Abnormal Artist Dreams Big – Again!!, By Stacey McClain – T.B.A. #2

February 3, 2009 Stacey McClain 7 Comments

There are times I think artist are abnormal.  And, some of us are. We are dream chasers.  We put it all on the line for, quite often, a little amount of money.  We make crazy sacrifices– like foregoing family outings and ending good relationships and sacrificing our health for the sake of “making it”.   Are we born this way, or is this behavior learned?   Does any of it make sense? Nope.  But we do it. I’m convinced.  Artists are abnormal!

I got offered a perfectly good job last year, in a corporate environment for good money, and after working for two weeks, I quit to take a job that gave me an opportunity to work with Arsenio Hall for only 3 months.   Today, I’m thinking… was that crazy?  Should I have quit that good corporate job that could’ve taken me into my retirement years?  I mean, right now, I could be picking up that steady paycheck every Friday and adding to my Social Security funds!  Then, I think… Naah… I had much more fun kicking it on that show being creative for those 3 months, than I would’ve ever had working on that corporate job for 6 years!!  To the schoolteacher in Kansas, this must sound crazy as hell!  But at the time, quitting seemed normal  – to me.

Entertainment is in my blood.  I’m so addicted to this business that it’s pathetic!

My optimism is sickening!   I’m so optimistic about making it that (in my mind) I’ve picked out areas in New York that I will live when I make it (uh, Manhattan, over looking Central Park).  I’ve designed my houses in Florida, and Atlanta, and Santa Barbara. I bought a small island to hang out on, during the winters and cold holidays.   Basically, my mind has me living so large that I would have to have Oprah or Puffy money, in order to live up the expectations of my damn self – it crazy (but so be it).  I don’t do drugs, but I think my imagination is on steroids – (which is good when you’re a writer – right?). In my soul, I have a shot at this damn thing. I’m constantly trying to think of ways to make it big– scratch that — huge, scratch that, gigantic… and in my mind – I will.   Like most folks, I just want to work, get paid stupid-money and stop working so I can do what the hell I want, until I’m the ripe old age of 103.  Doesn’t everybody?

Please don’t tell my subconscious this, but… sometimes I think about giving up, then I get a call from a friend who wants me to do a radio show.  Or, somebody asks me to help them with a script and I get sucked back in– and the entertainment bug sucks all the “normal thinking” right out of me.  Are these gigs the ones that will get me to the mind blowing money?  Uh, nope– but, I keep saying to myself, hustling at something you want to do, is much better than working at something that you hate doing.  So, I’m back at it. I ain’t givin’ up.  I’m in.  Just pray for a sistaah, and if you’re anything like me – stay abnormal, it’s actually worked for a few folks.

Stacey McClain is the author of the Ebook, Hollywood50tips.com.  A book she wrote for all those who are considering living a happy and abnormal life.