A lot of people are worried that they're going to be stuck doing a 9-5 job in some hellhole company, trapped and unable to escape the chains of work.
This is the sad reality for some individuals, but by no means are you doomed to that same fate. In this article, I'm going to try and explain how to do what you love and how you can start today.
First I'm going to start off with misconceptions that are spread around way too much today.
1.) Turn a hobby into a profession
Lots of people say that in order to be happy, just keep doing what you LOVE to do. This may be knitting, taking pictures, travelling, working out, playing video games, eating delicious Italia pizza, or designing socks. Whatever it may be, they say that doing it will ensure endless happiness.
While it's good to have those hobbies, we need to be clear about what they can and can't do for you. They can't provide you with food or shelter, and they can't provide you with anything other than what the hobby is intended to do. They won't support you through life- they're not meant to. They're just hobbies.
Then they tend to make an argument saying that if you turned your hobbies into a profession, then it can become self-sustainable.
While this may be true, it would no longer become a hobby, it would become your job. Instead of you thinking "Oh, I love stitching, it clears my mind.", you'd be thinking "Oh no I have 13 orders to ship by the end of this week and I haven't even done one yet. I'll have to stay up late tonight if I'm going to get them all done by Friday."
The point is, the hobby that you enjoy doing so much won't be a hobby anymore, because now your entire life depends on being able to do the hobby better than everyone else.
2.) Find online solutions to obtaining income so that you can spend your days travelling.
This myth is particularly common in the new generation. It's based off the assumption that generating revenue to the point where you can live anywhere will allow you to become 'free'. White it's true that this day and age it's becoming more and more possible, it's still an insane amount of work that needs to be done. Hours and hours every single day just to make a few bucks. It's tiresome, boring, and unfulfilling. For the average person, they're going to hate every second of it. What's worse is that when you start off, you'll have to be working twice as much as someone with a stable job just to scrape by. The rewards may be huge, but for most people it won't ever be worth it.
So if taking up a hobby as a profession and generating passive income through online streams isn't going to work, then what is?
First, we have to make it clear that you need to be doing what you love. Statistically, people love what they do when they understand that they're creating a positive impact on the world. Couple that with an income, and you'll be up every day wishing you could do more.
Humans all have good in them and wan't to know that they can make a difference. As soon as they understand that their efforts are directly causing a positive change in the world, then their drive to increase that positivity skyrockets. Statistically, people love what they do when they understand that they're creating a positive impact on the world. This phrase also works backwards: People who create a positive impact on the world end up loving what they do. Couple that with an income, and you'll be up every day wishing you could do more.
I know it sounds cheesy but frankly, it's true. People love to help others. As a profession, it feels more rewarding and more meaningful than any 9-5 job out there. Professions for a meaningful job are typically found in organizations that fundamentally promote positive change.
To summarize, it's not your hobby or internet money that will bring you a sense of fulfillment in life. It's doing something for the world that you know will make it slightly better than it was before. This creates meaning and motivation, and motivation fuels the meaning in a reciprocal cycle.