The security of no security

If you’re a full-time musician, you’ll never have a job, a boss, a salary, or insurance. You’ll bootstrap everything yourself. You’ll always struggle against apathy and gate-keepers. And you’ll have to be one-in-a-million to achieve this incredibly difficult goal.

To some people, this sounds horrible. To me, it was a dream come true.

Someone with a steady 9-5 job asked me how I could handle the lack of security.

Lack of security? Living this way is like learning wilderness survival skills. Being able to fend for yourself is real security.

• You’re constantly thrown into new scenarios, and learn something new every time.
• You’re not given a safety net, so you learn to make your own.
• Your career is not tied to any one company.
• Your success or failure is up to you — not the whims of a boss.
• You’re a free agent, so you can take any opportunity.
• Your pay is always negotiable. You can experiment in doubling your rates, or charging however you’d like.

Basically, having no steady job keeps you at your best! To me, it’s the ideal life.