Futility and Passion

I am very passionate about my work. Sometimes a little too passionate, though I would still have to be convinced there was such a thing.

A question that's been on my mind lately is when to stop fighting? Where do I draw the line and say I've given enough, any further and the idea would be compromised beyond recognition?

I'm not sure. Especially since the client ultimately holds the cards. The power and the money is in his or her hands. And the hands that control me, the ones that don't fire me and let me come to work every day, have to bend to that bottom line.

 Sometimes I worry that it's going to break me. That eventually I'll have to quit advertising (unimaginable) because I've lost the love and the passion that I have now. Or I'm afraid that I'll separate myself so much from my work that I'll just be a machine, a means to an end for client whims. (Also unimaginable.)

But how do I sustain my passion? I'm told that I keep it in my book in the director's cut. Or find another creative outlet. And I've been trying to do that lately. I need to regain my sense of control and start making art again.

I miss art.