Should I enjoy my freedom and work on my business instead of getting "a real job"?

[Aquarius]

I'm not sure if this is risky or not. My family provides me everything and supports me in everything I do. They pay me for anything I need, they just want me to work on my business. My area of expertise is art. I make all kinds of digital art. I didn't discover my niche yet, but I'm thinking of opening an Etsy shop, studying the market and deciding where I should put my focus on. I'm also gaining serious likes on Instagram and I feel like I have what it takes, I just need to work... a lot more. Like a lot. 

The problem is that I never got any foundation from my family. I'm not talking about money or education, of course I didn't get those, but I didn't even get the basic things. They couldn't provide what I needed, except from food and some very cheap clothes. They didn't teach me about the world around us, but rather taught me to be afraid of everything, not trust people, don't get a job, and never share any thoughts with friends. Actually screw friends, they told me since I was an infant that people suck, people are bad and that I should only talk to people who have high status. They didn't even teach me how to care for my hygiene properly, I learned all of this by myself. They are pure Stage Blue, with mentality of the dark middle ages. Very religious, but ironically they are completely charmed by romantic soap operas.  

Even though they want me to be successful and rich, they keep telling me to keep everything I do secret and to never reach out to more experienced people or friends, because they will ruin my reputation blah blah blah.

People think that when I read books for 3 hours every day it's just mental masturbation. No! Not at all! I've never been taught anything I need in life so now I have to learn from others. And I'd rather learn from a professional than someone who has limited experience. Yes, I can decide what book is good and what is not, I have a strong common sense. 

I'm not really sure what to do with my life or where to start. I guess having a job would be really fulfilling, since I could be more social and people won't think that I'm just wasting time, even though I'm spending many sleepless nights reading, thinking, working on my projects, etc. 

On the other hand I would like to work more on my projects and myself, but I feel really lonely and confused. Also there are many things to work on.

I'd write a list of things that I would like to work on, but I don't want anyone to think that I don't have any of these. I just want to improve them. These include money, self-esteem and relationships (both friendship and romantic). There's also thousands of sub-fields linked to these 3 so I'm not writing a list, or someone might think that I'm totally lost. I'm not lost. At least not that much. It's just I have a lot of things to work on and I don't know what to start with. Sometimes I feel like I am a nothing, even though I am fairly satisfied with my progress. I'm both proud of disappointed of myself. Maybe a job would help me integrate into society more, since my stage Blue family has taken this away from me from an extremely early age and has ruined my life up until now and still keeps ruining it every day. But I would also like to make money through something meaningful for me. Like an etsy shop or doing commissions on instagram.

Share your thoughts? 

[universe]

How old are you? How is you relationship with your parents and how much can you reduce their influence over you while living with them?

[Aquarius]

@universe I'm 20. My relationship with them is horrible. None of my family have a job. I try to reduce it 100%, but my grandmother always comes and comments something nasty, for example how I either choose this family or go back to my "criminals". Lol, that's how she calls my friends. My family is insane!

[ajasatya]

@Aquarius what you're expecting from your parents cannot be provided by others. it's an impossibility.

this is why life is so amazing. now it's your turn.

move up! make your life amazing! nobody can make it happen for you, otherwise life would be BORING AS F.

[Anirban657]

@AquariusI think you should focus on your art. If that gives you happiness and satisfaction then everything will slowly get better. But if not getting a job makes you worry more then why not give it a try. You are old enough to make your own decisions. 

So you can stop worrying by doing getting a job and in th free time focus on your art. What do you think?

[aurum]

@Aquarius

If your family provides for you financially, that's something I would take advantage of. I would sink a lot of time into making your art and just go as hard as possible on your business for now.

You are probably going to spend a lot of time alone because of this. I don't know anyway around that. But the good news is that the sooner you're financially independent, the more freedom you'll have to be social as you choose fit.

[Aquarius]

@aurum You're right. Thank you.

[IVONNE]

what I learned from my sociology classes is that not all parents are well skilled to teach or guide their children well. So I seen this as a human point of view but then again I've learned that If my parents did something I am not happy about, then I wish I am well skilled in order to guide my future kids.

I know it sucks and I feel you, but don't let it get caught from your own path, so sister put your seatbelt and hold the wheels and slightly move he ship to the other direction.

A lesson learned!

Edited November 1, 2018 by IVONNE

[Aquarius]

@ajasatya Thanks for the advice!

 @Anirban657 That's true. Thank you!

@IVONNE Thanks, you're really positive!

[Girzo]

23 hours ago, Aquarius said:

I'm thinking of opening an Etsy shop

You don't think about opening an Etsy shop, you just do it. It takes one or two days to research and decide on something.

I recently have met a guy who makes solid money (around $3000 a month) on RedBubble. He's not even an artist. He is taking stock photos and modifies them using pre-made artistic filters in an Android app. He has 1000's of designs published across various websites.

Yet, I will have to warn you. Making a buck on websites like Etsy is probably nothing like you imagine it. It's both easy and hard. Easy, because you have prepared infrastructure and don't need to think about technical side of having an online bussiness and you will also get some sales organically through the website. Hard, because you will have to compete with others who can start their own shop as easy as you and also copy your best ideas.

[Aquarius]

@Girzo I'm not sure what your friend is doing, but it might be illegal.. You cannot use stock photos for merchandise, at least not without an extended license, which costs like 1000$ for 25 photos. And if he is only selling 25 products and getting 70% profit, then that's not bad I guess. But if he's just randomly editing a stock image and selling it that is illegal. I just talked about the merchandise options with a Shutterstock agent and asked them if they allow me to use their photos for my products, and they said it is not allowed without paying at least 120$ for two images. That's too much for me since I only plan to sell a few copies (but a good price for bigger companies). I had to refuse.  

Please note that most people on RedBubble are original artists, they don't use stock photos.

[non_nothing]

Quote

Should I enjoy my freedom and work on my business instead of getting "a real job"?

The question itself uses two different verbs for two different things "enjoy, get"

enjoy -> my freedom, work that I do

get-> a job, (real used to emphasis something by author)

 

My offer is simply keeping both options in one's pocket. I'm very proud of you

Edited November 8, 2018 by non_nothing

[GenuinePerspectiveXC]

On 11/1/2018 at 4:28 AM, Aquarius said:

I'm not sure if this is risky or not. My family provides me everything and supports me in everything I do. They pay me for anything I need, they just want me to work on my business. My area of expertise is art. I make all kinds of digital art. I didn't discover my niche yet, but I'm thinking of opening an Etsy shop, studying the market and deciding where I should put my focus on. I'm also gaining serious likes on Instagram and I feel like I have what it takes, I just need to work... a lot more. Like a lot. 

The problem is that I never got any foundation from my family. I'm not talking about money or education, of course I didn't get those, but I didn't even get the basic things. They couldn't provide what I needed, except from food and some very cheap clothes. They didn't teach me about the world around us, but rather taught me to be afraid of everything, not trust people, don't get a job, and never share any thoughts with friends. Actually screw friends, they told me since I was an infant that people suck, people are bad and that I should only talk to people who have high status. They didn't even teach me how to care for my hygiene properly, I learned all of this by myself. They are pure Stage Blue, with mentality of the dark middle ages. Very religious, but ironically they are completely charmed by romantic soap operas.  

Even though they want me to be successful and rich, they keep telling me to keep everything I do secret and to never reach out to more experienced people or friends, because they will ruin my reputation blah blah blah.

People think that when I read books for 3 hours every day it's just mental masturbation. No! Not at all! I've never been taught anything I need in life so now I have to learn from others. And I'd rather learn from a professional than someone who has limited experience. Yes, I can decide what book is good and what is not, I have a strong common sense. 

I'm not really sure what to do with my life or where to start. I guess having a job would be really fulfilling, since I could be more social and people won't think that I'm just wasting time, even though I'm spending many sleepless nights reading, thinking, working on my projects, etc. 

On the other hand I would like to work more on my projects and myself, but I feel really lonely and confused. Also there are many things to work on.

I'd write a list of things that I would like to work on, but I don't want anyone to think that I don't have any of these. I just want to improve them. These include money, self-esteem and relationships (both friendship and romantic). There's also thousands of sub-fields linked to these 3 so I'm not writing a list, or someone might think that I'm totally lost. I'm not lost. At least not that much. It's just I have a lot of things to work on and I don't know what to start with. Sometimes I feel like I am a nothing, even though I am fairly satisfied with my progress. I'm both proud of disappointed of myself. Maybe a job would help me integrate into society more, since my stage Blue family has taken this away from me from an extremely early age and has ruined my life up until now and still keeps ruining it every day. But I would also like to make money through something meaningful for me. Like an etsy shop or doing commissions on instagram.

Share your thoughts? 

I had a friend that started out like you, and now he's making money in variety of ways from digital painting because he's so good.  You have to put in the hours and enjoy doing it.

Edited November 8, 2018 by GenuinePerspectiveXC

[Aquarius]

@non_nothing Thanks!

@GenuinePerspectiveXC Cool, good to know. I will try.

[wavydude]

On 31.10.2018 at 10:28 PM, Aquarius said:

They didn't teach me about the world around us, but rather taught me to be afraid of everything, not trust people, don't get a job, and never share any thoughts with friends. Actually screw friends, they told me since I was an infant that people suck, people are bad and that I should only talk to people who have high status.

I get how you feel but good thing is that non of it matters now, you get to choose what you do and learn and you don't need to identify with any of that.

 

 

On 31.10.2018 at 10:28 PM, Aquarius said:

They couldn't provide what I needed, except from food and some very cheap clothes.

Food and cheap clothes is alot, many people don't get to have that.

[Aquarius]

@wavydude True. I guess in the end it all boils down to what perspective you hold. I try not to be ungrateful. 

[ZenBlue]

It seems like your family has good intentions, but they are stuck in a lot of fear based thinking. A lot of is toxic, and has done you a lot of harm. I don't know how your family is able to provide for you financially since you say none of them have a job. Does that mean your family owns a business?

Yes your family has a strong influence over you, but you don't need to let them control you. You are the one in charge of your life. Mentally, it is best if you can block out the things that do not empower you, and focus on the things that do empower you.

What I sense from you is that you want to experience more of the outside world. The world outside of your family life. That is something that could be good for you. To be come a more well-balanced person, it would be good to experience a lot of different social situations and have broader life experiences.

Here's the thing about getting money. Money comes from other people. In order to get more money, you have to be able to build connections with the people who would be willing to give you money, whether it comes in the form of a job, or selling your products / services. So blocking people out, and being secretive about your work and ideas will block the flow of money. I know this from direct personal experience. There is something called social capital. Social capital is built in the form of positive connections you have with others. Social capital is more powerful than fiat currency, and can be used to generate fiat currency.

Since your family is providing for your financial needs, then that takes a lot of pressure off. Through the Internet, you can learn a lot about how to make money through your art. There are plenty of opportunities out there, if you are willing to put in the work and take the chance.