I don’t fully agree that if you can turn your hobby into a business it would be the ideal career.
Think of something you really love doing. I mean be realistic about it. Don’t think of stupid things like, ‘lying on a beach all day long’ or ‘watching TV while sitting on a massive sofa.’ Let’s just imagine that your hobby is drawing. Now imagine if this favourite hobby suddenly had strict deadlines.
Would it still be fun?
- What if you had to document how long each drawing took?
- What if you had to manage your hobby by setting aside specific time slots?
- What if someone kept on contacting you asking whether you have finished or how far you have got with it?
- What if even when you have finished you were asked to make changes to it?
- What if someone else was so dissatisfied with your drawing that you had to start it all over again?
- What if you were questioned why you did your drawing a certain way?
Would it honestly still be fun?
It had better be.
If you are thinking of turning your favourite hobby or passion into a business it had better still be fun even after everything mentioned above because that is just part of what your hobby will involve.
I’m still in search of my true passion
The thought of having limits and deadlines set by my own clients makes me feel terribly out of control not because I hate deadlines but because creativity for me involves freedom of movement. I still love digital design but it’s almost as though I want it to be all on my terms. I wander if that’s just being too greedy?
I’ve got to love it.
If there is any part of my passion that I do not enjoy I know I’ll be doing it half hearted and then it’s just not worth it. I want my passion to be so strong that I love the deadlines. I want to enjoy the fact that people watch over me waiting and anticipating the outcome. I want people to question me about my passion because I want to be able to love it so much that I look forward to the challenge of answering them to help them. In other words I’ve got to love it to such an extent that everything that surrounds it does not put me off my desire to want to stick to it. Understand what I’m getting at?
I’m looking for inspiration
I would love to hear your story. Have you turned your hobby or passion into a business? If so has it been a good or bad experience? Or do you simply enjoy your hobby without the thought of turning it into a business?
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As it happens to be, my passion is drawing. I do it as long as i remember. Even someone i recently reunited with from school said ‘i remember you as always making beautiful drawings’. I made it (next to my regular parttime job as a consultant) my business.
All of the questions above I recognize and worried me beforehand, it made me postpone doing it for very long! They could be experienced as limitations to creativity or passion, (sometimes they are a pain in the *** indeed!) I choose to see them as rules or conditions to bring things to a higher level, better quality, more points of view, a possibility to show your creativity, your added value, to reach goals that make my life fullfilling, to feel that i do what i am supposed to do! it is my obligation to use a talent and passion to make the world a little better. If I do not do it like this, a million things get started, and nothing gets finished. It wil never grow, i will not grow.
Actually, now that I have those deadlines and criticism and all that, it is even more fun because so much more happens! (more results, products, ideas, synergy, etc…) I am so happy for doing it. Maybe starting parttime is a nice tip!
Hi Tessa that’s a good point of view.
I like what you’ve said about, “a million things get started, and nothing gets finished. It wil never grow, i will not grow.” It’s probably where I need to get more focussed.
wasim´s last blog ..Hobbies With Deadlines
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