Choose a job you like and you will never have to work in your life. We have all heard this philosophy on how to find the ideal job. But combining high levels of enjoyment and income in a job is very difficult — if not impossible.
There is a way out. Pick a hobby that can also pay. This will enrich your mind, your pocket — and if you happen to be Dr Tarun Sahni, your body as well. This is easier than it sounds. Most of us have hobbies — they could range from something as unique as building radio-controlled aircraft to snorkelling to just a sport. Find time to hone your hobby so that you create something out of the ordinary. Arun Verma started seeing gems in junk and developed "scrapture" (take off on sculpture) as a form of art — commercial art.
N Adarsh’s hobby was to make radio-controlled aircraft. He now holds exhibitions — commercial exhibitions. Physician Sahni runs a sports academy on weekends which is already financially self-sustaining and should turn profitable from next year.
Thanks to changing tastes and lifestyles, opportunities to encash your hobbies abound. All you need is discipline and initiative. There are several examples of people who have found hobbies that are relaxing as well as rewarding.
We have showcased such people in this issue, including some who eventually made hobby their fulltime career — and thus achieved the dream of finding a job that they like doing the most. We are restarting the series on such people beginning with Sahni, who teaches squash in his spare time. If you too have turned your hobby into a source of earning, do let us know by e-mail at letters.moneytoday@intoday.com or through regular mail. You could inspire others to follow your example.
In case you are wondering what happened to our series on financial freedom fighters that we briefly ran in the magazine, it will be back in a bigger, better and a more useful format from the next issue. We end the year with a primer on global investing.
It’s been roughly a decade since Indians were allowed to become global consumers with access to products and services from across the world. Last year, regulatory agencies took the first steps toward making Indians global investors. Investing abroad is full of opportunities and threats. Our cover story is a comprehensive beginners’ guide on it. Let 2008 open a whole new world of investing for you — quite literally.
