My aunt loves sewing.
She loves it so much that she bought a ~$10,000 sewing machine.
And she uses it for every penny she invested into it.
She’ll quilt. She’ll create apparel and gifts. She’ll even create quilted artwork.
When I asked her if she wanted to earn some side hustle money by helping sew patches onto students’ uniforms for the martial arts school I work at… she quickly (and graciously) turned the idea down.
“As soon as I start doing it as a job, I’m going to hate it.” She explained.
And so she doesn’t.
Instead, she follows her curiosities. She challenges herself with interesting projects. She even finds ways to use her unique set of skills to help better the world around her.
Just today, she gave me container with 20 hand made toiletry bags that she wants to fill with toiletries and give to those at local women’s shelters.
Here’s the thing: turning our skills and passion-projects into side hustles can be great… but it can also ruin the thing that lights you up.
Like my aunt, tread that line carefully and dutifully check in with yourself to ensure you’re always fanning the flames of your inner fire—never smothering them with dollar signs or anything else.