Have you ever felt jealous of your friend for the reason that he enjoys what he is doing as he travels, clicks beautiful pictures and posts them on social media or indulges full time in gardening or is a chef in a hotel as he enjoys cooking? Like many such people, you should now start spending more time on your hobby and earn a living by turning it into a full-fledged career.
We have always dreamt of pursuing our hobbies like playing the guitar or playing cricket every Sunday since childhood but have never been able to realize it or bring it to reality. Sometimes we were busy in studies, then in building our career and earning our livelihood. Given the amount of time we spend at work, it is necessary that we enjoy what we do or else it is likely to leave us frustrated and tired. While choosing your career, you must take into account your interests, your mindset and your personality.
Some common hobbies are:
- Travelling
- Indoor or outdoor sports
- Instrumental or vocal music
- Performing arts like dancing
- Painting
- Fitness
- Gardening
- Video editing
- Content writing
- Blogging
There are numerous hobbies that we dream of pursuing. But TV viewing or movie watching and even reading cannot be considered as serious hobbies. It is important that we identify a serious hobby and then turn it into a career.
Table of Contents
What is a hobby?
We define it as a specific activity other than the primary work that allows you to develop mastery in it.
How to identify your hobby?
To identify your serious hobby, you should ask yourself whether you are willing to do it for your whole life if you get paid to do it. If the answer is yes then you can seriously work on it and turn your hobby into a serious career.
TV, as well as a movie viewing, can be a serious hobby if you are paid for writing a review and you become a movie critic. Reading can also be a serious hobby if you write reviews on books or take a particular subject of your interest and achieve mastery in it.
There are numerous benefits if you identify your serious hobby. You can achieve personal, professional, social as well as economic benefits of identifying and turning your hobby into a career. For instance, a person had a hobby of coin collection and had a huge collection of antique coins. He turned his hobby into a career by developing a website. He started trading and it soon became a full-fledged profession for him.
People who are passionate about their hobbies are a source of motivation for many others. The passion develops your creativity, confidence and social skills as well. Such people usually have a huge fan following and are crowd pullers. They are often surrounded by people who look up to them and follow their footsteps.
Another benefit of turning your hobby into a career is that IT KILLS STRESS. It helps in having positivity around you and changing your perception about life and people. It gives you broader horizons and widens your vision. Here are some tips to pursue your hobby as a career.
8 tips to make your hobby a career:
1. Block out a permanent slot
Find some time every day to devote to developing your skill whether it is writing or dancing or playing the flute. For instance, a girl who was a software developer was busy from 8 am to 8 pm in her job but one fine day she surprised all of us by giving an invitation card of an event where she was performing as a BHARAT NATYAM dancer. She was going to dance classes from 8 pm to 9 pm in the evening and honing her dancing skills. Where there is will, there is a way and she proved it. Block out a fixed time to hone your skill and pursue it diligently. Only then will you be able to turn your hobby into a career.
2. Sacrifice other areas of life
In order to take your hobby seriously, you may have to sacrifice a few things. Suppose you are a fitness freak and wish to go for yoga classes every Saturday. But you are short of time as you have to cook food time for your family. What would you do? Order food from a restaurant on Saturday evenings and make time for yoga classes. With minute adjustments like reducing TV or mobile time and by waking up early, one can easily find time for the activity he loves.
3. Make it a habit, not just a goal
You often make resolutions in life and set a goal. You resolve to have 6 pack abs or learn and play guitar. But you do not stick to your resolution and give up on it. It makes you feel frustrated when you are not able to fulfil your goal. To avoid frustration, you must turn it into a habit. Set a routine and if you are able to follow the routine for 21 days, you are most likely to turn it into a habit. Once you become habitual of a certain routine, you are able to achieve the goal. So, go to yoga classes or to a gym regularly until it becomes a habit and you cannot do without it.
4. Learn it professionally
For instance, you are on a fitness regime and have lost some weight. But you are unable to lose more weight. You now need professional support. So go for external support. Take the help of an expert, take tuitions, call a professional at home. Make the extra effort to achieve excellence or make an improvement. Learn from professionals to achieve more.
5. Stay inspired
A cricket fan always gets inspired by Sachin Tendulkar. Whatever may be your hobby, look up to some idol in the area of your interest. A true fan has an idol to look up to. Watch him, learn from him, read his biography, follow him on social media and get motivated. If you write poetry, then attend all the poetry events in your city. Attend concerts, go to exhibitions, attend events related to your hobby such as dance, poetry, music, etc. Do not miss any opportunity to perform too. If you get a chance, expose yourself and get rid of your inhibitions. You can also exhibit your talent on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or other such platforms.
6. Create a social circle
Peer pressure always influences you in one way or the other. It is your networking, virtual or real, that really helps you in increasing your visibility. If you have a strong network hold, you may become popular by connecting them through social media platforms. Announce a challenge such as – I will run 5 km marathon every day or write and post a couplet or a poem every day, read 5 books in 60 days – and so on. This continuity in your goals helps you in making it possible for you to make your presence felt.
7. Start small
Do not rush to do big things. There is no short cut to success. Set small targets. Achieve them. Then move on to bigger targets. For example, walk before you run. Climb a small hill, take small steps. One day later, you may reach the pinnacle. Celebrate small achievements. Move to bigger targets. Learn from your mistakes.
8. Focus
Sometimes we indulge in too many hobbies at the same time. Avoid multiple hobbies at the same time. From the activities you are interested in, select the one you are most interested in and can take it up for a long time. Focus on not more than 1 or 2 at one time. Focus on them and then decide which one do you like most. Think of it as your career and then do whatever possible to have an expertise in it. Do not become “jack of all and master of none”.
For further information, check our video on how to turn your hobby into a career:
Find other motivating reads:
The Big Advantage For Women Entrepreneurs In India
Daily Habits Of Successful People
List Of 10 Motivational Books That Can Help You Achieve Success In Life
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