WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

I’ve gone back and forth over the last few days as to whether or not I wanted to write about this, but in light of recent events, it seems kind of important.

On Thursday, June 18th, Scott Johnson of MyExtraLife and podcasting fame announced on CNET’s Buzz Out Loud that as of Monday (today) he would no longer be a slave to the 9 – 5 but would be working for himself. Somewhere along the way, Scott discovered that his web work and commissions were bringing in enough that he could do it full time.

That. Is. Awesome.

Even though I don’t know Scott personally, I find this turn of events very exciting. I know there are other people who make a very good living as webcomic artists. But I wasn’t there when Gabe and Tycho quit their day jobs or when Scott Kurtz decided to do his art work full time. I am here now, following Scott through his Twitter and his blog. And now he’s living the dream.

So many people have commented on how Scott seems to do everything. I agree. He does. About a month ago, when he announced on Twitter his new iPod and iPhone application podcast, Appslappy, I retweeted this information with the comment that “Scott must be bored.” He direct messaged me back with “Bored? Hey!” I told him that he clearly didn’t already do enough if he was adding another podcast.

His reply… “Easy when you love it. :)”

Now, just a short few weeks later, he is doing what he loves as a career. I couldn’t help but draw hope from this. One more of us regular people (albeit a very talented one) had done what everyone dreams of. I never seem to find enough hours in the day for everything that I love to do, let alone progress those things to a level where they could become profitable. I may have worked in the art department, but it certainly wasn’t the art that I wanted to make. Seeing Scott succeed with his own work made me think that maybe I could find a way to do both.

Here I sit, no longer having the job that I liked well enough, but didn’t love. Being downsized sucks, no matter who you are, but I’m having a hard time being completely unhappy about it. I have a singular chance to do what I love, at least for a little while. Maybe I can find that opportunity that will let me make my creative works a career.

It’s comforting to know that someone made it.

Congratulations, Scott, and good luck.