At first, a fall-back position may seem an excuse to chicken out of following your passion, working a second job as a betrayal of your dream, a diversion of your valuable time.
Take George Clooney, for example. There’s something attributed to him that’s always stuck with me:
His father kept trying to tell him that he needed to stay in college so that he would have something to fall back on. George’s reply was “If I have something to fall back on, then I will”
– From a George Clooney fan web site.
It’s the sort of thing that makes me thing that I ought to be diverting as much time as possible into pursuing my own vocation.
That every second spent on finding other ways of supporting myself is a betrayal of that dream.
But as I interview people for The Paid to Play Podcast, I’m discovering something different:
A lot of creatives are using their “fall-backs” to ensure that they can give their best when they approach their passion.