Getting paid for what we love

When we schedule inspiration and passion, it becomes work and we need to be paid for it.

Zach Diestler, Elizabeth Terrel, Kellie Ruttle The Laramie Project directed by CJ Kieth, 2000

I've been giving this a lot of thought lately -- this idea of doing what we love for a living.

Like many of you, I worked hard to be able to get paid to do a variety of things I love -- things I would and occasionally DO do for free.

The thing is, when I do them for free, it's because I feel inspired, in that moment, to create. OR because that particular work inspires me and it is worth it for me to schedule it (which, by the way, means I will likely pass up paid work in order to do it.)

When my creativity, inspiration, and passion need to be scheduled to meet another's timeline, then it becomes work. Because the fact is that I am just not always in the mood. And when I'm not in the mood I have to summon up and employ all the years of craft and training to GET IN THE MOOD to do the work.

And that is hard -- sometimes it is very, very hard.

And if I also had to travel there to do it, that's an issue. Travel time is TIME. And as any good business person will tell you, time is money.

In case no one has ever said that to you in regards to your artistry, I will repeat it: Time is money.

There are days when everything just FLOWS; days when we couldn't mess it up if we tried. And then there are days when it's HARD or just STICKY, and those are the days when we need CRAFT.

That is why we charge for our work: because it is work.


all those years of training cost thousands and thousands of dollars and took many years. That was an investment in my future the same way a business person earning a Bachelors and MBA in finance was an investment; the same way a surgeon's training was an investment.

Every class you take, every coaching session, every voice lesson, every dance class, every yoga training -- whatever -- is an investment of both time and money.

That's what people pay for when they hire you.

You are worth it.

Every damn penny.

IMAGE: Zach Diestler, Elizabeth Terrel, Kellie Ruttle The Laramie Project directed by CJ Kieth, 2000