5 obstacles to turning a hobby into a profession

Do you have a hobby, but for some reason, it is still a hobby, and you can’t make money from it? This guide will teach you how to turn your hobby into a profession. But first, subscribe to our Telegram channel. We often publish such valuable articles!

This article continues with “How to make creativity a profession: step-by-step instructions.” We are doing what you love and making money at the same time. It would seem that why not everyone can do it. After all, if a person is a “burning” case, he is sure to achieve success in it. Even in this scenario, we face obstacles that prevent us from making the dream reality.

The major stumbling blocks have kept you and many other people from turning what you love into a profession.

Five stumbling blocks to turning a hobby into a profession

Enjoyment from the process

A hobby is a hobby to get satisfaction from the activity itself. This approach is ideal for having a good time, raising our spirits, and distracting ourselves. But all too often, we dwell too much on the process, believing that our dreams will become a reality someday. It’s not enough to just love writing, photography, or travel. It’s essential to determine what precisely you would like to do for a living in this field — define your own goal.

How to decide: formulate a measurable goal and sketch out options for how you can get there. Don’t limit yourself at this point. Write down all the possible and impossible solutions that come to mind. Do you like to travel? Determine precisely what you want to do — provide travel services, blog and write about new places, or create a new service for travelers. Do you want to create a site “about something interesting”? Be specific about what your resource will be broadcasting and, for whom, what will be its unique features and value to readers.

Lack of self-discipline

Hobby — it’s not the activity where we are used to driving ourselves into a box. So often, we grasp a new idea with enthusiasm and then quietly throw it away. The reasons for this can be many — bored, complex, no time or inspiration (about inspiration later). In such cases, many of us again become content with the process (see paragraph 1) or push the goal to the distant future (read Three principles of long-term thinking to help plan for the future). How to solve: you can’t help yourself — commitment is your answer. Find a partner or client to whom you will have to provide a specific result, take on some tasks on a freelance basis, or participate in another project, even unrestricted.

From inspiration to inspiration

Inspiration helps you come up with and do incredible things. But you can’t build your workflow on inspiration because you might have it today, not tomorrow. And what do you do when “it’s not coming”? Just wait. And if the muse returns in a week or a month? In that case, there is a high probability that all plans and goals will collapse. Read Life in the flow: how to enjoy work and everyday activities.

How to decide: create the conditions for your inspiration. Think about what you’re doing it all for, how much effort you have already put in, and what you’ll get as a result. Still “not going”? Remove all distractions, focus on what you love to do, come up with an incentive and use the things that inspire you the most: review what you’ve already done or leaf through your plan, watch some inspirational videos, or put on some music (read Scientists have confirmed that musical taste is associated with personality type). Dream about it, praise yourself and start doing it.

No one is chasing you around the neck

There is no hurry when we set our deadlines. We want to work hard, and we don’t want to. We have the right to change our schedule or take time out just to be lazy or do something else. Or maybe we should do things differently? Which option should we choose? Choice and fear of making a mistake are the real villains.

How to decide: don’t hesitate, but act. In any case, there are several options. You just have to decide and choose one of them (read How the fear of missing out on the best option prevents us from making decisions). If it does not work, do it another way. Do not relax, and do not invent another excuse. Stick to the previously defined schedule, and rush to make your dream come true.

Am I that good?

Putting the soul into an activity, sometimes we are too afraid of criticism. What if your efforts won’t be appreciated, or someone will do the same thing a hundred times better? Maybe you’re just not cut out for it, or you don’t have the talent. How to solve: instead of giving yourself another assessment, believe in yourself and take action. Don’t strive to please everyone. Just do what you love the best you can, not for someone but yourself. Adequately evaluate your work and results, and listen only to constructive criticism from people whose opinion is important to you. If you don’t like something, fix it.

If you want to change your life and do what you enjoy, stop being realistic and start dreaming. Write down your ideas and fantasize about how you would implement them. Feel free to get to work. No excuses — just purpose, diligence, training, inspiration, and a "plan to take over the world. Read Four pitfalls that prevent you from making a career change. And what approach should you take.

Now check if you can make a profession out of your hobby. Take the Menteora career guidance test; artificial intelligence will name your most suitable professions. The accuracy of the test is 70-80% because we use a mathematical-statistical algorithm (read about Menteora's unique career guidance methodology).