I’m kinda the inverse. I have two careers for context. My day job is in tech, my second is as a professional sideshow performer

My day job is often soul crushing and drains me of energy, but it pays the bills. Performing is what keeps me going. I have a deep need for art, community, and self expression, and while I’m grateful that I do make side money from performing, I don’t mind taking a small financial hit for the fulfillment it provides (eg, when producing a show)

To the original topic, validation does play a role in that. If we didn’t get some sort of validation, we wouldn’t continue to create art