Freelance vs. day job: Don't compromise just to pay the bills

“The biggest mistake I see people making is compromising on the passion to pay their bills...they get desperate, to where they’re taking on any kind of work they can get to make ends meet. The problem is they’re not adequately covering their expenses with a day job.”

-Sean McCabe, seanwes tv

Are you scattered, busy trying to make your passion your business but constantly worried about making ends meet?

If you’ve ever started to hate your passion because you’re compromising in order to pay the bills, I hope you watch this video.

A few weeks ago, Sean McCabe (who I’ve written about before, and is awesome -- go follow him) did a video on balancing your day job and your passion until you’re ready to make your passion your full-time business. The most important thing? Giving your side gig time to breathe and grow without the huge pressure of being profitable right away. Watch and let me know what you think:

One of the most interesting parts of the video is when Sean recommends that you keep a day job that’s not in your field. At first I was skeptical, but he makes a convincing case. I also remembered that the time I was MOST productive on my personal (writing) projects was when I worked at a restaurant, not on writing gigs. I had a lot of energy for writing when I got home.

What do you think, does your day job charge you or deplete you?