Creative Income From Your Hobby
"Work and Play are words used to describe the same thing under
different circumstances." - Mark Twain
Our work really should be an outworking of something we enjoy.
You have probably thought this many times as you struggle to get
up on Monday morning dreading the thought of another week at the
office. "If only I could be fishing or shopping or reading or...
you fill in the blank. We all have different interests and
passions - different things that get us going. There are ways to
make money doing something that you love, but there are a couple
of things you have to do first.
1. You have to stretch your thinking - You have to move past the
current work model of a 9-5 job with benefits and paid vacation.
There are so many other possibilities out there, but you have to
open your mind to see them. I would read everything I could get
my hands on about people who have turned their hobby into money.
The stories are out there and they will inspire you. Eventually,
you will need to narrow your search to people who have
successfully turned your hobby or passion into money. Learn from
them. Find out what made them successful and what mistakes they
made. You'll find three stories at the end of this article to
get you started. Or listen to an audio by Dan Miller to inspire
you.
2. You have to become more creative in general - Creativity
breeds more creativity. So start working on yours now. Gather
resources to foster creativity...I have found a great website to
get you started. Also, practice thinking outside the box. When
you are faced with a problem in your job, family, church, etc.
sit down for a brainstorming session to find a creative way to
reach a solution. Exercise your powers of problem solving with
puzzles and brainteasers here or try the Free-The-Genie cards.
3. You have to create a plan to make your dream a reality - It
is not optional to grow your creativity and problem solving
skills, but you also have to have a plan to get where you want
to go. You will find everything you need to get started here.
Jim Miller enjoyed planning celebration events, so he came up
with the idea of putting corporate picnics together for
companies. He earns $1,500 to $7,000 net profit per picnic after
all expenses and has also written a 355 page manual How to Start
and Operate a Corporate Picnic Business which retails for
$49.95. He also puts together kid