I, like probably everybody else on the planet of Earth (and perhaps beyond) hate working. Maybe the word hate is too strong of a word. Dislike? Is that better? At any rate, I’m exhausted working for somebody else, grinding and grinding and grinding until I’m left without a face by the end of the work week. For the past couple of years, I’ve been giving some hard thought to things that I can do that may turn into a stable income stream. At first, this looked like just job hopping to yet another employer— something that, admittedly, I’m not very good at. I’ve only worked for like five actual places during the three decades of my professional life. Then, my ADHD got the best of me and I hyper-focused on creativity. I learned Unreal Engine, a game development and animation software application. I’ve obviously have attempted writing fiction, hence why I’m here on SubStack. But I still feel like I’m just grinding my gears, getting nowhere fast.
This morning, during my morning mediation and shower routine, I got to thinking, What do I actually enjoy doing? I know I like anime. I know I enjoy role playing. I actually enjoy the challenge of solving problems and when I boil everything away, I truly adore using my imagination. Whether it’s to create fiction, or to some complex problems by writing software code. Imagination is my key. However, it’s kind of awkward to wield to gain any sort of financial income though. And this is what I need to figure out. What can I create, that I’m passionate about, that people would actually donate their hard earned money toward my happiness?
I firmly believe that the Age of the Employer is a dying one. We, as a society are migrating to a more individualized framework. We want to have the ability to set our own schedules, have direct control over our income, and did I mention just having some free-time available? We don’t want to work for somebody else, who tells us when we’re allowed to use the bathroom— and in some States, which bathroom we are allowed to use, if at all. We’re forced to come into work whether we’re healthy and dandy, or sick as a dog. Because we’re all family here, right? We’re a team. And my own observation shows me that this team that I’m a piece of is ever shrinking, the list of responsibilities are growing, but the compensation is stagnant.
Much like how the advent of invention and machinery allowed a select few to become powerful employers, digital technologies, decentralization, and virtual collaborative communications will allow individuals to access the same power that only a handful of people enjoyed just a hundred years ago. Today, we have the power of artificial intelligence, whether you adore it or despise it, it’s here, and it’s quickly going to eliminate your job in the work force. So now is the time to take stock at your skills, and determine what it is exactly in life you truly enjoy. For me, that’s the creative process and imagination. I’m just an ancient kid at heart.
But what does this all have to do with My Goals? Get to the point already! Okay, okay. I’ve defined my lifestyle to be very minimalist and basic. I don’t own a car. I don’t drive. I don’t even have the once coveted Driver’s License anymore. Why? Quite frankly, it’s much too expensive! But that’s only half the reason. I look around and see how dangerous driving in today’s modern world actually is. People are entirely too distracted. The rise of technology has put us meat-suits at a disadvantage. But honestly, what truly scares the hell out of me is the Rotary. I began my driving quest in the Midwest. Nowhere Kansas to be exact. The worst danger on the road out there in Farmville is the lack of a shoulder to pull off onto if you get a flat tire. No. Instead, you have only two options. Well, three, but you really don’t want to drive on a flat for miles and miles. Option one is to just stop in the middle of the road. Not a bad option if there’s two lanes of traffic. It’s a death-wish if it’s a single-lane highway though. Option two is to pull off the road, and end up rolling your car over because there’s a five foot deep ditch, that’s only a mere three inches away from the solid white line along the edge of the asphalt. But out here in the East, we have these death-traps known as rotaries, or sometimes called circles, where traffic all intersects, but instead of stopping, everybody just merges into one continuous river of cars, some change lanes, other exit at one of the five or six exit ramps. But back to the point, that saves me a ton of money each month, because I don’t have a car payment, nor maintenance. I don’t have to deal with the scam of Auto Insurance, and I don’t have to pay for gasoline twice a week just to get back and forth to work. My monthly commuting costs me $90.
And I lucked out with where I’m living. You see, my apartment is awesome. Not only is it on the basement (actually, it’s really the first floor)—but that means that there’s no steps to climb, and when you’re about to be five decades old, the knees and thighs don’t care too much for steps. And while I am lucky enough to be in a building with an elevator (there’s only four stories), that’s all the way down the hall and I think snails move faster than it does. But my apartment is great in other ways too, like because the entrance is in between the two sally-port doors in the stairwell. (I’m probably not describing this too eloquently.) This has two benefits. One, I don’t have to walk too far to get to my apartment—which is a Godsend, because with having chronic plantar fascitiis, every footstep hurts. And the second benefit is that the garbage dumpster is only like twenty feet from my door? If I opened my window and climbed up onto my desk chair (which I wouldn’t recommend doing—it has wheels), I could toss it with one of the many useless pens that I’ve accidentally stolen from work and hit it. But the primary reason I love my apartment is because it’s between a three and a five minute walk to the subway and bus terminal! Finally, my apartment is pretty cheap, considering the area I live in, Boston area, coming in at only $1,650 every month— and it’s a one bedroom with tons of storage space! Oh, and another, often overlooked benefit, is that because it’s partially underground, it stay’s cool in the summer time, and is partially insulated during the winter time. So that saves on my electric bill. So I’ll add that in here too, at around $150 per month.
The final set of expenses that I have related to my phone and internet usage. I have two phone lines, one for my partner, who is disabled, and one for myself. We have a basic entertainment package, mostly for her benefit— I don’t have time to watch television anymore. Altogether, that comes around $300. And of course there’s the food costs, that averages around $500 a month. We buy a lot of bulk supplies from my work, which is one of the few reasons I’m still working there after four years of dedicated service. The pay sucks, but it manages to pay most of the bills. But again, what does this have to do with goals, Kaitlyn? Sorry. I got distracted with laying some foundation first. Long story short, I need about $36K per year before taxes to make all my ends meet. Ideally, I would be ecstatic with $50K per year. And I want you to pause for a moment and think about that number. $50K. There are people in America working, and earning six figures who are struggling, yet I’ll be happy with a meager $50K—and that’s for two fully grown adults, to live comfortably, and forge a social live (dating nights, finding like-minded friends, hanging out, pursuing hobbies), you know actually living as opposed to just surviving!
So what does $50K look like for me, as a Creative Imagineer? If I limited this to just paid SubStack subscribers, that would be 834 fans. So what can I do to attract 834 people to pay for my creativity? What would people be interested in enough to fund me? I can tell you that anime fiction probably isn’t the answer. I know this because I’ve had this page for about two months, and still don’t have any paid subscribers. But in my own defense, I don’t push my page all that hard. So far, all of my postings have been quiet posts. I’ve opted not to flood people’s Inboxes with my fictional atrocities. And that’s because, for the last month, I’m still recoiling from the results of the Presidential Election, and coming to terms with the onslaught of dictatorial fascism. I figured most people don’t care about what I write in my blog space. I’ve got a couple of new sections brewing in the back of my mind that are along the fictionally humorous side, and I foresee some creativity blossoming very soon. Just the fact that this morning alone, I’ve had five article ideas while I was showering. Now if only I can remember them all! Mental note: Waterproof paper.
But coming up with creative content that would satisfy over eight-hundred people is a pretty big ask. I feel inadequate to have such a strong voice in the world. I mean, who honestly cares about what I’m writing about. And to keep in mind, this is 800 paid subscribers. I don’t even have 30 free subscribers seeing what I write yet. I’ve done a bit of research, and it looks like the hot topics, you know the ones we avoid at family gatherings and work, politics, religion, and what was the other one again? Anyway, I know that while these hot topics would spark conversation and debate, that’s not what I’m looking to provide. I want to provide a cool refreshing relief from hot topics. I want people to relax and laugh. I want to warm hearts, and give cozy hugs in written form for people who are struggling. But would this motivate people to pay me for it? I don’t want just jump on the band wagon of hot topic creators, because there are already spaces dedicated to that. I don’t want to step on other people’s toes.
Maybe helping other people feel better about themselves, and adding a light to their life doesn’t ultimately pay the bills, but I wish it would. Because there’s already too much division and hatred in the world. I don’t want to be wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but I do want to be secure knowing that my basic needs are met. But I want to do it in a way that is helpful for others in my community. Does anybody have any ideas on how I can start to achieve my goals?