Reflections: Part III "On finding purpose — final? post"
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”
Photo by Rasica/iStock / Getty Images
Many of you are probably familiar with the following venn diagram that explores the intersections of:
Image source: http://www.humanbusiness.eu/
What you love
What you’re good at
What the world needs
What pays money
Let’s analyse the above structure using my case.
❤️💪🏼What you love and are good at. What I love is singing. I’m also reasonably good at it, better than average.
It does pay some money, although compared to my previous job it pays less in absolute terms. On a per hour basis, one could argue it pays more if you take into account all of the overtime hours and not being able to switch off from work in the evenings and even weekends! On the other hand, one could also argue the same applies to my new reality. Even writing this post or learning and practicing new songs can be counted as “overtime” by the same token. Because it is something that I enjoy and it’s done voluntarily, psychologically I don’t perceive it as overtime and as work encroaching onto my personal space.
The new reality of being a busker doesn’t come without its problems though. For example, like a lot of buskers discover, you really need to queue for very popular and lucrative places. Last Saturday, I came to Pitt Street at noon and the next available spot was at 4PM. The other guys arrived there as early as 8AM to play at 2PM.
Also, as a singer there’s only so many hours I can sing without exhausting and ruining my voice. Same goes for guitar players whose fingers can really suffer from strumming the strings for hours. Busking in general can be quite physically exhausting because you have to lug around a lot of heavy equipment. Currently, I’ve managed to optimise my setup to about 20 kg, but it’s quite common for the guys to carry around as much as 60–80 kg worth of equipment. Switching between places, e.g. getting from Pitt Street Mall in Sydney to the Sydney Harbour also takes time.
Then there is a huge volatility that is difficult to predict as there are so many factors as to why people choose to or choose not to give money for a performance. Weather plays another external factor that affects both you individually and your potential listeners. If it rains or if it’s too hot outside, no matter how good you are, majority of people will have little patience to stop and listen.
🙏🏼💵 What the world needs and what pays money. That’s an interesting one. Part of me does feel that world does need street performers. Imagine walking on the street in another country and hearing a melody or a song in your own language, thousands of miles away from your home. Or imagine listening to a song that takes you back to the time when you first fell in love, when your loved one passed away, or any other emotionally charged moment of your life!
Another interesting personal observation is that people, more people than I expected, appreciate classical or near classical music. A singing teacher here in Sydney who has spent ten years and continues to be classically trained has told me that it’s becoming extremely difficult to land jobs for classical singers. The opera houses are folding because of financial difficulties and because of the lack of the popular interest. My experience so far tells me that people still hunger for classical, popular opera, and pure opera type music!
On the other hand, maybe the world needs more accountants, project managers, IT specialists, or at least more of them because in my experience that’s what the world is prepared to pay for. Which brings me to a dilemma as to whether I should continue busking full time or if I should supplement my earnings by working as an accountant, project manager, IT guy part time.
The “DIY musician” book says that it is possible to earn living as a musician but, with extremely rare exceptions, it takes years to establish oneself as a financially successful musician. It goes on to say that if you do decide music is your professional future, but find yourself in need of supplementing your income, you’re better off doing something that doesn’t tax you mentally. Because the moment you have to exhaust yourself by crunching numbers or doing some other mentally demanding work, your creativity and focus on music will suffer.
In addition to the above, money is only one aspect of looking at one’s compensation. What is more valuable to you: an extra $$$ in your bank account or the freedom of doing what you want to do when you want to do it?
Right now, I can, with some external constraints and qualifications, choose when I go busking or when I do something else. When I sing, I don’t notice the time fly by most of the days. When I practice new songs or work on my singing, it’s not because I have to do it, but mostly because I love learning new songs and I love singing.
Although busking can be stressful and physically tiring, I wonder if by doing what I love and enjoy doing I am technically extending my own longevity, rejuvenating myself internally and also extending my own earning capacity well into the future beyond the traditional retirement age :)) Given that in most of the countries around the world pension systems are in shambles and nobody can really count on a pension to sustain them, perhaps, busking could provide me with means to live in the autumn of my life unless we reach singularity and the android singers replace everyone?!
If you read all the way till the end, you’ve really got some good attention span :) What are your thoughts on this subject?