--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artists, writers and people in creative…" description: "\"Artists, writers and people in creative fields are entrepreneurs by necessity. Nobody gives them a paycheck or picks up their medical insurance. The on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/steven-pressfield-696_art_artists-writers-and-people-in-creative-f_1023644.jpg" --- # Artists, writers and people in creative fields are… ![“Artists, writers and people in creative fields are entrepreneurs by necessity. Nobody gives them a paycheck or picks up their medical insurance. The ones who succeed learn to think and act like 'independent operators.' I think people who are technically 'employees' have to think this way as well…” quote by Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/steven-pressfield-696_art_artists-writers-and-people-in-creative-f_1023644.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/steven-pressfield-696_art_artists-writers-and-people-in-creative-f_1023644.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/steven-pressfield-696_art_artists-writers-and-people-in-creative-f_1023644.jpg) > “Artists, writers and people in creative fields are entrepreneurs by necessity. Nobody gives them a paycheck or picks up their medical insurance. The ones who succeed learn to think and act like 'independent operators.' I think people who are technically 'employees' have to think this way as well. The company is not looking out for you.” [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative professionals must act like entrepreneurs, managing their own livelihood and risks. **In simple terms:** Creators need entrepreneurial mindset. Key Takeaway Adopt independent, proactive strategies. Themes creativity entrepreneurship self‑reliance Mood motivational practical Type career self‑help When to use this quote - freelance work - artistic careers - business planning Key Concepts risk management self‑discipline Questions to Reflect On - How can creators build sustainable income? - What support systems help independent artists? A Different Perspective Not everyone can succeed without support; systemic barriers exist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Employee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employee/) [Employees Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employees-think-631152/) [Entrepreneur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneur/) [Entrepreneurs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneurs/) [Entrepreneurs Necessity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneurs-necessity-2297604/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Fields Entrepreneurs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields-entrepreneurs-2297605/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent/) [Medical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical/) [Medical insurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical-insurance/) [Paychecks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paychecks/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-creative/) [Picks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picks/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [We take such good care of our employees. What I do is think about what I would want my employer to be like. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lindell/we-take-such-good-care-of-our-employees-what-i-do-is-think-about-what/) [Mike Lindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lindell/) > [“The medical profession is a money making con, they will keep you sick on a variety of expensive prescriptions and on a yo-yo into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-medical-profession-is-a-money-making-con-they-will-keep-you-sick/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Regardless of whether we are required to purchase medical insurance, know that we can only buy real health insurance in the produce section of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-fuhrman/regardless-of-whether-we-are-required-to-purchase-medical-insurance/) [Joel Fuhrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-fuhrman/) > [This program could destroy private initiative for our aged to protect themselves with insurance against the cost of illness…Presently, over 60 percent of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milward-l-simpson/this-program-could-destroy-private-initiative-for-our-aged-to-protect/) [Milward L. Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milward-l-simpson/) > [“You can tell if people are following Jesus, because they are feeding the poor, sharing their wealth, and trying to get everyone medical insurance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-can-tell-if-people-are-following-jesus-because-they-are-feeding/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“There are thirty-seven million people in the United States without any form of medical insurance. Every other leading industrial nation in the world—Germany, Italy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/there-are-thirty-seven-million-people-in-the-united-states-without/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [I basically believe the medical insurance industry should be nonprofit, not profit-making. There is no way a health reform plan will work when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-feinstein/i-basically-believe-the-medical-insurance-industry-should-be/) [Dianne Feinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-feinstein/) > [Every Cuban has a house to live in, no matter how meager. That house is provided by government. Every Cuban who gets sick can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/every-cuban-has-a-house-to-live-in-no-matter-how-meager-that-house-is/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [“The USA is the modern version of slavery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-usa-is-the-modern-version-of-slavery/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [On healthcare we are the prisoner of our past. The way we got to develop any kind of medical insurance program was during World…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/on-healthcare-we-are-the-prisoner-of-our-past-the-way-we-got-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [People who feel safer with a gun than with guaranteed medical insurance don't yet have a fully adult concept of scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/people-who-feel-safer-with-a-gun-than-with-guaranteed-medical/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Here in Silicon Valley, I have taken part in hundreds of conversations trying to convince people to dive in and become entrepreneurs. All too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ries/here-in-silicon-valley-i-have-taken-part-in-hundreds-of-conversations/) [Eric Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ries/) > [Quite honestly, one of the unavoidable considerations in going exclusive with any company is being put on a company's medical insurance program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-perez/quite-honestly-one-of-the-unavoidable-considerations-in-going/) [George Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-perez/) > [“In another cost control measure, it became mandatory in 2008 for employers to purchase medical insurance for low-income foreign workers, such as construction workers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-haseltine/in-another-cost-control-measure-it-became-mandatory-in-2008-for/) [William A. Haseltine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-haseltine/) > [Listen, you don't know any better so I'll just tell you. You can't try to save money by not having the right beer. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/listen-you-don-t-know-any-better-so-i-ll-just-tell-you-you-can-t-try/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) ## More by Steven Pressfield > [Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/most-of-us-have-two-lives-the-life-we-live-and-the-unlived-life/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“The artist and the fundamentalist both confront the same issue, the mystery of their existence as individuals. Each asks the same questions: Who am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-artist-and-the-fundamentalist-both-confront-the-same-issue-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The professional arms himself with patience, not only to give the stars time to align in his career, but to keep himself from flaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-professional-arms-himself-with-patience-not-only-to-give-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Kabbalah describes angels as bundles of light, meaning intelligence, consciousness. Kabbalists believe that above every blade of grass is an angel crying "Grow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-kabbalah-describes-angels-as-bundles-of-light-meaning/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [To labor in the arts for any reason other than love is prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/to-labor-in-the-arts-for-any-reason-other-than-love-is-prostitution/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“that of dealing death, of loosing another man’s soul and sending it down to hell. You want to savor it, to twist the blade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/that-of-dealing-death-of-loosing-another-man-s-soul-and-sending-it/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-is-experienced-as-fear-the-degree-of-fear-equates-to-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us... Ideas come. Insights accrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/when-we-sit-down-each-day-and-do-our-work-power-concentrates-around/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Anything that draws attention to ourselves through pain-free or artificial means is a manifestation of Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/anything-that-draws-attention-to-ourselves-through-pain-free-or/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Gnostics believed that exile was the essential condition of man. Do you agree? I do. The artist and the addict both wrestle with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-gnostics-believed-that-exile-was-the-essential-condition-of-man/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The soul that rises with us, our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [You are a writer when you tell yourself you are. No one else's opinion matters. Screw them. You are when you say you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/you-are-a-writer-when-you-tell-yourself-you-are-no-one-else-s-opinion/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Resistance outwits the amateur with the oldest trick in the book: It uses his own enthusiasm against him. Resistance gets us to plunge into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-outwits-the-amateur-with-the-oldest-trick-in-the-book-it/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“I don't need to read nothing,' said the New Zealander. 'I was there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/i-don-t-need-to-read-nothing-said-the-new-zealander-i-was-there/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) [Explore all 404 Steven Pressfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Artists, writers and people in creative fields are entrepreneurs by necessity. Nobody gives them a paycheck or picks up their medical insurance. The ones who succeed learn to think and act like 'independent operators.' I think people who are technically 'employees' have to think this way as well. The company is not looking out for you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pressfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/artists-writers-and-people-in-creative-fields-are-entrepreneurs-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/artists-writers-and-people-in-creative-fields-are-entrepreneurs-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/steven-pressfield-696_art_artists-writers-and-people-in-creative-f_1023644.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/steven-pressfield-696_art_artists-writers-and-people-in-creative-f_1023644.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/steven-pressfield-696_art_artists-writers-and-people-in-creative-f_1023644.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Artists, writers and people in creative fields are entrepreneurs by necessity. Nobody gives them a paycheck…” — Steven Pressfield", "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": "Steven Pressfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Artists, writers and people in creative...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/artists-writers-and-people-in-creative-fields-are-entrepreneurs-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/artists-writers-and-people-in-creative-fields-are-entrepreneurs-by/#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 } } ] } ```