Doing something for a long time can truly be a blessing and a curse. I’m lucky that I chose a career that is always changing. Being freelance for so many years gave me the luxury of freedom to choose but also gave me a feeling of constant insecurity. Instead of enjoying the job I was doing when the end was near I was frantic about the next job. There was never a guarantee and always the fear of not working. Even though I have been on a very successful roll that wicked voice of fear lingers in the back of my mind.
Don’t get me wrong. I could never work in the same place for 20 years. Never! It’s not in my DNA and thank God I learned early on not to put myself in that position. For some, they love that security and the very nature of doing the same thing in the same place year after year. Sometimes when it seems it is going to be a dry spell I envy those that still have that nine to five haven. The security of knowing where you are going to be on any given day allows you the freedom to book vacations. No easy task when you’re freelance. Of course, people will tell you to just “book it” and go but it never fails the moment you do the job of a lifetime comes in. It has happened to me too many times to book anything further ahead than a month. But something now has shifted in me.
And this is where growth comes in. I am by no means young but not a senior citizen. Yet. I have been a professional makeup artist and stylist for many years and have become comfortable in my work. Not so much as to not keep learning and discovering. But I have done the drill long enough to know what I have to do to get the job, run the department, create the work and go home. I am experienced to know that whatever comes my way I can figure it out.
Until now. I have been consulting and coaching while doing my work helping people find their way. I love it. The very nature of my work is very intimate. So people relax and talk to me about things they usually wouldn’t talk about once they go out into the world of make-believe. Even real life can be make-believe. Life does imitate art.
I taught University for a number of years in fashion and costume design as well as working as a makeup artist. I love everything about design. Whenever I’m out of town whether on a job or not, one of the first places I hit is the museum. And churches. The hush of the reverence for the work that is contained in one place overwhelms me. The discipline and creative craziness in the artists fascinate me. I try to get in their heads looking at the amazing work they have done. And I sometimes weep at the sheer courage and strength it took to just create.
So I encourage you to find what in your life can excite and inspire you to grow. Whether it be a new language, a painting, a trip or just taking time to reach past what is your comfort zone. I know the only way is to try and in the trying lies the growth.