"Do what you love and the money will follow." The people who went broke don't have a soapbox to say this from. Those who do were lucky to find a patron, and not a pirate manager. It really helps if you like to do stuff that rich people enjoy showing off. Racing cars, not homeless shelters.
My current passion grew from my first guesses about why my family felt strange. I didn't know about the AS, etc, so I thought that all humans had evolved to live in small tribes, and were now badly stressed from being crowded together due to the invention of agriculture, but with no fair way to reduce the population. When I first read about Sociobiology in a magazine, I found the door to explore this further.
My vocation grew from a minor incident, pre-school, when mother pointed out that I had not thought ahead, and had wasted some of my scarce materials. I became very interested in designed objects. I studied tool marks to see how things were made, and challenged myself to draw better products. I also loathed waste, making big steps with each new prototype, and always aiming to minimize the lifetime cost through cleverness, not cheapness.
The vocation turned out to be a "keep the day job" one, since efficiency is not at all popular with stockholders. However, the early experience making models led to a few years making jewelry and other art metalwork. I did house renovations, often in lieu of rent, and lots of other things. I specialized in extra odd jobs, because I kept learning, and could do stuff others wouldn't try. TV special effects, (electro-mechanical) Parade Floats, Helicopter Accessories, Boat work, etc etc. I did some property management, a bit of consulting, and even had a couple of years as a masseur, with very little training but a native talent for it.
14 May 2022, 10:48 pm
