and it’s something that I’m struggling with more than ever right now.I unfortunately had a really great job, was given really great opportunities, paid fairly, and was in a line of work that most people never get to be in, but was fired. Now, with that sadness hanging over me, back on the bottom, it’s so hard trying to do something I know I’m worth, but constantly being told, no. I would like to know why it isn’t easier to have interesting jobs, or to make your own, or do something in the counter culture. Where are the resources and support? Why does it seem you have to work a really low paying, disheartening, not-what-your-worth job, with major hobbies on the side to keep you balanced out?
if i might add some thoughts… i followed my dream my whole life but, along the way, i had to work the day jobs. i wrote freelance for some years, did the best i could and managed to parlay that into some pretty good staff positions, you know, with fancy perks such as pensions and health insurance. but where have i ended up? radio. who knew? over time, all the this and that i did over the years turned into a life path. you never know where it will take you but if you live within your moral code and continue to follow your passions, you’ll probably end up in the right place. when you’re done, you’re dead. luv, ann f.
…and I would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for you meddling kids !
seriously, thanks for the inspiration. I’ll be thinking about it. We keep piling up talents and skills our whole life. For me it’s the q of having a little discipline and a lot of faith that I can really do it. I read recently that discipline comes from the same root as disciple. So self discipline can be seen as loving and following your self and your dreams.
Hmmm that is really interesting. I guess I just don’t get why it’s a not-what-your-worth thing? Who says anyone is “worth” anything? A lot of amazing and talented and inspiring people have shitty jobs and lives, and a lot of really terrible people have amazing jobs and lives. Finding the balance of what makes you happy is the most important. If you can get paid for it, then you are a very lucky person, but I reject the idea that just because you don’t get paid for your talents they are less valuable. The things that I do outside of my work are what define my life, when I am out of work I don’t think about work, I enjoy my actual life.
I guess its somewhat plain from what’s been said that each person who cares about their actions enough to question what they produce and how they affect their world must decide for themselves where their value lies and what they should do with their time. In Osho’s “Awareness” he speaks about always acting from your center and never from the periphery. I mention this because I see a flaw in doing ANYTHING that you can’t do with all of your being. If you half-ass your art, you will make half-assed art and you will only be a half-ass artist. If you drag yourself to work everyday and think about how terrible it is and how you can’t wait to go work on your creative shit so you can quit feeling like a half-ass employee for a few hours before you go to sleep, you are wasting your time and energy and the time, energy, and money of your employer. You are not an artist except when you are doing art and you are not an employee except when you’re dealing with your employer. You are only consistently you. When you make art, make it from your core. Not because you’re an artist, but because you’re You. When you are at work, don’t think of yourself as an employee, think of yourself as You -at work. But if you can’t pour yourself wholeheartedly into your job for a few hours everyday, why are you doing it?
marlee thanks for asking this quesiton. here comes a bunch of real bobaloneygna:
doing any work, on any level of work, is a chance to radiate loving kindness from your being to the next within that super difficult situation created by the opportunity of human interaction.
it’s too bad though because there is nothing really to do or make, but we still do it, we give it a name, we don’t know why, we are just going, we are scared! we aren’t scared, we try to understand it. we attach some sort of system to it. but it doesn’t exist! it is all an escape. an interesting way to divide space. doing things that aren’t real constantly and saying it’s fine, thinking it’s fine, knowing it’s fine.
and i think if we actually knew these beans without the map, we would be dead. there would be no point to it. not even that it matters if there is or isn’t a point. it would be a celebration, a is this where the party is at? but instead there is that feeling what i am doing? i am not really doing anything ever so why be aggressive, why start the wars?
so please let’s jump into the pool, this stream, a piece of paper, have no idea about it whatsoever, contradict our somethinged selves as much as possible, threw sifting all the possibilities of every moment, and love every good/bad/opinionated/non division of it, while drinking a milkshake.
dang what a good column, marlee. thanx for writing it.
i was asking myself the same question, and ended up quitting my job that included a good wage, lots of discounts, making raw food (and in Muskegon), and running into tons of awesome people that shopped there and making many good friends, some of whom I stay in touch with still.
The plan is to get in touch with more of them, cuz I like them a lot and consider them friends for sure. I always worked there, doing my best at treating people as people, not customers.
This defintely seemed like a dream job to me, but fuck, I don’t want a job! I like to work hard, but work today is definitely skewed. While not slaving away in sweatshops, us here still endure shitty conditions, largely meaningless, mundane tasks that do nothing for our well-being, and emotional/mental abuse and drama with bosses and/or co-workers. It is a hugely dissatisfying waste of life. Especially in the service industry, making stuff for people they should be making themselves. Restaurants are awkward things, and I don’t not go to them, but I do wish for a world without them. That is true for many things that I still participate in (cars, using money, living in a house, using this computer). You have to be easy on yourself, but also, some things just resonate at “low frequencies” like Kristi said. And life is much better without that shit. I’ve been reading “What We Leave Behind” by Derek Jensen, and I can sum the whole book up wiht this quote “WE ARE FUCKED.” Civilization is murdering all life rapidly, disgustingly, and it may be too late. But as I read this book, and agree with nearly every word, I find myself enjoying reading it, and getting excited, all the while mixed with a very separate hatred. This boost I feel is from knowing that I’m not alone. The fact that that book is written, means someone else care, and I’m not the only one reading this book. It’s one thing to tell yourself you aren’t alone, but to hear it or read it in music, art, books is crazily invigorating for me and i’m sure many others, or everyone? Feeling connected, shedding that awful feeling of isolation is important, it’s fucking vital to how I think our lives should be lived.
God this is so long, basically, I quit a job that ruled at times cuz it’s not right to be treated with lack of respect, to be treated as a pawn, to spend most of your days working for something you don’t care about. It takes a lot of privilege for me to quit my job and be thriving like I am, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have to quit because I am extremely privileged. I got myself out of a shitty emotional/mental drainage place that I was flunking at. My time was up, I moved on. And I worked so fucking hard at that job, it was really hard for me to quit. I was treated very well there, I just basically, (like a customer asked me later if i indeed) “am(are) not into capitalism.” Ha ha putting it as lightly as can be. I feel like this is crazy long, I so did not mean to write this much; but i just wanna say;
I biked away from that job with tears in my eyes, scared about my decision, but fucking wanting my life, my mental-well-being back! I wanted to walk Suzanna twice a day, run and swim, and get faster and faster and better and better at drums and plant tons of fruit trees, nut trees, vegetables, herbs, write tons of xtra vomit songs, travel a tad, hang out with my 6 awesome roommates more, see all my friends in mt. pleasant, lansing, detroit, kalamazoo, grand haven, grand rapids (and that’s just michigan). And I dont regret it for one fucking second. And my money is running out. And I’m trying not to get worried. And I have one more month maybe two of money for our house expenses(which is only like $125). And granted I have very cheap expenses that I am extremely fortunate to come across, but also was something I purposely sought out, but I am committed to readjusting my life to be one that uses less and less and less dollar bills. Giving up a lot of “necessary” comforts soon proves that they weren’t so necessary after all. A burden is lifted. I feel like in order to do this, you need allies, friends, a team that hates what is pushed on us as “necessary” every day. Part of this too is avoiding a lot of bullshit like wastes like facebook and all garbage sites like it, TV, a lot of movies, just media in general. The stupid magazines at the grocery store (my friend casey says “DON’T EVEN LOOK AT EM!” Billboards. Obviously a lot of this is unavoidable, but entering in amazing, diy, group things can counteract this. Having spaces to be (a sweet collective house, a band, a show, a dance party) that reassure me of what the good things in this world are are sooooooooooo fucking vital.
Damn, sorry. I meant to say; now people are starting to hire me to make raw/vegan food for them. Now i am my own boss and its gonna pay enough for me to eat and pay bills and have some for shows, and this was totally unexpected. I knew i hated working under a boss, but learned all i could at the place i worked before, and it worked out for me. I think if you find something you love doing and do it cuz you love it so much, not for some end thing, you are “succeeding”. money might follow that, it might not. i thought i’d share my experience with one part of that…. ugh sorry my wrting may be so hard to read. i dont care fuck the internet
SOCK OH MY GOD MY HEART IS EXPLODING
Just had to say Sock, the fact that after all those years you remembered my complete disgust for all those magazines in the check out lines and my full-proof strategy of not even looking at them for a millisecond, brought a huge smile to my face. awwwwww i love ya bud.
hee hee. i love you both