Art And Business

“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so you can spend the rest of your life like most people cant.”

- Warren G. Tracy’s student

I came across these words this morning as I was scrolling through my phone. I couldn't help lingering on them, they just rang so true. I don't know if I would consider myself to be an entrepreneur, but it made me think about the difference between art and business, and how that affects the way writers operate.

For me, writing used to be art. It was how I expressed myself, it was how I relaxed, and it was how I filled my free time. Now, however, it's my escape.

Whether I'm crammed in my cubicle during my lunch break, stealing a few minutes of quiet after everyone else has gone to bed, or balancing my laptop on my knee while I wait for our clothes to finish at the Laundromat, I'm always writing. I think, in my last post, it may have come across that I only write this often during NaNoWriMo, but that's not the case. I write like this in some crazy attempt to make my life more like I want it to be, and I do it all the time. I write instead of watching television, I write instead of going out with friends and I write instead of going to the classes I used to enjoy.

It may seem like a stupid hope, but after working full time there's not a whole lot of other ways to generate additional income. Writing gives me hope that, one day, I might be able to purchase my own washing machine, instead of trudging along the street with a giant suitcase at least once a week. Writing gives me hope that we might not have to live in this apartment for the rest of our lives, surrounded by the noise and activity of so many other people when we crave peace. Writing gives me hope that, one day, I'll be able to stay at home with my children without burdening my partner with the responsibility of being the sole breadwinner, something I'd never be able to do on our current incomes, anyway.

So right now I spend every free moment writing, in hopes that one day those words will mean a more peaceful familial life for us, and the chance for me to be with my children as they grow and discover the world.

I approach my writing as an entrepreneur, and spend the time I have now, to buy the time I want later.