I’ve been a personal care worker, a tourist guide, an ESL teacher, a research assistant, a computer programmer, etc. etc. etc. I’ve had so many diverse jobs. Although some jobs were very fulfilling in the ‘help your community’ kind of way, I was always waiting and craving time off. Weekends never came fast enough, and Mondays came too soon. I was trying to be grateful for all that I had in my life, but if I took one hard look at myself I knew I was miserable.

I remember saying to myself several years ago, “If this is what working is all about, I can’t wait to retire”.

I then decided to take the time and invest in a relationship with myself. I got to know who I am (and believe me, I’m still learning) and what I’m passionate about. I wanted to be an artist ever since I could remember. I knew I’d be happy painting but tremendous fear was in the way of that career move. There was no promise of a steady paycheck and I had bills and student loans up the wazoo. That’s why I kept on taking jobs that were emotionally unrewarding but would provide me with a great paycheck.

One night, about 5 years ago, I reached my ultimate low point. I think the fact that my boss at the time was a bully, always yelling, belittling me and my coworkers, spreading office gossip and providing an emotionally toxic work environment had a lot to do with it. I had a level of stress and anxiety that I never knew one could have. Something had to drastically change in my life and there was no way I was going to let myself be a victim in my own life anymore. My frustration of my current circumstances fueled my longing for a better future and gave me the boost I needed to find the courage to pursue my passion.

So, with 110% support from my friend, Peter, I made the decision to do everything that it took to become an artist because it really, really, really, really was the only thing I wanted to do. I quit my job, moved into a small two bedroom apartment with two other people, ate on an artist’s budget, hardly ever went out, learned how to run a small business (started with the book Canadian Small Business Kit for Dummies, no joke!), learned simply accounting, went to the bank for advice, worked what felt like 16 hour days/7 days a week for the first 2 years, etc. etc. etc. Was I exhausted? YES. What I scared? YES!!! Was it worth it? A big fat YESSS!!!!! It was so worth it that I would do it a million times over!

Now I don’t care what day it is. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, it’s all the same to me. 99% of the time, I view work as play time, especially now that I don’t do custom paintings anymore. I’m creating art like I used to do as a child, freely. I’m truly grateful.

I hope that you have found your passion. If not, believe me when I say that your happiness is worth all the time and energy it takes to follow your dreams.

How To Sell Your Art

Here’s a video about The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money; by one of the authors, Chris Guillebeau.

“If you have a friend that dreams of one day becoming a full-time artist, think about buying them this guide. It would be such a great gift! I mean really… what better gift than to give your loved ones inspiration and knowledge in how to pursue their dream job? Seriously, name me one gift better than that.” – Soniei, Full-Time Artist

Learn more about The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money!

Tags: About Soniei, Peter Cyr

This entry was posted on Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 11:03 am and is filed under About Me, Journey as an Artist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.