591. Taking Her Life's Passion Seriously

Tamara discovered her inner entrepreneur around age eight at the Victorian crafts and décor bazaars her mother organized. Her mother asked, “Do you want to be a part of this? What ideas do you have?” Tamara recalls, “I thought it would be great, and I had an idea creating an elegant-looking Victorian gift with Hershey Kisses, ribbons and Victorian wrapping paper. I would produce a thousand of these for a show. Charging $1.50 apiece, I could have a $3,000 week. How many eight or nine-year-olds are making that kind of money?”

YouTube came along at just the right time for Tamara in 2005. Still reeling from an auto accident and the loss of her first love, she’d slipped into depression. She also gained 85 pounds, not a plus for her career in fitness. Then, she discovered YouTube and rediscovered the fun she’d had with a clunky VHS camcorder growing up. “There I was, 25 years old, shooting and uploading silly videos. My family kept saying, why don’t you pursue this as a career? After four years of calling it a hobby, I finally said, ‘You know what? You’re right! I’m not happy in my job and I love doing this.’ So, I went back to school to learn filmmaking.”

“I’ve spoken with a lot of people who never refer to their passion as something they could turn into a career. Or, they see it as a hobby, like I did for about four years with YouTube. A lot of people need to switch their mindset if they don’t think they can do something. Change your vocabulary from saying, ‘IF I try this’ to saying, ‘WHEN I try this.’”

1. Take your passion seriously. If you’re passionate about a hobby, turn it into a side gig or give it center stage.

2. Learn the delicate balance between giving a project enough time to flourish and knowing when it is time to move on. The same applies to your commitment to a job.

3. Find a mentor, or several mentors. Be willing and eager to learn from others who can teach you.