A Slave No More

I recently purchased a book called The Artist In The Office:  How to Creatively Survive and Thrive Seven Days a week by Summer Pierre.  I was browsing all the fabulous books that ModCloth.com and UrbanOutfitters.com have to offer... and I came across this find!  I decided to order it, figuring I could use some inspiration on how to be a creative person in the workplace.   As I read through it, I'm planning on sharing some sections of the book on here... so, today is the first day I'll be doing just that!  Today's excerpt is titled "A Slave No More"



"Once, at a party, I was asked the inevitable question: "So, what do you do?" I replied that I was an artist. After we covered exactly what "artist" meant, my new acquaintance asked me, "So do you do that full-time, or are you just a wage-slave?"


I hate the term "wage slave." To me, it implies a sort of victim relationship to having a job. It's as if, as artists, we are shackled to our regular paychecks. This is utter crap. Nobody pointed a gun to my head and said, "March into that job interview, make a good impression, and take the job." No matter what I'd rather do or not do, I made a choice to go after my day job. I'm also paid for it.

Often when we dream about being somewhere else - as in a full-time creative life - we can come to resent where we are and think of ourselves as victims or slaves to the system.

Break the wage slave mentality. Make empowering work choices and acknowledge your worth! "