Turning your hobby into a rewarding career

The majority of us have two clearly separate aspects for our lives: our jobs are what we do to make a living, and then our hobbies, which we enjoy during our free time. Very few of us are actually able to successfully merge the two, where our passion becomes our career, and ultimately, that is the dream. Imagine waking up every day to spend the majority of your time doing what you love!

So how, you might ask, can one realize this dream? As I work towards achieving this goal myself, here is a checklist I've developed that you might find helpful in your own pursuit:

• Firstly, you need to discover what your passion is. Do you enjoy curling up on your sofa with a good book? Do you prefer spending your weekends hosting your friends and cooking up a feast? Or is painting your favorite pastime? Whatever it is, take the time to figure out what it is that you really love to do.

• Keep it simple! You might come up with a list of 10 items that you enjoy, but it best to narrow this down to 1-2 main areas you want to focus on.

• How can you perfect your passion? Can you sign up for a course? Can you practice more? Could you perhaps join a group of enthusiasts where you meet up once a week and discuss your hobbies?

• How do you transition your passion from a "hobby" to your "job"? For instance, I enjoy reading and storytelling, and I have used my skills to create compelling narratives for clients, and to create my blog where I share my thoughts with fellow colleagues and professionals.

• Have a plan. Is your hobby immediately transferable to your current job? Do you need to consider a career change? Or could it be your side hustle until you grow it enough to become your main source of income?

Dreams will always remain dreams until we decide to take active, intentional steps towards making them a reality.

Good luck fellow dreamers!