Insights Open Thread: Is building a 'passion career' worth it?

Has this series changed your perception of the reality of the creative freelance life?

Does ‘owning your time’ make up for the lack of security, the stress, the worries, the constant hustle? Photo: Christa Funk

One of the reasons I think my How Creative Freelancers REALLY Make Money series struck such a chord is because it deals honestly with the reality of the creative freelance life.

And it isn’t always pretty.

Think of Sophie Hellyer’s honesty about the difficulty of juggling freelance work and parenthood.

Or Mike Lay, discussing how mentally all-consuming, and poorly paid a job like being editor of Wavelength surf mag actually was.

Or Lauren Hill honestly talking about she sometimes dreams of a regular job to take the pressure off.

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The reaction to these intensely honest insights has also been striking. Time and again, creatively ambitious readers got in touch with one sentiment:

‘Wow. I had no idea that it’s the same for everybody, no matter how ‘outwardly’ successful they are’.

This is, I imagine, what Lauren was getting at when she questioned whether the whole thing was actually worthwhile in one of her answers to me in part three of the series.

That’s why, in this week’s first Insights Open Thread, we’ll collectively try and answer two important questions:

Is building a ‘passion career’ worth it?

Has this series changed your perception on the reality of the creative freelance life?

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My Looking Sideways Insights community is a particularly supportive and creative bunch. And among this community are some of the most legendary, sharpest, and successful people in ‘our’ world (some of whom you’ve heard from in this series).

We’ve got brand CMOs. Legendary sustainability pioneers. Entrepreneurs who’ve changed the game. Pro athletes you’ll know and admire. Broadcasters who shape the conversation. The best writers in the business. The people behind the most influential events in our world.

And a huge community of people desperate for knowledge, and to learn how to make similar moves themselves.

Taken together, I’d love to hear what the LS community thinks about these two questions:

Is building a ‘passion career’ worth it?

Has this series changed your perception on the reality of the creative freelance life?