Reflections on Being a Financially Struggling Creative

I don’t romanticize the whole starving artist thing.

I believe that artists absolutely should live lives of having what they need materially. However, I’m also a realist. And the truth is that when you’re a creative who prioritizes purpose, there could be times when you find yourself broke because it can take awhile to build a body of work that gets noticed. And if you do get noticed, it can still take awhile to get paid for being noticed.

For much of that time, the biggest payment you may receive is your own personal fulfillment.

I know fulfillment doesn’t pay the bills and give you food to eat, but I want you to know that, it’s okay to live a life that is simple. It’s okay to forego the traditional housing/transportation/technology/furniture/family/ways of finding food to do your work, if you’re up to the challenge.

And this isn’t coming from some rich person who decided to let go of their material things. No. I’m actually a normal financially strapped person with only $100 in the bank and about the same amount in savings this week. I’m also a minimalist, and I know my life is much better by having a creative minimalist mindset.

I have chronic pain and where I live in the US, the health care for that can easily become super expensive. But thanks to being resourceful and patient, I’ve been able to find affordable, consistent healing and build a functional lifestyle without having to rely on traditional health care very much. I’m not afraid to go beyond what is considered normal to live the life I want to live. I’m still happy and as healthy as I can be at this moment, and I’m still getting a little better every day. It’s okay to do things outside of the mainstream. (If you want to read more about my chronic pain journey, I share more about it in my books Love Your Sensitivity and Tiny Tasks)

I’ve learned that there isn’t just one way to heal, eat, travel, commute, decorate your living space, run a business…or any of those things that we often feel like we must do in a specific way. There are always alternatives. The biggest barrier is being brave enough to take those alternative routes with confidence and clarity.

If you’re going to put your creative purpose first and follow your passion, be ready to not live a “normal” life for a while. We live in a world that is mainly profit first, not purpose first, so you will be swimming upstream. You may get to “normal” some day, but be prepared for things to be mostly out of the ordinary. Be ready to create whatever normal is for you, and to be strong enough to defend your different and unconventional choices.

When you dare to put your purpose and passion first, you may find yourself facing moments of learning how to do without or changing how you meet your daily needs.

Do I wish I had more money? Yes, I do. Who doesn’t? Having more people pay me for my work would be amazing.

But am I happy with the way my life is right now? Yes, I am, very much so.

I feel like I should be much unhappier than I am because my dear husband and I are always living a life that’s on the edge of “the benefits cliff,” but we have exactly what we need every single day.

So I’m happy. Even with only $100 in the bank. Even with that. It feels perverse and wrong and all those things. It feels wrong to say that I’m not desperately wishing for more and nicer right now, but I’m not. This is authentically how I feel right now.

There have been times when I’ve approached my husband and said, “This business I have isn’t making the money I would like for it to make, but I still feel crazy happy. Why is that?”

Then he would remind me, “It’s because you’re doing work that is fulfilling.”

Yes. That exactly.

I’m thankful for everything I own, for every meal and for every gift and moment of beauty that comes my way. I love versatility, resourcefulness and creative surprises. I enjoy discovering all the ways that life can still be beautiful without going beyond what I can afford. It is hard and challenging and stressful sometimes, but then every time I see that exactly what I need is there or that I can create or find what I need–it’s like life opens up for me in an unexpected way. Everything starts to feel so rare and worth it. Loving my lifestyle despite the imperfections makes things feel more perfect.

I have nothing. But yet I feel like I have everything.

Is that ok? Is that acceptable?

Maybe I’m crazy?

So how can someone who is running a “business” write something like this? It’s sacrilegious.

Like no one who is sharing their creative business journey writes about NOT having money. Like, isn’t the point of business is to make money? To make that six-figure, ten-k and whatever else we’re told “should” be desirable?

Recently I was chatting with my husband in an effort to further define what it is that I do, and we decided that a business is simply an activity that someone does in order to receive rewards.

I write, and I’m rewarded with mainly fulfillment and a little bit of money. So, I have a business. And according to the IRS what I do is considered a business because I make more than the “this is just a hobby” threshold, but that’s whatever.

The point of all of this is that monetary returns isn’t the only way to measure business success, and you don’t even have to use that metric to define business success if you don’t want to.

If you want to strive to pursue earning all of those “figures” then that’s your choice, and that’s okay. Just beware of taking on for yourself a metric of success and a set of expectations that may not truly be your own.

To me, success is waking up, being alive, doing the work that brings me fulfillment and health and making sure I have what I need each day. Success is how you define it. If you are making the figures, but you’re relentlessly stressed, unhappy, and it’s hurting your health, then you’re doing something wrong. And if you feel that way while trying to reach your money goals, then that’s a problem too.

I can say that because I’ve been there, and the moment I stopped obsessing over what I should be making, I started feeling much healthier and vibrant creatively.

I’ve found that I don’t need much to feel successful.

And maybe that’s all really success is. It’s not a metric or a number or even a prescribed lifestyle. It’s a personal feeling.

It comes when everything feels so right, even if the numbers are saying that we should feel otherwise. It’s a feeling that grows from what we believe about life and appreciating all that life currently is, as it is.

If you feel successful, then you are.

Don’t let others tell you to feel otherwise. It’s not their life. They’re not in your shoes, and they’re not in the ring fighting like you are. And take a moment to think about how your view of success is different from what’s typical, and how you can live that with confidence.

P.S. It’s also okay to have a “normal” job while pursuing your purpose-focused life. I did that while I could and loved it.

If you appreciated this article, you may also like my interview with Canvas Rebel. In it I share some practical tips for creatives who may be struggling financially.