Thanks Chloe ... :)

bodywork seems a bit broad... are we talking yoga instructor, chiropractic doctor or deep-tissue massage license? With the exception of something that requires years of medical school, it seems like the hardest part would be similar to that of generating income with art -- generating interest, building a "client base" (or in my case a "fan base"). In which case I'd say the slower transition might be less traumatic -- give you an opportunity to put yourself out there and let people know you're making that transition to build your clientelle while you still have the other income. At which point it's a matter of luck and that you can create. :) It's just a matter of doing the numbers and remembering that every dead-end is one step closer to the next real lead. :) Check out a book on Amazon titled the Luck Factor -- written by a mainstream scientist in England on 8 yrs of research into the subject of "luck" -- and basically confirms what self-help folks have been saying for decades if not centuries. :) If you're getting into something that requires a lot of med school I would think that would complicate things quite a bit -- then you really have to question your ability to finish the schooling if you're only doing it part time... but it's also a much more traumatic shift to go full-time because you're a lot further away from income potential when you're starting the school. I know, that's probably not very helpful. :)

In my case I've chosen or am choosing to make the transition as quickly as I can, partly because I seem to be having a really difficult time keeping myself calm any time I even think about going through the process of looking for another programming job lately, whether that's an FT job or even short-term telework (in spite of being a much better scenario). I really want (desperately?) to be somewhere above Maslow's *lowest* tier more often and change or not I've found myself recently lashing out like a drowning man trying to find purchase where there is none. But I do enjoy the illustration a lot more, particularly because I know that through it I'm able to bring joy to others and I get direct feedback from them to let me know when I have... With programming for someone else there's always a question of whether the work actually serves a purpose and you rarely (if ever) get any real feedback on it. Programming for myself would be another story -- when I can get some folks behind the effort. :)

In my case I think my life purpose really has a lot to do with individuality -- expressing it and helping others to express their own (lead by example - our greatest fear that we are powerful beyond measure... subconsciously give permission to others, etc. ). Humor is one of my major tools. :) So in my illustration in addition to "serious" illustrations I have a lot of comic strips and am hoping to get syndicated into newspapers like the old Far Side series. A lot of the strips and some of my other illustrations are in my tribe photos. I've also been pursuing stand up comedy and doing more writing -- just capped off a 1st draft of a new book last week and am waiting for / hoping to get some feedback from a few friends to help me polish it and fill in any holes I may have missed.