Find a way to do what you love

This post is not about personal finance or frugality per se, but I believe it is relevant because the benefits of sound personal finance and being frugal are related to living a joyful life and not a life tied only to money or material things.

Is there something you enjoy doing and have a passion for? What are you doing to follow your passion? Years ago I was really interested in crafts but never really did anything with them. After a family tragedy I took stock of my life and thought about all the things I wanted to do and wished I had done. I decided that I did not want to get to the end of my life and regret that I had not used my time well. Here's what happened:

I started doing crafts again. I found several crafts I really liked and eventually narrowed my focus to a few things on which I could focus my energy. Then I discovered the internet, including craft websites and blogs. I was inspired to develop a comprehensive body of work worthy of a website. I developed a narrow field of focus and put my efforts into doing just a few things but doing them well. I searched for people with similar interests and contacted them. Like minded individuals (not a lot, but more than I expected) from countries all over the world discovered my work and appreciated it. When I couldn't find needlework patterns I liked I started designing my own. I found an opportunity to teach a class in my specialty (not for money, but it will be practice and exposure) in a few weeks and having that deadline is forcing me to get my patterns fully developed and ready for publication as handouts. I am also making kits so beginners can make my patterns and end up with a useful item. One of the contacts I made is the editor of an obscure online needlework journal and as she is going to feature the type of work I do in an issue she is going to feature my work in the issue. The proprietor of my local needlework store also admires my work and has offered herself as a resource if and when I decide to publish patterns professionally. I am now at the point where I can see potential income from my hobby. Probably not much, especially because my field of interest is pretty obscure and limited. But I'll enjoy doing what I do regardless of wether I make money or not so that's OK. All of this has taken uncounted hundreds of hours of work on my part. But because I enjoy what I do so much it doesn't seem like work at all. Even the small recognition I have received so far is deeply fulfilling and only serves to motivate me to do more, and better. I don't know where this is going but I am enjoying the process and the journey, and I now understand how those who succeed are driven by passion for what they do rather than having making money as an end goal.

Lessons I've learned so far:

1) It is easy to work hard at something you love.
2) It is important to be good in a field where you want to succeed.
3) It is really important to communicate in order to get noticed. Put yourself out there!
4) Contact people who share your interests. People who enjoy what they do also enjoy talking about what they do and can be really helpful not to mention good sources of information.
5) It is really amazing how one thing will naturally lead to another. Each little step is the building block to reach the next step.
6) Success is a lot of little steps, not one giant leap.
7) Success is as much about the journey as reaching the goal.