Young artists and anyone getting into a risky career path that doesn’t involve sitting in a cube or standing at a factory line is likely told, “have a fallback position/safety net, that you can do if this doesn’t work out.” It’s well meaning advice given by those who care about your future or happiness.
It’s also a trap.
If you know that you can fallback into a more secure/reliable/practical career in whatever, then you are almost certain to fall back into that career. When things get hard you have your cubical or factory job to go to. This comes from my past, I’m someone who took the advice and fell back into a secure, steady job while trying to write with less risk, and less chance of failure.
I’ve come to believe there’s less chance of success, because I didn’t have as much to fight for. There weren’t any consequences to failure. I needed to work without a net. You have to fight and strive for your goal. And if the consequences of failure are harsher, then you might find the motivation to succeed stronger. When you’re young and you don’t have the responsibilities that can follow steady, secure jobs, take that risk. Take it before payments on two cars, a house, daycare and all of that, because once those get heaped on, you can’t afford to risk as much.
Dispatches from Obscurity 