Thread by @jayclouse

Our culture is fixated on financial independence.

And why wouldn't we be? Doesn't it sound so alluring to have freedom from worrying about money?

But I think what we actually yearn for is *creative independence.*

And I want to talk about why (thread) 🧵...

#tweet100

There are a lot of paths to financial independence. And they don't all require working more hours to achieve.

But a lot of well-meaning people find themselves trapped working more than ever to build a future where they work less...but what if we just started there?

And what happens when you *do* achieve financial independence?

I think people are REALLY looking for:

1. Freedom of Choice
2. Freedom of Expression

Let me break that down...

Freedom of choice is about having agency over how you spend your time, who you spend it with, when you spend it doing certain things, etc.

Freedom of expression is even more interesting, because it's less obvious and often not explicitly talked about...

Freedom of expression is about the freedom to be ourselves, create the things we want to create, and share them with who want to share them with – even if it's just the people close to us.

I call that creative independence.

Creative independence is the ability to express ourselves in the ways that we want without the need for external validation or approval.

To make the things that WE want to make on our own terms without compromise.

Our culture is fixated on financial independence while what many of us really want is creative independence.

We want to have control over our lives and our relationship with the world around us.

I don’t think you need financial independence to experience creative independence.

I’ve talked to a lot of folks on Creative Elements who have created amazing projects that they are super proud of, very fulfilled by, and often even have financial upside.

And a lot of those same people did so while working a full-time job – and have no plans to leave that job!

It’s completely possible to find creative independence and not only be *supported* by an employer, but empowered, enabled, or rewarded.

I’ve always worried my work would have a side effect of shaming people into feeling like they had to be a self-supported entrepreneur or business owner to be “successful” as a creator…and that’s not the case.

My goal is to help you find creative independence. There are many paths there, and most of them are long, winding, and difficult.

You'll need supportive friends by your side, and I want to be one of them!

Think of me as a companion on your journey to creative independence.

With everything I make (my writing, my podcast, my workshops, etc.) my goal is to help shorten the path and provide some encouragement along the way.

I'm so excited about this idea of creative independence that I changed the name of my newsletter to Creative Companion.

Every week, I’ll be here by your side helping you towards creative independence – whatever that looks like for you.

If that resonates with you, I hope you subscribe! 👇

jayclouse.com/companion