Bite The Bullet...Get Flexible

WOW, so as I'm sure y'all have noticed, my entries into the blogosphere have been intermittent to say the least. While this is actually a really good thing(explanation en route), I promise to be more regular and not leave ya hanging! But digress I must...my point is this, sometimes you have to completely let your contingency plan go and trust that you can build a parachute on the way down. The most recent case in point being "mi vida" at the moment. Basically, what I am trying to say, is that the city presents you with strange and perplexing, catch 22 type challenges, the biggest of which maybe how you compromise between the need to survive and the need to create your art. The typical answer is to find a JOB that pays well enough to cover living expenses, and yet, leaves you with enough time to do what you, as an artist, REALLY want to do(need to do, in some cases). But if I am going to keep it real, the type of job I just described is almost a fantasy. The majority of great, well-paying jobs in the city are also some the biggest time commitments, whereas, the most flexible and chill jobs, really don't compensate you adequately to survive...hmmmmmm, so what is the answer? Well, I suppose its going to be different for everyone, but in my experience, sometimes it takes a completely irrational leap of faith to break the cycle of "ball-and-chain" JOB-imprisonment to really make the freelance lifestyle a reality. For a time, when I first moved to NYC, I had a very laid back job at a fitness gym, just to make sure that I would have rent money each month. However, I ended up spending more time there than I was in class, choreographing, etc. In addition, every time an opportunity for an industrial, reel gig, or whatever came up, instead of having the flexibility to jump on those chances, I always had to think about my JOB responsibilities at the gym first. BUT WAIT!! I am thinking to myself, "why am I devoting all my time and energy to the gym, when I am a dancer?!?!?" And that is when I decided that, for better or for worse, I just needed to bite the bullet and free up my time, my schedule, and my life so that I would be available to take advantage of the opportunities coming my way. It also gave me the independence and motivation to start pursuing and CREATING new opportunities for myself. One caveat, I don't recommend this course of action if you are planning to simply wait passively for things to start arriving on your front door. But if you have the drive, the determination, to really make things happen for yourself, you cannot limit yourself to the confines of a weekly schedule in the employee break-room.