December 17, 2019

All in

It’s easy for people who don’t need to risk it all to advise others to do it instead. After all, it’s the romance of it, isn’t it? Imagine giving a friend some advice to leave their day job and follow their growing interest in making art. Imagine they achieve the impossible – a full-time, well-paid career in the arts? “You can do it,” you said. “Just believe in yourself!” Maybe you could be the one that said, “If you don’t do it now, you never will,” or, “If you don’t cut yourself off from your day job, are you really committing to the practice?”

But maybe it’s possible to be all-in, without needing to be all-in. Maybe all-in means 300 words a week on your novel while you go to work, feed your family, and care for your sick mother. Maybe all-in is 300 words a month, because life is complicated and hard, and we weren’t all born with the same privilege. Maybe all-in is not right now, but later, when things get a bit easier.

All-in, like risk, is relative. What all-in means to one, is different from another. When they’re your chips that you’re risking, it matters more. You can still be all-in on your art, without having to rely on it to pay your bills. In fact, it might be the best way.

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