The double life

You probably didn't know it when you got into the business, but you're leading a double life.

Unlike people that work at "regular" jobs, creative people march to a different drummer. It's true whether you're a reporter, artist, sculptor, or writer. You have, in effect, two distinct personalities.

And very often your creative side is the dominant one.

You could have the perfect life away from work; the Norman Rockwell family, terrific friends, enough money to live comfortably. But unless your creative side is happy, it sometimes seems that none of the good stuff makes a difference.

It's often hard for non-TV people to understand this. They don't understand why we seemingly have the world by the tail yet often feel empty, like there's an empty spot in the soul. It's the creative fulfillment side; always changing, always demanding, rarely satisfied.

If you feel this way, relax, it's perfectly normal.

The trick is not to let the creative soul suck the life out of everything else. Creative people always want more, even if we reach what we thought were our goals. In college your dream is that first television job; within a few months, that dream is no longer fulfilling, and we set another goal. And another. And another. The result is often a feeling of emptiness, even if your "other life" is hitting on all cylinders.

What's my point? Well, these days, the rules of the business keep changing. The goals you attain might not match the dreams you imagined. So it's important to keep your creative side in check, to enjoy and cherish the good things in your life rather than let your quest for a goal dominate everything else.