There are things you love to do, and there are things people pay you to do.
Let’s look at how to pinpoint that balance.
This post originally appeared on theCrew blog.
AsAustin Kleonsays, what you love and what loves you back only overlap if you’re lucky.
When You Love Doing Something People Don’t Want
This is a hobby.
Doing something you enjoy that nobody will pay you for is not a sustainable career.
Sean McCabe calls this second approach theoverlap technique.
Seandid thiswhen he learned hand lettering, which he’s now best known for.
As a day job that supports other pursuits, this can work for a limited time.
The trouble with this situation is that it’s really hard to pull yourself out of.
It’s hard to give up those things.
And it’s scary to walk away from security.
Your health, relationships, and hobbies suffer.
Or an extrovert (who draws energy from others) spending most of their week alone.
At the end of each day, they’re going to be drained and bored.
It’s inevitable for many people, especially when they have families they need to provide for.
Here are a few starting points.
Starting out with a day job that covers your expenses is a good way to test out other options.
you might take them up as experiments or hobbies and give them time to develop.
Find Your Unique Angle
What is it about your approach that’s different?
What do you have to say that hasn’t been said before?
What new combination of tools, styles, or techniques have you come up with?
There’s no demand for copycatseveryone’s looking for something original.
Find the gaps in existing solutions and focus on what you do that’s unique.
She is a writer atCrewand was previously Buffer’s first Content Crafter and Head of Content at Attendly.
Image bybplanet(Shutterstock).
Additional image byAustin Kleon.
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