When I was growing up, my mother often had a story to accompany her answer when I asked a question. Now it�s my turn.

As a teenager I loved to play sports. I would have done anything to have a career in baseball. By the time I reached my senior year in high school it was pretty clear that baseball would not be my livelihood. Still, because I enjoyed playing so much, I joined three of my friends on a spring-break trip to Aaron Robinson�s baseball camp in Maiden, NC. (For you youngsters out there, Aaron Robinson caught for the Yankees and Tigers in the 1940s and 50s.)

We had a blast. For nearly two weeks we played baseball in the morning and in the afternoon �- virtually all day, every day. Supreme JOY!

By the end of our trip, though, I began to realize something. If I were a professional ballplayer, playing ball would be a job, not something I did for fun, but a JOB!!!

Professional athletes play every day, in fair weather and foul, in sickness and in health, whether they feel like it or not, exactly the way the rest of us do in our own jobs. In short, it�s a JOB!!!

Now who of us hasn�t wished he or she could turn that hobby or ours into a paying business �- work at home, name our fee, set our own work schedule, work on what we choose?

At one time I read all the books and magazine articles I could find on freelance photography opportunities. What I learned from all of these was that to really succeed (and, let�s face it, there�s no middle ground here; you don�t just sort of succeed �- you succeed or you don�t) I couldn�t just name my fee, set my schedule, and shoot whatever subject matter I wanted. I basically had to hustle and do whatever the market demanded. It was, in fact, a JOB!!!

Then I thought I could find a way to make some money building railroad models, or possibly fashioning some kits. Ditto above �- it�s a JOB!!!

Do you see a pattern? I�m not trying to dissuade anyone from trying to earn some money by creating payware for train sims, but before you do, you need to target an audience, determine a need, and prepare to hustle. You will not set your own schedule because you will be working all the time. Moreover, your hobby, by definition and in reality, will no longer be a hobby. It will be your JOB!!!

I love to write. I sometimes get up in the middle of the night to jot things down. In fact, I wrote this article sometime after 3 a.m. Christmas eve. I�m writing this for VMR Journal, which I created to provide a visible outlet for my writing. VMRJ is free to the public. I get paid nothing. I even get to pay for the domain name and the server space. I do it because I love it. Period.

If someone offered to pay me for this would I accept? In a heartbeat!

Al

�2004 Alfred Barten. All rights reserved.