If my goal was to be financially wealthy, then the path of copywriting would be incredibly frustrating. I have no need for a Ferrari, mansion, or a yacht with a helicopter pad. I mean, I wouldn’t say no to any of those things, but my happiness is not contingent on their acquisition. No, the real goal of any career has to be in the experiences it provides you. In that way, I have already experienced what it is to be a rich copywriter.
Call it mid-life crisis, call it a loss of faith, but I have found myself deeply questioning my first profession. Not my love for it, mind you, but wondering about the overall sustainability of education. That’s both my stamina and the public support for it. The ebbs and flows of political minutiae have always been a big part of the work. You compete with other teachers, get hamstrung by department leaders and administration, get battered by parents, and all-out attacked by politicians. True collaboration is rare. After a couple of decades, it is exhausting.
Education is still valuable, and I still want to see it get better. I want to move towards collaboration rather than competition. Teaching the individuals in the class rather than standardized pods. But I needed a new challenge to invigorate me. Writing has always been a huge part of my life, and ignoring it often leads to my own personal destruction.
Copywriting is completely different, if still populated with its own stressors and difficulties. However, as a writer I can focus on reflection, improving my own skills, and working on something that is mine. No government pressures, no judgement from colleagues. It has allowed me a measure of control again, a means to an end, and a vision of a more balanced life.
But more than that, it allows me those spiritual moments in the day where I can just get lost in language and creativity. I am a better, calmer person. At work, I can collaborate more effectively and am part of the most amazing group of teachers.
I am living the life of a rich copywriter.