I have been meaning to watch this series of videos about turning a hobby into a business, but I have been that wonderful combination of sick and busy, so I have not gotten to it yet. After reading this blog post, I am not going to bother:
Hobbies are the antidote to Hustle Culture that we needMake sure you also watch the PBS video on the history of hobbies that is mentioned in the article, it is very interesting:
Why Do We Have Hobbies?I started taking the photos for the Harvey Mercheum website as a way to improve my photography skills, and I still consider this a good thing. But I do take the same metrics of productivity and excellence expected from work and apply them to my work on the Mercheum, and when I am already burnt out from work, this just makes me feel worse. I do seek external validation, both here and on the Harvey Mercheum Facebook page. I need to remember that I am not doing this for praise, I am doing this because I believe it needs to be done, and that I have the skills and resources to do it. And while it would be nice if someone bought me a coffee, I need to give up any notion of turning the Mercheum into a side hustle and remember that it is supposed to be fun, not another job!
About Jonathan Sternfeld
Jonathan has been collecting Harvey's Richie Rich since the summer of 1978. While he mostly focused on the comic books, he later discovered the wealth of merchandise that was also available. The lack of any sort of "checklist" as to what was made is what inspired him to create this website. He hopes fellow collectors find it entertaining and useful!
