What keeps you working? (George Carlin’s IRS problem)
I’ve been watching George Carlin’s HBO specials on Netflix and interviews on Youtube, which led me to ask this question: “What keeps us working?”
George Carlin entertained for 50 years, a journey of four creative cycles of developments.
However, Carlin once shared how he got into trouble with the IRS. He wasn’t paying attention to how his finances were being managed, and ended up owing quite a bit of back taxes, fees, etc.
When he hired a new manager in the early 80s, the two of them worked out a process to keep paying the IRS off just enough to “keep them away from the door.” Carlin’s tax problem was so bad, there was a lien on his house.
He admitted, “I didn’t have it paid off until 2001.”
A 20 year problem.
A period where Carlin’s writing, his philosophical and comedic development, led to major breakthroughs, creatively.
Which leads me to wonder, would Carlin have continued to work so much if he financially didn’t need to work that much? Was the IRS problem a blessing?
Now, I might be seeking connections of dots that don’t connect. Maybe Carlin would have continued working because he was driven artistically. He often shared the true motivation of the artist’s journey. “Art doesn’t have a finish line.” But clearly, Carlin financially had to work throughout the 90s.
The question all artists must ask, is, what keeps you working?
We often focus on what stops us from working, rather than what keeps us working. Any answer, even a difficult one, can lead to any incredible productivity.
It’s how we look at it.
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