why it’s okay to wear pants all day (or, love your 9-5 without shame!)

fact: if it wasn’t for my corporate job i wouldn’t be writing this.

it’s true: the very thing most of us sparkling entrepreneurial spirits are hustlin’ (everyday) to get away from is actually what has driven me back to my business, ready to rock n’ roll n’ make it rain with the best of ’em.

why, you ask? well, it’s actually quite scientific. true story: i have some pretty debilitating anxiety. + i’m not just a normal “worry wart” – i’m talking the real deal.  that said, my anxiety was at its peak right before landing said corporate job. + the way i was living then – as in, spending day after day at home, clutching to my macbook for dear life because not only was it my only connection to many of my closest friends who are now sprinkled across the states, but also because it was also the only way i could possibly make money – was not exactly good for the self esteem. at that time, i couldn’t have possibly felt that i was “good” or “smart” or “knowledgeable” enough to write for you.

for the few months before i waltzed (okay, okay, more like cowered-and-tried-to-avoid-eye-contact) into my new office, i felt a lot like a little flippety-floppity fish out of water, floundering around without a clue as to what i really wanted from my life, let alone my business.

but in a strange, weird little way, 40-hours a week in a cubicle has given me the (tiny bit of) stability and motivation i needed to pursue my other creative dreams.

 

yep – i wholeheartedly believe that without the snazzy corporate gig,  i’d still be crying into my lap every evening, questioning my every move + cursing every time a bill came through the door (and subsequently, yelling obscenities in the direction of my unassuming boyfriend.) i spent months clutching to my freelancedom – the glitz! the glamour! the working-in-my-underwear! – even though i was clearly unhappy spending everyday holed up in the house & barely making ends meet.

so, yes… the. corporate. job. has. saved. me.

and the logic behind it is actually quite simple.

say hello to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, kids.

according to Maslow’s  (very famous) hierarchy, the lowest tier includes physiological needs like food, water, sex sleep and, y’know, the ability to take a good ole’ #2 when need be – and it’s only after one tier of needs is met that we can move on to securing the next tier.

below, you’ll see that not knowing where your next meal is coming from and not having a secure place of employment, are detriments to higher-level needs like creativity and self actualization.

big takeaway here:

you can’t be wild without first being safe, y’all.

so. that corporate gig? it’s been good for three reasons:

one- everybody’s gotta eat. and let’s just say, when you’re spending 50 hours or so a week perusing even the lowest paying “content creation” sites to earn even $5…which we all sadly know will only go toward your next latte…which will only continue to fuel you to comb through the droves of low-paying clients…well, that whole creativity thing? fuhgeddaboutit!

real talk: knowing that i can enjoy my simple dinner/snack of hummus & pita without regrets? so freakin’ important.

two – my job is actually related to what i want to do! i’m a copywriter at work + a copywriter at home. but despite the same name, i’ve learned an in-house corporate copywriter is a teensy bit different than a freelance, out-of-house copywriter, in about as many ways as you could possible imagine (most of which involve having to adhere to someone else’s rules all day long.  like, you know, wearing pants.) but i’m also learning crazy amounts about what it means to be a corporate-style “copywriter” – and even more about how this particular corp. gets ish done.

and let’s be real. corporations do get ish done.

three –  i’ve been lucky enough to forge some really fascinating friendships – with the other freelancers. i didn’t consciously seek out the wild wonders, but apparently birds of a freelance feather flock together – even in the cubical-happy corporate world! just from hanging out with more of my “own kind” on the reg – despite, or maybe due to the stuffy corporate setting – i’ve learned oodles about how other freelancers work. aaaand i’ve also booked myself a pro bono headshot photo shoot. (c’mon. there’s really only so much instagram can do for a girl’s face, ya dig?)

but it’s not just the free photo shoots and super delicious breakfast-which-turns-into-salad bar.

 ironically enough, the stability my corporate job has provided me has enabled me to explore the creative(r), wild(er) parts of me elsewhere. like here. and in other freelance projects.

and i know, i know: “loving” a 9-5  or appreciating it in the interim before your creative biz really takes off is totes taboo.

but i want you to know…

+ if you want to sit inside a cubicle for 8 hours a day to get your financial ducks in a row – you have every right
+ if you can’t fathom a day without health insurance bennies – you’re not alone
+ if you’re just the kind of person who needs some sort of stability to feel “okay” and “safe” – it’s just science, baby!

as for me – my time in the corporate world is limited.

this is only a temporary gig. a few months down the line and i’ll be back to full-on freelance machine, plugging away from her laptop in bed and most likely in hello kitty underwear, bowl of cereal on the bedside table. except now i’ll have quite a few novel ideas about how to land + keep clients, some sexy new, instagram-free head shots + a few extra (absolutely wild + fun) contacts in my (for the moment, imaginary) rolodex.

but to anybody who feels weird or icky or like they’re “selling out”  for actually being quite in lust with your cushy little 9-5, to that i say:

we’re all different, and what works for you doesn’t have to work for anybody else.
no. seriously. write that down or something.
what works for you doesn’t have to work for anybody else.

and you will get there – whether ‘there’ is the sexy corner office or your own location-free creative business that enables you to chuck over half your earnings to charity – in your own time.

and you’ll get there in your own way.

…with or without pants.