--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My personal challenge as an artist has…" description: "\"My personal challenge as an artist has been having a day job which is intellectually satisfying and fun - and thus can easily supplant the desire to ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/amor-towles-1249_art_my-personal-challenge-as-an-artist-has-b_3053133.png" --- # My personal challenge as an artist has been having a day… ![“My personal challenge as an artist has been having a day job which is intellectually satisfying and fun - and thus can easily supplant the desire to make art.” quote by Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/amor-towles-1249_art_my-personal-challenge-as-an-artist-has-b_3053133.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/amor-towles-1249_art_my-personal-challenge-as-an-artist-has-b_3053133.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/amor-towles-1249_art_my-personal-challenge-as-an-artist-has-b_3053133.png) > “My personal challenge as an artist has been having a day job which is intellectually satisfying and fun - and thus can easily supplant the desire to make art.” [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing a satisfying day job with artistic pursuits can distract from creative goals. **In simple terms:** A day job may eclipse artistic ambition. Key Takeaway Set clear boundaries for creative time. Themes work-life balance artistic drive career tension Mood reflective motivated Type creative practical When to use this quote - freelance projects - time blocking - creative retreats - side hustles Key Concepts psychology creative process productivity Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect creative energy? - What strategies keep art a priority? A Different Perspective Financial stability can limit risk-taking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that an art exhibition can be engaging, fun and deeply intellectually satisfying and serious. These are not contradictory concepts in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-deitch/i-believe-that-an-art-exhibition-can-be-engaging-fun-and-deeply/) [Jeffrey Deitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-deitch/) > [I would say that Barack Obama not only made me a better person but made me better at my job. He's one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-mastromonaco/i-would-say-that-barack-obama-not-only-made-me-a-better-person-but/) [Alyssa Mastromonaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-mastromonaco/) > [The challenge for an artist is always to find your own way of doing something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wesselmann/the-challenge-for-an-artist-is-always-to-find-your-own-way-of-doing/) Tom Wesselmann > [Performing on Broadway is an honor and a challenge for any artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-fonsi/performing-on-broadway-is-an-honor-and-a-challenge-for-any-artist/) [Luis Fonsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-fonsi/) > [My point is that the great challenge of an artist is to balance those two things: to be strong enough to have your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/my-point-is-that-the-great-challenge-of-an-artist-is-to-balance-those/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [No one is going to tell me that I can't do something because I'm a woman, and I take that as a personal challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-van-zeller/no-one-is-going-to-tell-me-that-i-can-t-do-something-because-i-m-a/) [Mariana van Zeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-van-zeller/) > [My legacy is almost like a personal challenge to go as far as I can go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-ward/my-legacy-is-almost-like-a-personal-challenge-to-go-as-far-as-i-can-go/) [Andre Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-ward/) > [Difference is always the biggest challenge for humans. That's why we do enjoy reading or watching movies or watching TV. It's a personal challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franka-potente/difference-is-always-the-biggest-challenge-for-humans-that-s-why-we/) [Franka Potente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franka-potente/) > [When I became an astronaut, I knew I wanted to pursue long-duration flight aboard the station. I knew it would be a just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-walker/when-i-became-an-astronaut-i-knew-i-wanted-to-pursue-long-duration/) [Shannon Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-walker/) > [And obviously, from our own personal point of view, the principal challenge is a personal challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/and-obviously-from-our-own-personal-point-of-view-the-principal/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [It was something of a personal challenge for me to come up with a business suitable for the Internet world and the Internet age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-tang/it-was-something-of-a-personal-challenge-for-me-to-come-up-with-a/) [David Tang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-tang/) > [When I was around thirty, I met my own personal challenge and finished a few marathons under three hours, and I have completed many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-ketterle/when-i-was-around-thirty-i-met-my-own-personal-challenge-and-finished/) [Wolfgang Ketterle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-ketterle/) > [It's just a personal challenge, I'd like to see how I can do as a boxer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gegard-mousasi/it-s-just-a-personal-challenge-i-d-like-to-see-how-i-can-do-as-a-boxer/) [Gegard Mousasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gegard-mousasi/) > [In love, each man is his own personal challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/in-love-each-man-is-his-own-personal-challenge/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [Sometimes I had difficulty remembering that 'all you can eat' is not a personal challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marika-christian/sometimes-i-had-difficulty-remembering-that-all-you-can-eat-is-not-a/) Marika Christian ## More by Amor Towles > [“To have even one year when you're presented with choices that can alter your circumstances, your character, your course- that's by the grace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/to-have-even-one-year-when-you-re-presented-with-choices-that-can/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Rather than sitting in orderly rows in a schoolhouse, wouldn't one be better served by working her way towards an actual horizon, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/rather-than-sitting-in-orderly-rows-in-a-schoolhouse-wouldn-t-one-be/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [That's how quickly New York City comes about - like a weather wane - or the head of a cobra. Time tells which.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-s-how-quickly-new-york-city-comes-about-like-a-weather-wane-or/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Mostly, he said, I've been thinking about what I'm not going to do. When I think of the last few years, I've been hounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/mostly-he-said-i-ve-been-thinking-about-what-i-m-not-going-to-do-when/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“In the doleful court behind my building a patchwork of windows was all that separated me from a hundred muted lives being led without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/in-the-doleful-court-behind-my-building-a-patchwork-of-windows-was/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“That is how time passes when one is left waiting unaccountably. The hours become interminable. The minutes relentless. And the seconds? Why, not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-is-how-time-passes-when-one-is-left-waiting-unaccountably-the/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Mishka would pine for Katerina the rest of his life! Never again would he walk Nevsky Prospekt, however they chose to rename it, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/mishka-would-pine-for-katerina-the-rest-of-his-life-never-again-would/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [Every year, I would spend weeks at a time in the hotels of distant cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/every-year-i-would-spend-weeks-at-a-time-in-the-hotels-of-distant/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For eventually, we come to hold our dearest possessions more closely than we hold our friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-eventually-we-come-to-hold-our-dearest-possessions-more-closely/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“As we age, we are bound to find comfort from the notion that it takes generations for a way of life to fade. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/as-we-age-we-are-bound-to-find-comfort-from-the-notion-that-it-takes/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For it is the role of the parent to express his concerns and then take three steps back. Not one, mind you, not two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-it-is-the-role-of-the-parent-to-express-his-concerns-and-then/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“But I've come to realie that however blue my circumstance,s if after finishing a chapter of a Dickens novel I feel a miss-my-stop-on-the-train sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/but-i-ve-come-to-realie-that-however-blue-my-circumstance-s-if-after/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [I make extensive outlines before I write a book. I usually know what will happen. I know the characters, and I know what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-make-extensive-outlines-before-i-write-a-book-i-usually-know-what/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Sometimes,” Nina clarified, “everybody tells you something because they are everybody. But why should one listen to everybody? Did everybody write the Odyssey? Did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/sometimes-nina-clarified-everybody-tells-you-something-because-they/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For it is a fact that a man can be profoundly out of step with his times. A man may have been born in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-it-is-a-fact-that-a-man-can-be-profoundly-out-of-step-with-his/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) [Explore all 266 Amor Towles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My personal challenge as an artist has been having a day job which is intellectually satisfying and fun - and thus can easily supplant the desire to make art.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amor Towles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/my-personal-challenge-as-an-artist-has-been-having-a-day-job-which-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/my-personal-challenge-as-an-artist-has-been-having-a-day-job-which-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/amor-towles-1249_art_my-personal-challenge-as-an-artist-has-b_3053133.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/amor-towles-1249_art_my-personal-challenge-as-an-artist-has-b_3053133.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/amor-towles-1249_art_my-personal-challenge-as-an-artist-has-b_3053133.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My personal challenge as an artist has been having a day job which is intellectually satisfying and fun…” — Amor Towles", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Amor Towles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My personal challenge as an artist...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/my-personal-challenge-as-an-artist-has-been-having-a-day-job-which-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/my-personal-challenge-as-an-artist-has-been-having-a-day-job-which-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```