It seems like just about everyone is looking for a side hustle these days. Over a third of American adults have a second stream of income, according to a survey published in July by financial services company Bankrate.
And TV personality La La Anthony says, “you’ll be crazy if you only do one thing. You got to do multiple things and get multiple things going for yourself.”
Anthony rose to fame as a video jockey, a term used to refer to announcers of music videos and performances for broadcast programs, on MTV. She recently co-hosted this year’s Met Gala live stream.
But Anthony, whose given name is Alani Vázquez, isn’t just a TV host; she also has a successful career as an actress on shows like Power and BMF on Starz.
“There was a time where you could only do one thing, or people only wanted you to do one thing,” Anthony tells CNBC Make It.
“It wasn’t like a VJ, an actor, a producer, like that wasn’t happening. It was like you were just that one thing. But I think now it’s a different time, a different day, where everyone’s doing multiple things.”
But additional sources of income isn’t the only reason why Anthony suggests having a side hustle. Pursuing multiple interests allows you to pivot if you’re no longer interested in your main job or gives you an opportunity to advance in other areas, she says.
“We all know when we’ve reached that point where we want to try something different, or we feel stagnant in a job. I was always with the mindset [that] as soon as it started feeling like a job, I knew it was time to do something else,” Anthony says.
“People are always going to tell you, like ‘Don’t do that. You know, you got something good going. Just stay where you’re at. Don’t shake it up.’ But you know how you feel.”
She suggests not allowing fear to creep in and cause you to think that you won’t be able to balance multiple things you’re passionate about. “I am a living testament to being able to do a lot of different things and excel at them and be great,” Anthony says.
Anthony also acknowledges the importance of slowing down and taking breaks.
Nearly 10 years ago, she was diagnosed with plaque psoriasis, a skin condition that causes itchy, painful rashes to develop on a person’s skin. In addition to the physical effects the autoimmune disease has on the skin, the itchiness and pain can also disrupt sleep and cause emotional distress.
“It started showing up on my skin as like these rough, kind of itchy patches, so it’d be like behind my ears, my eyebrows and my scalp,” says Anthony who recently partnered with Amgen, a biotech company, to raise awareness about the condition.
Educating herself and researching plaque psoriasis allowed her to “take the stigma away from it being something bad,” and get excited about helping other people with the condition. She also prioritizes her mental health a lot more than she has in the past.
“I realize now that having a balance is so important and paying attention to mental health, knowing when to slow down, knowing when you might need to talk to a close friend or family member or even a therapist, and understanding that there’s nothing wrong with that,” Anthony says.
Though she juggles different roles, she says she never forgets to have fun. “I don’t want life to just feel like work. So finding ways to just find the joy and have fun along the journey,” Anthony says, “So I never really look at it as work. I look at it as something that I’m excited to do and something that I love to do.”
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