Building A Life Around Play

This week I ran across a bit of wisdom that really struck a chord with me. The graphic read "You should have three hobbies: one which makes you money, one which keeps you fit, and one which allows you to be creative." This concept really connected with me because it feels like my business is a hobby,  I enjoy and look forward to my daily workouts, and I love to write and record podcasts. It feels like my life is bouncing from hobby to hobby. 

In this blog I wanted to dive into each of these areas a little deeper. 

Monetizing Your Hobby

I know it sounds silly - monetizing your hobby - but anything can be monetized. Anything. Whatever you love, and whatever you're good at, someone will pay you for. $20 trillion trades hands in the U.S. each year. That's a lot of money flying around. If you are passionate about something there's a way to monetize it - especially in our online world. 

One of my favorite business stories is about a how a guy named Jason Zook who invented a business where he wore t-shirts for a living. He would wear a company's t-shirt and take a picture wearing it. He would then promote it on his social media account. He eventually hired a team and built a company which allowed him to earn $1 million in overall sales. Jason has since closed that business and moved on to other projects, but you get the picture. Read more about Jason Zook's business here: https://wanderingaimfully.com/iwearyourshirt/

You can literally monetize anything.

Let's flip that around. When your work is something you passionately love, you'll never "work" again. I have a close friend who loves real estate. One day at lunch we were discussing a certain house in a neighborhood close to us. I said "that blue house on the corner of..." and his response was "that house is white." He has a passion, memory, and an intuitive connection with real estate. It shouldn't surprise anyone that he's built a real estate empire - his hobby has become a very lucrative income stream and means of wealth. 

Instead of doing what you hate, do what you love - and find a way to monetize it. 

Make Fitness A Hobby

I remember when I thought that fitness and physical activity needed to be hard, grueling, and painful. I struggled with consistency because I punished myself each and every time I exercised. My struggle with consistency ended when I exercised for the fun of it. I love to run. Let me carry that out a little further - I love to run at a nice, steady, enjoyable pace. I listen to an audiobook or some 1980's hair metal, and I run 5 miles a few times a week. I also lift weights, but I don't punish myself. My goal is to use my muscles, not destroy them.

By being consistent, I'm in the best shape of my life. Consistency is more important than difficulty. By enjoying exercise I've probably exercised 95% of days over the past 5 years. When you enjoy something, you're motivated to keep going. If you struggle to get motivated, explore exercises you love. You'll find one that sticks. 

My wife Angie loves to dance. I'm not much of a dancer so we don't go dancing. But she loves to dance, and she's incorporated her passion into her fitness routine. She also loves music. She looks forward to classes like Zumba, Pound, Spin, and other fitness styles that incorporate dance and loud music. She loves it, and she's also in the best physical shape of her life. 

Don't punish yourself. You have nothing to prove to yourself or anyone else. Just enjoy getting and being physically healthy, and that will also help with many other mental and emotional challenges in your life. It's amazing to see the connection between physical health and overall quality of life. 

Create Something

We're all artists. We all create. When I say art you might immediately think of paintings or sculptures, but think of creativity in a broader sense. Art is simply an expression of who you are: writing, teaching, dance, singing, photography, creating videos, speaking, and many more. 

Art is allowing the world to really see who you are, and what's going on in your soul. Art shows us you are real. 

There's something inside of you trying to get out. Something in you is trying to be expressed. For years all I wanted to do was teach and help others develop and grow, but my days were filled with professional tasks which were focused on everything else BUT that. I would spend about 1% of my time coaching and developing people, and the other 99% in business planning, process improvement, and managing the flows of a manufacturing plant. All I wanted to do was focus on people - not the business. 

When I hit the reset I decided to only do what I love - I express my art on a daily basis. I create content and courses, record podcasts episodes, and author books as the foundational use of my time - all of these I love. I also spend about 10-15 hours per week teaching and coaching my clients - most of whom decided they wanted to work with me based directly or indirectly from the content I create. Referrals drive my business, but content was the catalyst for the engine to begin turning. Without hearing my voice or reading my soul, no one would have known who I was or what I stand for. 

I find that when I am not creating my art, I start looking for ways to destroy myself - with food, alcohol, or other toxic endeavors. If we are not expressing who we are we begin to die a slow death inside and out. 

Find a creative outlet as a hobby, and watch as your soul begins to shine brighter. 

Combine Them When Possible

Here's the cool part of this - they don't need to remain separate. Combine them wherever possible. At one point Angie was on track to become a fitness instructor so that she could monetize her passion for dance and music - money, fitness, and expression all wrapped into one bundle. 

I sell my content and courses, and I've built a business around what I love to do most - create and teach. Combine them and begin to really enjoy who you are and what a gift you are to the world. 

The most important part is to stop taking life so seriously. None of us are getting out of here alive (our bodies, anyway), and you have nothing to prove. If you're not having fun you're doing it all wrong. 

Find at least these three hobbies and I guarantee your overall quality of life will improve drastically. 

I bet my awesome life on it. 

Photo by Antonio Gabola on Unsplash