Have you heard of the “four hobbies” framework?
I quite like it.
To paraphrase, the idea is that everyone should have four hobbies — one to keep you fit, one to build knowledge, one to keep you creative, and one to make money.
Honestly, I subscribe to this mentality.
But it got me thinking: what about creativity, specifically?
In my mind, especially for those of us who call our passion our purpose (and our business), it should be about more than just “being creative.”
Making things should make us happy, it should fulfill us and serve us as we grow and mature in our craft.
But it should also serve others, especially if we are using our gifts to earn a living.
Creativity should be selfish
There are thousands of soul-sucking jobs in the world.
If you’ve decided to pursue a career that is built on making things—be it music, photography, videos—hopefully your job doesn’t drain you.
Hopefully, it fulfills you.
Because that’s where the creative “bug” starts, isn’t it?
We make things because it makes us happy.
I remember when I first started playing the drums at nine years old, it was all I wanted to do. Every day I came home from school, sat down behind the kit, and played for hours.
I didn’t care about money or success or status—I only cared about making music.
As time progressed, I figured out how to use that love of music to earn a living and it ended up taking me farther than I think I ever anticipated, but I always maintained a connection to what got me started.
Put simply, music made me happy.
As long as what you’re doing fills your tank, it’s worth it—keep going.
Your gifts should serve others
But if your goal is to turn your passion into profit, unfortunately, it’s not enough for it to make you happy.
It has to make other people happy too.
And this is the great chasm that most creative people struggle to cross.
We all want to believe that what we do has inherent value to the world simply because of the amount of time and energy we put into it.
But you and I both know that for every successful musician or filmmaker out there, there are thousands that just, well, aren’t very good.
That doesn’t mean those thousands shouldn’t keep making art, but it does mean they’re probably not likely to make any money from their work.
Unless they can figure out how to use it to serve other people.
This means putting in thousands of reps to improve their taste, their output, and their offer.
And there is no other way to do that than to simply keep showing up and doing what it takes to improve.
Putting it all together
Now there are certainly people in the world who love nothing more than strumming a guitar on the front porch without a care in the world, least of all making money.
But I know for a fact there are countless creators out there whose mission is to turn their art into a business.
And I can tell you, as someone who has managed to do just that, there are few things more gratifying in life than finding the confluence of your creative gifts and the way you earn your living.
It’s worth the work.
And the time.
And the failure.
So if your dream is to turn your music or film or photography into a business, you should do everything you can to make that happen.
And if you’re already there, and you simply want to take things to the next level, remember not to stray too far from the basics.
Do what makes you happy.
Use it to serve others.
That’s success.