7 ms·

> What I recommend instead is to separate your money from your love. Get the most low-stress source of income that you can find, and then do exactly what you lo

> What I recommend instead is to separate your money from your love. Get the most low-stress source of income that you can find, and then do exactly what you love for free. It might eventually make you money or it might not. "Do what you love and the money will follow" is mostly false. The real rule is: "If you're doing what you love, you won't care if you never make any money from it -- but you still need money."

jasfi 5y ago
KineticLensman 5y ago
But he also has an important caveat: "But if you make an effort to combine your income and your love, you are likely to end up compromising both, making a poverty income by doing something you don't quite love, or no longer love." I love photography and for a while (approx 20 years ago) considered moving to it as a full-time job. But it quickly became obvious that the actual shutter-clicking would be a tiny part of running an overall photography business (and then smartphones and Alamy happened and the bottom dropped out of stock photography). So I'm glad I stuck with my mainstream job. It paid well enough to live and afford expensive lenses and the wildlife trips where I could put them through their paces. And from my current 60-year-old perspective, it also paid for retirement savings and pensions which I wouldn't have now if I'd tried to be a wedding photographer, say. The other thing that is sometimes overlooked is the importance of health. If you drop out and then get very ill, and have a very seat-of-the-pants lifestyle, things can get dark and uncomfortable very quickly. Not to say which is the right approach, just pointing out that it's worth considering how different future-yous will look back on your decision now. One who prioritises memories over possessions. One who isn't healthy and feels the cold. One who wants children. Etc
btrettel 5y ago
What are some low-stress jobs that pay well? I've thought that some IT jobs might fit the bill, particularly if one only needs to work a small number of hours each day. When I was a teenager, I worked at a gas station, which was mostly low-stress and even had a lot of down time that I could use for reading. But the pay was terrible and I had no benefits.
- nicbou 5y ago
  Various forms of self-employment, but getting to the stress-free part is a bumpy ride.
- schwartzworld 5y ago
  > What are some low-stress jobs that pay well? It probably depends on what you're used to and how you handle stress. I'm a web developer and find it incredibly low-stress in comparison to my previous lives. No back-to-back double shifts, no risk of working a full day and not getting paid for it, no abusive management, no rampant substance abuse at work, no "if you have time to lean, you have time to clean", no pressure to come into work when you're sick, no getting written up or even fired for being <5minutes late to work, no punitive scheduling... I could go on. I see people complaining about the software industry and I really don't get it. This shit is so comfortable, easy and straightforward in comparison to the kind of work most people have to do.

jasfi 5y ago

KineticLensman 5y ago

But he also has an important caveat: "But if you make an effort to combine your income and your love, you are likely to end up compromising both, making a poverty income by doing something you don't quite love, or no longer love." I love photography and for a while (approx 20 years ago) considered moving to it as a full-time job. But it quickly became obvious that the actual shutter-clicking would be a tiny part of running an overall photography business (and then smartphones and Alamy happened and the bottom dropped out of stock photography). So I'm glad I stuck with my mainstream job. It paid well enough to live and afford expensive lenses and the wildlife trips where I could put them through their paces. And from my current 60-year-old perspective, it also paid for retirement savings and pensions which I wouldn't have now if I'd tried to be a wedding photographer, say. The other thing that is sometimes overlooked is the importance of health. If you drop out and then get very ill, and have a very seat-of-the-pants lifestyle, things can get dark and uncomfortable very quickly. Not to say which is the right approach, just pointing out that it's worth considering how different future-yous will look back on your decision now. One who prioritises memories over possessions. One who isn't healthy and feels the cold. One who wants children. Etc

btrettel 5y ago

What are some low-stress jobs that pay well? I've thought that some IT jobs might fit the bill, particularly if one only needs to work a small number of hours each day. When I was a teenager, I worked at a gas station, which was mostly low-stress and even had a lot of down time that I could use for reading. But the pay was terrible and I had no benefits.

nicbou 5y ago
Various forms of self-employment, but getting to the stress-free part is a bumpy ride.
schwartzworld 5y ago
> What are some low-stress jobs that pay well? It probably depends on what you're used to and how you handle stress. I'm a web developer and find it incredibly low-stress in comparison to my previous lives. No back-to-back double shifts, no risk of working a full day and not getting paid for it, no abusive management, no rampant substance abuse at work, no "if you have time to lean, you have time to clean", no pressure to come into work when you're sick, no getting written up or even fired for being <5minutes late to work, no punitive scheduling... I could go on. I see people complaining about the software industry and I really don't get it. This shit is so comfortable, easy and straightforward in comparison to the kind of work most people have to do.