Corporate Work Versus Making Art is Not Even a Real Choice

You don't need to be a starving artist

Quitting your job only makes sense to me if you genuinely hate what you do, if you’re going to start a company yourself, or if you have a side-hustle business that is taking off.

I say this because, if you think you have to choose between your art—writing, painting, music, or whatever else—and your corporate job, I would argue that you have either seen too many Hollywood movies, or have poor time management skills. Of course ideally, you could just do your art all day. But the reality is that financial needs are often not met through the pen or the brush or whatever else. It goes without saying that this is the dream, and it should be pursued.

But this isn’t 1985. To have a good corporate job, you don’t have to be in traffic for one hour in the morning, in the office from 9-5, then in traffic for another hour, five days a week. As Patrick Star would say, we have technology. Granted, some people prefer a fully on-site job, or have no choice but to work at one. But we do live in a world of remote and hybrid work possibilities, so the old 9-5 plus commute schedule is not strictly necessary. And yes, I realize that job offers—never mind remote and hybrid ones—don’t grow on trees. I’m fortunate and have a great hybrid working situation, and live only about ten minutes from the office. My point is just that there are options.

Something I think you do have to choose between, however, is a corporate job or your own business. I’ve met a lot of people in Austin who have startups and they work pretty much all the time, so much so that it is inconceivable that they could do much else alongside it. However, things like writing poetry or making videos don’t require the insane level of time commitment that being a founder does. They just don’t, and it’s not even close.

On the other hand, despite the fact that I work in tech sales for a big company and have days full of calls, internal meetings, and the constant pressure to hit quota, I’ve managed to write an 80,000 word-book, all while publishing here every week and continuing my deep reading habit. All with pretty minimal levels of day-to-day stress.¹

With art, you work in sprints anyway. You don’t need all day like a business does. You need two focused hours. That’s what I do. I’m writing this essay from a secluded spot in the office. I got here at seven. I have unlimited free coffee and a quiet place to type away. It’s great. In fact, I actually find it easier to write or make videos on days when I have work. The hard deadline of corporate world responsibilities kicking in forces me to take advantage of my early morning writing time.

It’s funny because a few years ago, I was very against working in corporate for a number of reasons. One was pure naivete. Another one was that I was delusional about how much money I would make from this Substack. Contrary to my expectations after a few years writing here, I’ve made a few thousand dollars off this blog. But this is a delusion I’m actually proud of, and I still hold it. That’s the dream: just being able to read and write all day. Additionally, I also at various times have thought I wanted to start a business, but every time I consider what it really takes to create a company, I lose interest.

I lose interest because despite the sometimes intense nature of tech sales, my work day has a beginning and an end, and I don’t work on weekends. I like that. I get to spend that time reading Borges, writing essays, and spending an hour or two at the gym lifting, playing basketball, and hitting the sauna. Not to mention spending a lot of time hanging with my friends and girlfriend. Anyway, the point I’m trying to make in this essay is that you don’t have to be a starving artist.²

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1. Although I should say this is probably because I’ve read so much great literature and philosophy and certain parts of religious texts.

2. But don’t listen to me.