Friday, November 11, 2022
If you want to turn your creativity into an income stream, you cannot start by thinking about the income. You have to start with love. You have to love developing your skills and ideas. You have to love being creative, and you have to be willing to give away your products and services for free, at first.
I fell in love with music at a young age. It never dawned on me, until much later, that my musical ability could be monetized. When I was twelve, I was asked to play the organ for a small wedding. I enthusiastically accepted the invitation, never expecting payment. After the wedding, the groom surprised me with a crisp, $10 bill. I was grateful, but frankly I loved playing the music more than I loved earning the money.
You’re going to have to love it more than the prospect of turning into a source of revenue. You may even need to get a “real” job while you develop your ideas and skill sets. But you’re doing it for the joy of creating, anyway. You’re doing to derive pleasure, and to give to others, not to derive revenue, that’s what a “job” is for. If you want to monetize your creativity, joyfully practice your craft, and don’t even expect much in return. Whatever returns to you won’t be in your control, anyway. What’s in your control is how much you keep loving and enjoying yourself. Start off small. Be an enthusiastic amateur first, and then let the enjoyment fuel your continuation. Keep learning, keep improving, keep loving what you do – that’s the key. Income or opportunity might appear. But let that come when it’s time. Besides, how can you put a price on how much you enjoy being creative? The joy of doing what you love is priceless. Just keep going and see what happens.