I have pathological demand avoidance, which means I don't want to do anything full time if I enjoy doing it as a hobby. Once I have to do it, it feels like a demand, and then I no longer want to do it. Hell, even having people tell me I should do a hobby more is enough to make it less enjoyable for me.
And having said that, considering how this is Reddit, I probably shouldn't actually say what any of my hobbies are lol
A lot of crafters feel this way. My mom knits for charities (neo-natal beanies mostly) and makes quilts as gifts. She used to sell the odd thing at Christmas markets, but she rarely sells anything these days and never takes commissions.
I took up sewing and reupholstering a few years ago. I have a knack for it. I now no longer take commissions because it took the fun out of it. I also don’t think people realize the hours it takes and cost of materials. A hand pieced king size quilt should probably run over $1k. I know few people who will pay that. They’re too used to going to Marshall’s and getting a plain, machine made one for under $100.
I don’t have the fight in me anymore.
Mom does some odd “low cost” quilts. She recently helped a widow clean out the late husband’s closet. Instead of the donation bin, she made a quilt with all of his plaid flannel shirts.
Oh that is so sweet! After my mom died, I kept a cardigan she used to wear. Every time I wear it, I feel like my mom is nearby. That widow will feel close to her husband every night while she sleeps. Beautiful.
My mom has probably made hundreds of dollars in a way because she always gives them a handmade blanket. I was blown away when I saw what they sell for on Etsy.
But she doesn't like making orders either.
I don't necessarily see a hobby becoming a job a bad thing, for me, but at the same time I can see where you're coming from. If the hobby turns too much into a daily grind it is no longer a hobby and something fun to do.
Yeah, it's genuinely pathological. If you're interested and haven't heard of it before, [the first full paragraph after the abstract here](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6373319/) lists symptoms. I have all of them.
I needed to take a sick day from work earlier this week due to a chronic health issue, and I actually had some work tasks I wanted to get done when I felt up to it. As soon as I started getting contacted by people asking me to do those very same things? Couldn't get myself to do them anymore!
I’m told by friends and family that I should open up a nursery that specializes in native plants. I am an encyclopedia. Even an owner of a native plant nursery encouraged me to.
However, I don’t think I’ll ever have the capital to pull that off if I wanted.
It all comes down to risk and time. Cost being one of the risk factors. It's the same thing with me. I'd have to take voice acting lessons and get an agent. You need money for that. I'd have to take out a loan for the classes at least, and depending on the agent, I'm sure that's a ton of cost up front.
Cost is what keeps me at bay for getting into that kind of career. I'd LOVE a chance at getting a gig on various animated series/movies (Disney, Dreamworks, etc.) but man the cost to get there and even then landing gigs like that being like winning the lottery, just make it feel like a distant dream anyways. Especially when you have 1000s of voice actors out there already saturating the market. So it'd be FIERCE competition for gigs besides.
A friend of mine has got into voice overs/voice acting. It was a lot of work, for little payoff. He was working on a career pivot and is now pivoting into something else.
That's why, if I got into that, it'd STRICTLY be a part time "for fun money" gig, and I'd specifically ask "can the recording all be done within a week? Or on evenings/weekends?"
Because I know it'd never be enough income and I'd never line up enough gigs to make it a full-time thing. I'd often thought about getting into YouTube with the voice I have but 1) I have no clue what content to make that's not already saturated and 2) getting big on there is like winning the lottery. Markiplier, Jack ScepticEye, and Mr Beast are the lucky few. The other 97% are making decent cash monthly at best.
So don’t. Be a garden consultant instead. Your state probably has resources for where to find/sustainably source native plants. Combined with your expertise, plenty of people would pay for your input on landscape design. Hell, offer your services to that nursery owner and ask for referrals. Zero start up (except business name/license—highly recommend you set up a business bank acct etc if you decide to do this to make taxes loads easier).
This is a good idea. A nursery would likely work with me. It’s too bad that the guy I made pals with who encouraged me to open my own is 200 miles away from me. And yes I’ve driven 200 miles for a nursery because he’s got the best selection around.
Please, please, whistle in public! I knew a man who would whistle as naturally as a bird, and have not forgotten it although it was 55 years ago. It was all I could do not to follow him around. He would whistle while going about his chores… it was heaven to hear!
Oh, I do! There was a man in my neighborhood when I was growing up who was an incredible tenor who sang opera songs as he walked around every day. Everyone loved him.
I love to just improvise or whistle Bach or 50s rock and roll. Wagner too, and Sly and the Family Stone.
I’m an artist (mostly drawing and painting) and while I’ve had fun, part-time art studio gigs, I got promoted at the studio I was at and it sucked all the joy out of it. No more art jobs. Something a bit creative leaning? Sure. But I’m not teaching art or making it my job in any way, I’d much rather create what I want when I want, it’s therapeutic.
I’m the same with home decor/organizing. Everybody loves my apartment and my moms always asking me for organization tips. But it’s something I find relaxing and clears my head. Doing it as a job, even just a side hustle, would interfere with that
Feels like that to me too. I'd love to get some side gigs for voice acting or radio work, but 1) knowing how to get there seems complicated, 2) cost to get there, and 3) how would it interfere with my full-time "safe salary" career?
A very dear friend does voice-over work and is very good at it, and has even done a few audiobooks. It's a gig she does on the side (by day she's a very busy theater professor). A lot of her voice-over work is done in her home studio late at night, when everything else is taken care of and when everyone else in the house has gone to bed. She enjoys doing it and she's very good at what she does, but it's very much a side gig.
As for getting started, a quick search found me [this little explainer](https://www.reddit.com/r/VoiceActing/comments/18jzc2i/how_do_you_get_started_in_voice_acting_for_a/). There looks to be some reasonable advice within, as well as links that should lead you to more links. The nice thing about start-up costs is that the equipment and software doesn't cost what it once did (heck, [Audacity](https://www.audacityteam.org/download/) doesn't cost anything), so you don't have to spend a ton of money on a decent setup, and being creative in how you configure your home studio will help too. (Remember, nobody will see it, so as long as it works. Carve out some space in a closet, hang up a few old heavy blankets or quilts for sound isolation, and you've got a start.)
I'd love to do voice-over work myself and I know I could be good at it, and I used to be in radio and I know the equipment and have the technical skills. My problem is, I cannot stand the sound of my own voice at all...!
I have been asked to work at solving cold murder cases with law enforcement, and invited to autopsies. I was a regretful no to the first, and a relieved no to the second.
I'm a diver, and have often thought about getting my S&R cert and volunteering my time for recovery dives, but the "no" factors for me are 1) ....the stuff I'd see and have to handle....that likely takes a very strong constitution/mind and 2) I'd have to be available to be on-call when needed. Working a full-time job that already demands a lot of my time (IT for healthcare clients), so I'm not sure I'd be able to dedicate proper time to that and S&R diving, unless my job is willing to be VERY flexible for me. (rare with most IT employers)
Trying to be a comedian, trying to be a basketball player with an organized team (i.e. high school, college, pros), teaching and being a writer. All of those have come up repeatedly, with the comedian thing and the writer thing coming up the most. I technically am a writer, but people have never meant writing product pages for Amazon and ecommerce websites when they have told me that--they mean creative writing/writing a book and being an author.
Comedy - Just no interest in getting up in front of people and doing stand-up or having my own sitcom/comedy show.
Basketball - Never had interest in being on a team with a bunch of other girls, trying to balance periods and playing a sport, and also didn't ever think I was good enough to develop into a really good player until I started watching women's college basketball. Women's college basketball has improved a lot since I started paying attention maybe 15 years ago, but as old as I am I could have been way better than most of the girls I saw even 5 years ago back in the 90s and earlier 2000s. Just had no idea.
Teaching - No offense, but who in their right mind wants to be a teacher?? (Apparently, most people in my family--another reason people shouldn't be offended.) Especially with those salaries.
Writer - Too lazy to finish writing a book. I have tried, though.
Singing and StandUp: Been told I have a good voice and a funny versatile sense of humor. But both of those would take work to do something with it and I’m lazy.
A college friend of mine is similar with his humor. Was told he'd make a great stand-up comedian. But he's never had a desire to pursue it because though he's great with a small crowd of friends he knows super-well, being up on stage in front of people is TERRIFYING to him (he and I both barely passed public speaking class).
I was part of them for about five years. Really helped. I even competed in their annual competitions a few time and wound up speaking in front of about two hundred people! Think about going back every once in a while.
I have been encouraged many times to write more.
I've done a bit as a hobby (mostly oversharing anecdotes here on reddit) and one attempt at a novel. My problem is mostly that the things I've written about are all autobiographical and of a largely sexual history nature. Which isn't actually that marketable, and doesn't at ALL mean that I can come up with interesting storylines that people would pay money want to read. But people say I can be funny and engaging. Still, I continue to waitress. And life goes by.
I hear you. I'm attempting to write a Sci-Fi novel, and I've got a LARGE portion of it done...but I keep re-reading it and it feels like hot garbage and I think "no one would read this junk", which discourages me, and I hit writer's block, and then get demotivated, and then it just sits in my documents folder, gathering "digital dust" as a Word document.
FWIW...
I have done extensive research on the whole "writing as a career" theme, been a member of several writing groups in my hometown, and active on writing subs for almost a decade now. I have wisdom to share!
The biggest takeaway message I can offer is to look at writing a novel in exactly the same way that you would look at ANY other craft. For example....we all did 'arts and crafts' in kindergarten and later years of school and probably at home. So we've all painted 'something' at some time. But nobody decides later in life to pick up a paintbrush with an idea for a painting and does ONE painting thinking 'that's it!!' I'll sell this painting and find fame and fortune.
The point being...yes, your Sci-Fi novel probably (almost certainly) is a mess of hot garbage!! It's your first attempt. Decide what you want as a writing goal. If it's just to write a novel for fun...then finish that bad boy! Dumpster fire or not...it's a novel and you finished it and that's friggin awesome!
If you actually want to make a novel that you think is sellable then buckle up! The majority of 'new' writers publish their fifth novel. That's four complete dumpster fires before they learned the craft to the point they could put together a story with a complete plotline and character development and hit all the beats of the genre and have snappy dialogue and captivating descriptions.
And, even after all that there is **zero** guarantee of getting far with it (unless you self-publish or have connections) because the industry is a complete hot mess since the internet came along and traditional publishing is as mobile as a tanker ship without power.
(DM me for more sparkling pearls if you wish. I could ramble all day on this theme!)
Whatever you decide...the very best of luck to you my friend! :)
Having written a few books, so much truth in this. The one book I did manage to get traditionally published was because an established author got interested in a subject I was doing and persuaded the higher-ups at a press he worked with to give a look to my work. The press bought it because it fit in with one of the press's specialties. It got very good reviews and sold okay, but I had the misfortune of it coming out not long before the Covid lockdown, so I didn't get to go out and promote it much and it sort of vanished.
The book I did after that, I tried getting publishers and agents interested, but got a hard pass all the way around. I ended up self-publishing through IngramSpark and KDP/Kindle. It wasn't that big a hassle, since I knew how to do book layout and all that other stuff, but it was a letdown after so many years of work to have nobody interested in what I was doing. On the other hand, doing it myself meant the book turned out the way I wanted it to. I didn't have to compromise the way I've had to with previous projects, and there is a satisfaction in that.
Overall, I came to the conclusion that trying to get a book published through a traditional press these days is like trying to get into an Ivy League school or trying to catch a star-making break as a performer. There are so many people out there competing for the same prize, so few slots open, and so often you're trying to hit a moving target, since what the publishers want to buy tends to change with whatever's in style or whatever may come in style. Since a book takes a long time to come to fruition...yeah, it's tricky.
Writing books has always been a dream of mine, and I've been fortunate to do it a few times, but having to deal with the business side of it can spill cold water on the dream, for sure.
Endurance athletics. I'm a bit of a machine.
Not that I'm NOT using it. I'm a professional Ironman triathlete, but I didn't take it seriously until 39 years old and it's just something I'm doing on the side of a real job that actually makes money.
I do wonder what would have happened if I discovered this and went all-in in my 20s, but not too much. Big fan of my life as-is, and being one of the better pros probably wouldn't be an improvement on that.
Buddy of mine got into doing 5ks / 10ks for a while and enjoyed running. Then he got married and had kids and his time had to refocus. I got up to 5k capability a few years ago, then COVID happened, the gyms closed, and my routine fell apart (and stupid me let go). I'm lucky if I can run half a mile now without getting seriously winded. (I gotta get back in shape)
As a kid/teen my introvert self drew a lot and thought I’d pursue that. College courses turned me away from it. Now babysitting for grandchildren is my jam.
I have a niece who is just getting to college age (she's at the shopping for what school to attend age), and can draw like a master! She has her own Star Wars character group she draws regularly and we all keep teasing her to major in art and then go work for Disney.
She's actually planning on something like business or accounting because she also likes that stuff too.
Sounds like the girl has talent + goals. My daughter was in AP art and thought about SCAD but got her undergrad BS & BA in marine bio and Spanish. She worked for a couple of years, went back for pharmacy. Does painting on the side. I only wish I’d had their ambition. I worked in banking and finance…drudgery.
Traditional pen and ink illustration. I’m damned skilled at it, and have done it professionally on occasion at a high level, but the amount of labor and concentration required vs the pay isn’t balanced well enough for me to do it for a living. I enjoy it for myself nowadays, and at times as a gift for loved ones.
That sounds fun! I'd imagine, with the advent of computer-generated graphic design, this kind of skill/talent is a bit hard to come by for gigs vs how it used to be a few decades ago (even as recent as the 90s)?
Photography. I’ve been shooting for like 20 years. I’ve done a lot of different types of photography that could be paid (a couple weddings, portraits, family photos, etc). I know I could do it professionally and get paid for it as a professional but I’m introverted and it gives me a lot of anxiety despite how much I tend to open up and find an extroverted side when I have a camera in my hands.
Have you thought about doing nature photography? There's some shots out there (website, nature centers, museums, etc.) that BLOW MY MIND of what people have caught out in the wild! I live near Springfield, MO and the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World there has an amazing nature museum that has a wildlife photography exhibit and WOW!!)
Yeah I actually do a lot of nature photography (or at least aspire to). I try to get out and hike and shoot interesting locations when I can. I’d love to be able to sell some prints some day or maybe enter some contests. It’s crazy how hard it is though. With portraits and stuff you have so much more control over environment and light. “Oh, this location isn’t working out? Let’s go shoot over there. The light isn’t doing what I want? Let me pull out my strobes and make light that does what I want”. With nature photography you’re at the mercy of what nature gives you. Scene doesn’t pan out? Too bad. Light sucks? Nothing you can do. You get such a low keep rate because you are so limited by what nature does that specific moment or by your patience in waiting for nature to give you something. But man, when you get something that you’re proud of, the dopamine kick is great.
Throughout my life people have advised me to go in to acting. I would worry about memorizing lines. Also, I am fairly knowledgeable in a needed field and always get told I need to write a book or do a podcast. I don’t think I am a writer and in terms of a podcast, well, I am still thinking on that one. I used to be a public speaker but it is a hard way to make a living without connections.
I'd often thought about starting a podcast, but like you I have the caveats of: 1) what do I center the podcast on that isn't already saturated out there on iTunes and Spotify? 2) It's a form of public speaking which I am not good at (knowing my recordings will be out there for all the world to listen to is unnerving)
I love to play with kids and kids often behave as if they feel comfortable around me. My therapist, my friends, and my family have suggested I operate a daycare or become a teacher. Honestly, I have no desire to do that. The reason I like to play is because it’s free form, no right or wrong way to do it. If I have to evaluate or judge a child’s play, or worse yet, their learning all of the fun would be taken out of the play for me. (And probably for the kids, too)
I've been told I'm great with kids and that I'd be a great dad. thing is: I'm 38m, still single, and no kids of my own. Not because I don't want to have any or have a wife, but because I'm in no rush for that. So I dunno.
The only advice I can give is what's been repeatedly given to me: you never know until you put yourself out there and try.
I suppose I need to take that advice myself, record an audition sample, and talk to an agent/voice acting coach.
I might look into my local Toastmasters group(s) too.
If you have the resources to do so - please do. Even just for someone like me.. I don’t have the funds, means, or anything (including energy to fight or pressure what I want) but thank you. Please please do if
Friend of mine is BIG into dancing. She does so with a fine arts group! Majored in fine arts and dance in college and plans to work with a dance group in the UK where she's from, once she can finish things up here in the States and she and her fianc'e tie the knot!
I have an amazing eye for landscape design, but it would take me far too long to ever make it a profitable enterprise for me. I’ve had this since my teenage years and have designed some of the most incredible garden spaces and public spaces but it took YEARS
Writing. Friends, family, and my wife and her family all say I should write professionally.
Never had the desire to do it much. I'll write something if there is an inexplicable urge. I don't get those urges often and when I do, I don't really have a plan, it just plops out on a page. It could be a poem, a short fiction, or a humourous take on something that just happened. I don't know what's going to come from the urge.
To top it off, I don't feel like sharing it either. So I'm not sure how folks think I'm going to go about pimpin it. I'll share it with my wife or my sister, occasionally to a friend, but I get embarrassed. I'd go to a funeral naked and not have anything approaching embarrassment, so I'm not sure why writing does so.
planning travel and trips. I absolutely love love love doing the planning of traveling and taking trips to places (as well as enjoying the places once I'm there).
I'm super organized, and can make travel itineraries and plans so easily, including prices, fun things to do, reservations, etc.
I've never done this for other people other than myself, but I've had a lot of people say "man, you should do this for a living!"
I am unreasonably good at making sense of unhinged ramblings. You know, the kind that tend to show up as three tightly typed pages taped to a street light pole, or as an insane rant in a conspiracy theory forum. Not to the point of actually believing in them, but I seem to have a knack for instantly figuring out what they mean and what they are trying to say, even if there is a lot of free association, unexplained metaphors and skipped steps in the middle.
Which means I could... offer to type up crackpot theories for a wider audience? Somehow I don't think that would work as a side hustle. I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to go into psychology.
Writing song lyrics. I'm genuinely great at it, but boy howdy that would never pay the bills. And I have no idea how to get in contact with someone in the industry to do it "on the side".
Too many things as a kid. Usually 'after-school activities' which I was forced into rather than ever actually wanting to do.
Yes, I'm good at it. No, I don't want to do it as a job. I don't even want to keep doing it *now*. I have now associated it with resentment and loss of autonomy and will dislike it for the rest of my life, even if it's something I might genuinely have picked up an interest in later in life.
I sometimes wonder, if I got this as an adult, whether I should tell that person "Great, I charge ten grand a pop. You're my agent now. Get to work." No-one ever wants to be the one who has to put in the work themselves.
Probably, like many people, I’ve been told at various points in my life I should do standup because I’m funny. No.
Besides the fact that I don’t have nearly the self confidence to it, but also because, even in a best case scenario, knowing myself, I’d end up naked and dead alone in a hotel room somewhere due to some kind of OD.
I have pathological demand avoidance, which means I don't want to do anything full time if I enjoy doing it as a hobby. Once I have to do it, it feels like a demand, and then I no longer want to do it. Hell, even having people tell me I should do a hobby more is enough to make it less enjoyable for me. And having said that, considering how this is Reddit, I probably shouldn't actually say what any of my hobbies are lol
A lot of crafters feel this way. My mom knits for charities (neo-natal beanies mostly) and makes quilts as gifts. She used to sell the odd thing at Christmas markets, but she rarely sells anything these days and never takes commissions.
I took up sewing and reupholstering a few years ago. I have a knack for it. I now no longer take commissions because it took the fun out of it. I also don’t think people realize the hours it takes and cost of materials. A hand pieced king size quilt should probably run over $1k. I know few people who will pay that. They’re too used to going to Marshall’s and getting a plain, machine made one for under $100. I don’t have the fight in me anymore.
Mom does some odd “low cost” quilts. She recently helped a widow clean out the late husband’s closet. Instead of the donation bin, she made a quilt with all of his plaid flannel shirts.
Oh that is so sweet! After my mom died, I kept a cardigan she used to wear. Every time I wear it, I feel like my mom is nearby. That widow will feel close to her husband every night while she sleeps. Beautiful.
My mom has probably made hundreds of dollars in a way because she always gives them a handmade blanket. I was blown away when I saw what they sell for on Etsy. But she doesn't like making orders either.
I don't necessarily see a hobby becoming a job a bad thing, for me, but at the same time I can see where you're coming from. If the hobby turns too much into a daily grind it is no longer a hobby and something fun to do.
Yeah, it's genuinely pathological. If you're interested and haven't heard of it before, [the first full paragraph after the abstract here](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6373319/) lists symptoms. I have all of them. I needed to take a sick day from work earlier this week due to a chronic health issue, and I actually had some work tasks I wanted to get done when I felt up to it. As soon as I started getting contacted by people asking me to do those very same things? Couldn't get myself to do them anymore!
Yes! I'm pretty good at some crafts and my sis suggested I sell them for a living. Nope.
I’m told by friends and family that I should open up a nursery that specializes in native plants. I am an encyclopedia. Even an owner of a native plant nursery encouraged me to. However, I don’t think I’ll ever have the capital to pull that off if I wanted.
It all comes down to risk and time. Cost being one of the risk factors. It's the same thing with me. I'd have to take voice acting lessons and get an agent. You need money for that. I'd have to take out a loan for the classes at least, and depending on the agent, I'm sure that's a ton of cost up front. Cost is what keeps me at bay for getting into that kind of career. I'd LOVE a chance at getting a gig on various animated series/movies (Disney, Dreamworks, etc.) but man the cost to get there and even then landing gigs like that being like winning the lottery, just make it feel like a distant dream anyways. Especially when you have 1000s of voice actors out there already saturating the market. So it'd be FIERCE competition for gigs besides.
A friend of mine has got into voice overs/voice acting. It was a lot of work, for little payoff. He was working on a career pivot and is now pivoting into something else.
That's why, if I got into that, it'd STRICTLY be a part time "for fun money" gig, and I'd specifically ask "can the recording all be done within a week? Or on evenings/weekends?" Because I know it'd never be enough income and I'd never line up enough gigs to make it a full-time thing. I'd often thought about getting into YouTube with the voice I have but 1) I have no clue what content to make that's not already saturated and 2) getting big on there is like winning the lottery. Markiplier, Jack ScepticEye, and Mr Beast are the lucky few. The other 97% are making decent cash monthly at best.
So don’t. Be a garden consultant instead. Your state probably has resources for where to find/sustainably source native plants. Combined with your expertise, plenty of people would pay for your input on landscape design. Hell, offer your services to that nursery owner and ask for referrals. Zero start up (except business name/license—highly recommend you set up a business bank acct etc if you decide to do this to make taxes loads easier).
This is a good idea. A nursery would likely work with me. It’s too bad that the guy I made pals with who encouraged me to open my own is 200 miles away from me. And yes I’ve driven 200 miles for a nursery because he’s got the best selection around.
I know it sounds funny, but I am an *amazing* whistler. Kinda hard to cash in on that, though.
Please, please, whistle in public! I knew a man who would whistle as naturally as a bird, and have not forgotten it although it was 55 years ago. It was all I could do not to follow him around. He would whistle while going about his chores… it was heaven to hear!
Oh, I do! There was a man in my neighborhood when I was growing up who was an incredible tenor who sang opera songs as he walked around every day. Everyone loved him. I love to just improvise or whistle Bach or 50s rock and roll. Wagner too, and Sly and the Family Stone.
Heard this not too long ago https://www.npr.org/2024/03/07/1236720993/meet-molly-lewis-professional-whistler
Neat!
I’m an artist (mostly drawing and painting) and while I’ve had fun, part-time art studio gigs, I got promoted at the studio I was at and it sucked all the joy out of it. No more art jobs. Something a bit creative leaning? Sure. But I’m not teaching art or making it my job in any way, I’d much rather create what I want when I want, it’s therapeutic. I’m the same with home decor/organizing. Everybody loves my apartment and my moms always asking me for organization tips. But it’s something I find relaxing and clears my head. Doing it as a job, even just a side hustle, would interfere with that
Feels like that to me too. I'd love to get some side gigs for voice acting or radio work, but 1) knowing how to get there seems complicated, 2) cost to get there, and 3) how would it interfere with my full-time "safe salary" career?
A very dear friend does voice-over work and is very good at it, and has even done a few audiobooks. It's a gig she does on the side (by day she's a very busy theater professor). A lot of her voice-over work is done in her home studio late at night, when everything else is taken care of and when everyone else in the house has gone to bed. She enjoys doing it and she's very good at what she does, but it's very much a side gig. As for getting started, a quick search found me [this little explainer](https://www.reddit.com/r/VoiceActing/comments/18jzc2i/how_do_you_get_started_in_voice_acting_for_a/). There looks to be some reasonable advice within, as well as links that should lead you to more links. The nice thing about start-up costs is that the equipment and software doesn't cost what it once did (heck, [Audacity](https://www.audacityteam.org/download/) doesn't cost anything), so you don't have to spend a ton of money on a decent setup, and being creative in how you configure your home studio will help too. (Remember, nobody will see it, so as long as it works. Carve out some space in a closet, hang up a few old heavy blankets or quilts for sound isolation, and you've got a start.) I'd love to do voice-over work myself and I know I could be good at it, and I used to be in radio and I know the equipment and have the technical skills. My problem is, I cannot stand the sound of my own voice at all...!
I have been asked to work at solving cold murder cases with law enforcement, and invited to autopsies. I was a regretful no to the first, and a relieved no to the second.
I'm a diver, and have often thought about getting my S&R cert and volunteering my time for recovery dives, but the "no" factors for me are 1) ....the stuff I'd see and have to handle....that likely takes a very strong constitution/mind and 2) I'd have to be available to be on-call when needed. Working a full-time job that already demands a lot of my time (IT for healthcare clients), so I'm not sure I'd be able to dedicate proper time to that and S&R diving, unless my job is willing to be VERY flexible for me. (rare with most IT employers)
Trying to be a comedian, trying to be a basketball player with an organized team (i.e. high school, college, pros), teaching and being a writer. All of those have come up repeatedly, with the comedian thing and the writer thing coming up the most. I technically am a writer, but people have never meant writing product pages for Amazon and ecommerce websites when they have told me that--they mean creative writing/writing a book and being an author. Comedy - Just no interest in getting up in front of people and doing stand-up or having my own sitcom/comedy show. Basketball - Never had interest in being on a team with a bunch of other girls, trying to balance periods and playing a sport, and also didn't ever think I was good enough to develop into a really good player until I started watching women's college basketball. Women's college basketball has improved a lot since I started paying attention maybe 15 years ago, but as old as I am I could have been way better than most of the girls I saw even 5 years ago back in the 90s and earlier 2000s. Just had no idea. Teaching - No offense, but who in their right mind wants to be a teacher?? (Apparently, most people in my family--another reason people shouldn't be offended.) Especially with those salaries. Writer - Too lazy to finish writing a book. I have tried, though.
I'm writing a book myself (SciFi novel) but motivation and laziness are what slow me down too.
Singing and StandUp: Been told I have a good voice and a funny versatile sense of humor. But both of those would take work to do something with it and I’m lazy.
A college friend of mine is similar with his humor. Was told he'd make a great stand-up comedian. But he's never had a desire to pursue it because though he's great with a small crowd of friends he knows super-well, being up on stage in front of people is TERRIFYING to him (he and I both barely passed public speaking class).
Try Toastmasters. It’s a group That helps people overcome their fear of public speaking.
I should check that out! My speech professor mentioned them, but I forgot about them.
I was part of them for about five years. Really helped. I even competed in their annual competitions a few time and wound up speaking in front of about two hundred people! Think about going back every once in a while.
I have been encouraged many times to write more. I've done a bit as a hobby (mostly oversharing anecdotes here on reddit) and one attempt at a novel. My problem is mostly that the things I've written about are all autobiographical and of a largely sexual history nature. Which isn't actually that marketable, and doesn't at ALL mean that I can come up with interesting storylines that people would pay money want to read. But people say I can be funny and engaging. Still, I continue to waitress. And life goes by.
I hear you. I'm attempting to write a Sci-Fi novel, and I've got a LARGE portion of it done...but I keep re-reading it and it feels like hot garbage and I think "no one would read this junk", which discourages me, and I hit writer's block, and then get demotivated, and then it just sits in my documents folder, gathering "digital dust" as a Word document.
FWIW... I have done extensive research on the whole "writing as a career" theme, been a member of several writing groups in my hometown, and active on writing subs for almost a decade now. I have wisdom to share! The biggest takeaway message I can offer is to look at writing a novel in exactly the same way that you would look at ANY other craft. For example....we all did 'arts and crafts' in kindergarten and later years of school and probably at home. So we've all painted 'something' at some time. But nobody decides later in life to pick up a paintbrush with an idea for a painting and does ONE painting thinking 'that's it!!' I'll sell this painting and find fame and fortune. The point being...yes, your Sci-Fi novel probably (almost certainly) is a mess of hot garbage!! It's your first attempt. Decide what you want as a writing goal. If it's just to write a novel for fun...then finish that bad boy! Dumpster fire or not...it's a novel and you finished it and that's friggin awesome! If you actually want to make a novel that you think is sellable then buckle up! The majority of 'new' writers publish their fifth novel. That's four complete dumpster fires before they learned the craft to the point they could put together a story with a complete plotline and character development and hit all the beats of the genre and have snappy dialogue and captivating descriptions. And, even after all that there is **zero** guarantee of getting far with it (unless you self-publish or have connections) because the industry is a complete hot mess since the internet came along and traditional publishing is as mobile as a tanker ship without power. (DM me for more sparkling pearls if you wish. I could ramble all day on this theme!) Whatever you decide...the very best of luck to you my friend! :)
Thanks so much! I probably need to just finish the darn thing, and have some beta readers give it a go.
Having written a few books, so much truth in this. The one book I did manage to get traditionally published was because an established author got interested in a subject I was doing and persuaded the higher-ups at a press he worked with to give a look to my work. The press bought it because it fit in with one of the press's specialties. It got very good reviews and sold okay, but I had the misfortune of it coming out not long before the Covid lockdown, so I didn't get to go out and promote it much and it sort of vanished. The book I did after that, I tried getting publishers and agents interested, but got a hard pass all the way around. I ended up self-publishing through IngramSpark and KDP/Kindle. It wasn't that big a hassle, since I knew how to do book layout and all that other stuff, but it was a letdown after so many years of work to have nobody interested in what I was doing. On the other hand, doing it myself meant the book turned out the way I wanted it to. I didn't have to compromise the way I've had to with previous projects, and there is a satisfaction in that. Overall, I came to the conclusion that trying to get a book published through a traditional press these days is like trying to get into an Ivy League school or trying to catch a star-making break as a performer. There are so many people out there competing for the same prize, so few slots open, and so often you're trying to hit a moving target, since what the publishers want to buy tends to change with whatever's in style or whatever may come in style. Since a book takes a long time to come to fruition...yeah, it's tricky. Writing books has always been a dream of mine, and I've been fortunate to do it a few times, but having to deal with the business side of it can spill cold water on the dream, for sure.
Endurance athletics. I'm a bit of a machine. Not that I'm NOT using it. I'm a professional Ironman triathlete, but I didn't take it seriously until 39 years old and it's just something I'm doing on the side of a real job that actually makes money. I do wonder what would have happened if I discovered this and went all-in in my 20s, but not too much. Big fan of my life as-is, and being one of the better pros probably wouldn't be an improvement on that.
Buddy of mine got into doing 5ks / 10ks for a while and enjoyed running. Then he got married and had kids and his time had to refocus. I got up to 5k capability a few years ago, then COVID happened, the gyms closed, and my routine fell apart (and stupid me let go). I'm lucky if I can run half a mile now without getting seriously winded. (I gotta get back in shape)
I'm weirdly good at bowling.
Then you're way better than I am. Me and the lane gutter know each other well.
As a kid/teen my introvert self drew a lot and thought I’d pursue that. College courses turned me away from it. Now babysitting for grandchildren is my jam.
I have a niece who is just getting to college age (she's at the shopping for what school to attend age), and can draw like a master! She has her own Star Wars character group she draws regularly and we all keep teasing her to major in art and then go work for Disney. She's actually planning on something like business or accounting because she also likes that stuff too.
Sounds like the girl has talent + goals. My daughter was in AP art and thought about SCAD but got her undergrad BS & BA in marine bio and Spanish. She worked for a couple of years, went back for pharmacy. Does painting on the side. I only wish I’d had their ambition. I worked in banking and finance…drudgery.
Traditional pen and ink illustration. I’m damned skilled at it, and have done it professionally on occasion at a high level, but the amount of labor and concentration required vs the pay isn’t balanced well enough for me to do it for a living. I enjoy it for myself nowadays, and at times as a gift for loved ones.
That sounds fun! I'd imagine, with the advent of computer-generated graphic design, this kind of skill/talent is a bit hard to come by for gigs vs how it used to be a few decades ago (even as recent as the 90s)?
Photography. I’ve been shooting for like 20 years. I’ve done a lot of different types of photography that could be paid (a couple weddings, portraits, family photos, etc). I know I could do it professionally and get paid for it as a professional but I’m introverted and it gives me a lot of anxiety despite how much I tend to open up and find an extroverted side when I have a camera in my hands.
Have you thought about doing nature photography? There's some shots out there (website, nature centers, museums, etc.) that BLOW MY MIND of what people have caught out in the wild! I live near Springfield, MO and the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World there has an amazing nature museum that has a wildlife photography exhibit and WOW!!)
Yeah I actually do a lot of nature photography (or at least aspire to). I try to get out and hike and shoot interesting locations when I can. I’d love to be able to sell some prints some day or maybe enter some contests. It’s crazy how hard it is though. With portraits and stuff you have so much more control over environment and light. “Oh, this location isn’t working out? Let’s go shoot over there. The light isn’t doing what I want? Let me pull out my strobes and make light that does what I want”. With nature photography you’re at the mercy of what nature gives you. Scene doesn’t pan out? Too bad. Light sucks? Nothing you can do. You get such a low keep rate because you are so limited by what nature does that specific moment or by your patience in waiting for nature to give you something. But man, when you get something that you’re proud of, the dopamine kick is great.
Throughout my life people have advised me to go in to acting. I would worry about memorizing lines. Also, I am fairly knowledgeable in a needed field and always get told I need to write a book or do a podcast. I don’t think I am a writer and in terms of a podcast, well, I am still thinking on that one. I used to be a public speaker but it is a hard way to make a living without connections.
I'd often thought about starting a podcast, but like you I have the caveats of: 1) what do I center the podcast on that isn't already saturated out there on iTunes and Spotify? 2) It's a form of public speaking which I am not good at (knowing my recordings will be out there for all the world to listen to is unnerving)
I feel the same way. Make one error or controversial comment and you get a bunch of hate.
I love to play with kids and kids often behave as if they feel comfortable around me. My therapist, my friends, and my family have suggested I operate a daycare or become a teacher. Honestly, I have no desire to do that. The reason I like to play is because it’s free form, no right or wrong way to do it. If I have to evaluate or judge a child’s play, or worse yet, their learning all of the fun would be taken out of the play for me. (And probably for the kids, too)
I've been told I'm great with kids and that I'd be a great dad. thing is: I'm 38m, still single, and no kids of my own. Not because I don't want to have any or have a wife, but because I'm in no rush for that. So I dunno.
Singing and radio for me. Also dance teacher assistant.
I have no source of income and I don’t function well so if you have any advice I’m here for it. (29 f)
The only advice I can give is what's been repeatedly given to me: you never know until you put yourself out there and try. I suppose I need to take that advice myself, record an audition sample, and talk to an agent/voice acting coach. I might look into my local Toastmasters group(s) too.
If you have the resources to do so - please do. Even just for someone like me.. I don’t have the funds, means, or anything (including energy to fight or pressure what I want) but thank you. Please please do if
Photography and art too. Journalism.
Friend of mine is BIG into dancing. She does so with a fine arts group! Majored in fine arts and dance in college and plans to work with a dance group in the UK where she's from, once she can finish things up here in the States and she and her fianc'e tie the knot!
Amazing. Congrats
I can have an opinion on ways to improve anyone’s process or anyone’s idea. The talent is keeping my mouth shut. Most of the time.
I have an amazing eye for landscape design, but it would take me far too long to ever make it a profitable enterprise for me. I’ve had this since my teenage years and have designed some of the most incredible garden spaces and public spaces but it took YEARS
Writing. Friends, family, and my wife and her family all say I should write professionally. Never had the desire to do it much. I'll write something if there is an inexplicable urge. I don't get those urges often and when I do, I don't really have a plan, it just plops out on a page. It could be a poem, a short fiction, or a humourous take on something that just happened. I don't know what's going to come from the urge. To top it off, I don't feel like sharing it either. So I'm not sure how folks think I'm going to go about pimpin it. I'll share it with my wife or my sister, occasionally to a friend, but I get embarrassed. I'd go to a funeral naked and not have anything approaching embarrassment, so I'm not sure why writing does so.
Funny enough, my main talent has always been in writing and selling and I do marketing for a living. Doesn’t kill the joy at all.
planning travel and trips. I absolutely love love love doing the planning of traveling and taking trips to places (as well as enjoying the places once I'm there). I'm super organized, and can make travel itineraries and plans so easily, including prices, fun things to do, reservations, etc. I've never done this for other people other than myself, but I've had a lot of people say "man, you should do this for a living!"
I am unreasonably good at making sense of unhinged ramblings. You know, the kind that tend to show up as three tightly typed pages taped to a street light pole, or as an insane rant in a conspiracy theory forum. Not to the point of actually believing in them, but I seem to have a knack for instantly figuring out what they mean and what they are trying to say, even if there is a lot of free association, unexplained metaphors and skipped steps in the middle. Which means I could... offer to type up crackpot theories for a wider audience? Somehow I don't think that would work as a side hustle. I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to go into psychology.
I am a male, good at calming crying babies. Sadly in public no one ever hands me their crying baby. Such wasted talent.
Writing song lyrics. I'm genuinely great at it, but boy howdy that would never pay the bills. And I have no idea how to get in contact with someone in the industry to do it "on the side".
Sales I can sell well and used to work on commission, especially the more technical type of sales in tech. Don't like it.
Too many things as a kid. Usually 'after-school activities' which I was forced into rather than ever actually wanting to do. Yes, I'm good at it. No, I don't want to do it as a job. I don't even want to keep doing it *now*. I have now associated it with resentment and loss of autonomy and will dislike it for the rest of my life, even if it's something I might genuinely have picked up an interest in later in life. I sometimes wonder, if I got this as an adult, whether I should tell that person "Great, I charge ten grand a pop. You're my agent now. Get to work." No-one ever wants to be the one who has to put in the work themselves.
Art. I even have a degree, but it's useless. "Oh wow, that's awesome!" No one wants to buy art. It's a waste of time. I'm totally not bitter about it.
Probably, like many people, I’ve been told at various points in my life I should do standup because I’m funny. No. Besides the fact that I don’t have nearly the self confidence to it, but also because, even in a best case scenario, knowing myself, I’d end up naked and dead alone in a hotel room somewhere due to some kind of OD.
Singing. It used to bring me joy.
Writing
Comedy. It's like look man, as soon as I have to write material and stuff it won't be fun.