{"id":104213,"date":"2024-08-15T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/?p=104213"},"modified":"2024-08-14T09:33:35","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T13:33:35","slug":"how-i-quit-my-job-to-become-a-full-time-creator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/how-i-quit-my-job-to-become-a-full-time-creator\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Quit My Job to Become a Full-Time Creator"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After nearly twenty years in the IT world, where I earned an attractive salary and attained seniority as a Software Architect, I finally made the tough choice to become a full-time creator. I have wanted to take photos for as long as I can remember. I was discouraged from doing so, one reason being it\u2019s not a career path to follow, as there are better options. As a student, I printed images of other photographers and stuck them on my wall; staring at them was my escape into another world for which I longed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Long Path to an Inevitable End<\/s> Beginning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The pressure from my family and society to pursue higher education, earn money, and make a living led me to the corporate world in information technology. Money was and is essential, and I wasn\u2019t born into a privileged household where I could take my time and explore the options I loved. But all I wanted was to travel and to take photos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, I bought my first camera, a Canon Powershot S3 IS<\/a>, from my first salary at age 24, and I have not stopped taking photos since then. My dream never vanished, but for many years, it was placed on hold – by responsibility and duty – by myself, my family, and societal perception. The shackles of the mind kept me bound to my life of resignation. We talk ourselves into scripts of how and where our lives should be based on our fear of failure, social pressure, lack of purpose, and negative self-talk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A New Beginning as A Full-Time Creator<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have shaken the restraints of a nine-to-five job and am a full-time creator now. I did not want to lead a life resigned to quiet desperation any longer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation<\/em> ~Henry David Thoreau.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As a youngster taking photos, I had no mentors or end goals. It was a phase of exploration, using the available funds to travel and take pictures. I read a quote once: “Don\u2019t be afraid of walking slowly; be afraid of standing still\u201d. With the daily grind of office hours, all I knew was that I had to keep pressing my camera’s shutter. Luckily, the internet became more accessible, and I found mentors online. Their work sparked my curiosity and made me learn the methods they employed. My unquelled desire to grow and seek knowledge gained through learning and imitating techniques from others allowed me to shape my creative style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whispers in my mind had gradually become louder and grown to full pitch, and the call to my passion could no longer be silenced. My inner discontent and the grappling between obligation and the heart broke and finally begged for a choice. The journey here has been difficult, and the choice is both challenging and, at the same time, easy, but I do not regret taking the longer path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practically speaking, though, how does one achieve this shift? The theory and idea are lovely, but the enactment is complex and requires much planning. It has, for me, been the culmination of an arduous internal and external journey. Whenever I had considered quitting my job to pursue creativity, the risk-averse voices in my head and around me always asked, \u201cWhat if you fail?\u201d I realized I needed to consider the opposite: \u201cWhat if I prevail?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Reflecting
Repeatedly visit a source of inspiration. I honed my photography and post-processing skills here from many visits, established connections, and acquired expertise.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, Where to Start?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n