I realize this post won’t be for everyone. This is not a story about working 35-40 hours a week, going home and plopping down on the couch to watch TV. When I wrote “The Personal/Professional Blur” I explained that I don’t have work from which I come home. I understand that some folks like fixing their own cars, doing their own yard work and even fun things like running around taking pictures. That’s all good.
While you are enjoying your hobbies
What is it you think I am doing? It’s simple really. I’m reading business books, writing blog posts and participating in online forums. I’m searching for ideas that can be transformed into products and businesses. I’m searching for ways to help and teach others. In the helping and teaching lie the seeds of ideas for which people will pay. That does not mean that the helping and teaching you do is not genuine. On the contrary, if you are doing it only to find the ideas, those you are trying to help will run for the hills. Most people have very well-tuned BS meters.
This life is not for everyone
I’ve come to realize that lots of folks are perfectly happy with safe jobs that “pay enough.” I also get that these folks don’t want a life that has no lines between their personal and professional life. That’s because they don’t truly love and embrace what it is they’ve chosen to do to earn money. I’ve reached a point where I focus my time and energies on doing work that is fun with people I truly enjoy. I don’t punch a time clock or collect a pay check. That’s all good.
But what do I do for fun?
Instead of engaging in solitary hobbies, I seek out activities like hiking, biking, skiing or even wine tastings. These are activities I can engage in with like-minded thinkers and doers. It’s my time to change the world. It’s my time to leave a mark and I’m not going to do that pushing a lawn mower around my yard. Besides, in the hour it would take to do that work, I can write two or three posts like this. I’ll give my son the 10 dollars to cut the lawn.
Your life does not need to be one-dimensional to have a singleness of purpose backed up by passion that will put you in a position to make the world a better place.
I’ll have to think about this. I’m not sure I can agree with you there. A “hobby” doesn’t have to be solitary. I’m a home theater nut and I’ve spent literally thousands of hours researching, building, and tinkering. But it is also the place of one of my closest online social communities and has been for over 10 years. I used it for decompression in the years when I was a business exec, but now I just enjoy it. Oh, and because of my devotion to this hobby I did a very nice piece of writing business last year, all because I was a subject matter expert in home theater!
On the other hand, one of my current hobbies is becoming a business, or might if I pursue it in that way. First Today Press was started as an experiment and a hobby, but the book we released this week is already on the Top Sellers list on Amazon for motivational books.
Here’s my opinion boiled down: if you have something you love to do, but it doesn’t have ANY business potential, don’t feel guilty for doing it. Embrace it. Who knows where it will lead.
Randy, I’m not expecting everyone to agree. I think the truth is I do have a hobby – work. At least what other people would call work. I guess I look at it as collecting skills that are valuable to me. For example, I can now set-up a WordPress blog in a matter of hours. And whey I say set-up I’m talking about a full-blown online business with e-commerce capabilites. That’s my “hobby” figuring stuff like that out. Sounds like you find ways to monetize your “hobbies” too. I think we are more on the same page than off it.
Actually Jim I would say you do have a hobby, and I share the same hobby, and that is research and seeking knowledge. A never ending quest to know more, and learn more. It’s an awesome hobby!
I think that whole quest for knowledge thing is in our shared genes Einley.(see what I did there?) When I read your post I immediately thought of the musical Fiddler on the roof. Lots of references in there about searching for answers. 🙂