THE AGE OF THE SIDE HUSTLE
(First a brief history)
“Follow your passion” is the song looping in the minds of many people who have come to realize that for the most part, they have been told the wrong story about how the world functions. Let me just say it wasn’t really the wrong story, it was just the story of a different era. African parents followed by Asian parents lived very close to a period where there wasn’t as much opportunity for them and as much chaos and information overload as we have right now.
Things changed so slowly during their time that it almost felt like time was still. Most of our parents used the internet before the washing machine but the washing machine was a technology that existed way before the internet. Now many of us use the internet and will die without using the washing machine. The point I am driving to is the fact that they didn't see this coming and somehow they are not mentally prepared to accept the changes that are taking place. To them, this reality we are now faced with is still like a movie and that is why when we tell them our dreams, they don’t see them ever being the reality. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Back then, happiness was not a topic of discussion. People were not searching for it, they did not expect to have it and they did not know how to create it. Society was structured in a manner where your emotions were basically mass-produced, prepackaged, and distributed like ID cards. All ID cards are basically the same with the only difference in the number and the picture. From a distance, it could be anyone’s ID.
Our parents had nothing to compare to, and even when they were exposed to other cultures, they in their minds knew it was divine disposition that they are who they are and can never have any other type of life. Things have since changed. Every kid in Africa now knows the story of other people just like them who did something unconventional and succeeded. They see alternate forms of exploring life and they now believe in the possibility of living life based on self-expression. Hence, everyone wants to follow their passion.
(What Now?)
BUT there is a disconnect and that is what I want to address here.
The truth is, for most people, their passion will add color to their lives but the ability to sustain exploring their passion might not necessarily come from chasing that passion. What am I saying? - I love making music but when I do the math, I will not be able to have the other things that I like to have and even some things that I need just by doing music.
One other thing that people fail to realize is the fact that we all have multiple passions but the societal definition of passion makes it such that we start to repress some in favor of others. Many people genuinely want to be pharmacists and fashion designers. The problem with the rhetoric nowadays is that you are pushed to chose one and in the case of choosing between being a pharmacist and a fashion designer, many automatically see fashion designer as the passion and consider pharmacist as a job.
When it came time for me to pursue my passion, I went into music because it tied more into what I had been made to believe counted as a passion. I soon realized my passion was not making music but just creating and having the freedom to do it. That is why today I do music, I write and go make some furniture at the carpentry workshop. Tomorrow I may decide to try my hands at designing clothes or get back to drawing. You see what all that boils down to? - CONTENT CREATION which factors into the modern form of marketing with social media at the forefront. I just started a creative agency with my friend and we landed our first big client.
Hip Hop is the arbiter of the culture around the entire world because it is the first genre of passion that fully captured the reality of the need for a side hustle. Most Hip Hop artists back then had, and even till today still, have a side hustle. The music was the passion but when it all started, there wasn’t as much money in it in terms of music sales as was the case with pop music. They had to start throwing parties and charging people to attend the parties, they started making clothing, and started owning the clubs, then restaurants, then TIDAL.
This post was inspired by my sister-friend family Anyoh Fombad. She just started her fashion blog. She is a pharmacist but she has always expressed to me her passion for other things. In the first post on her newly created page @profashionaldame (which all the ladies need to go like by the way), she writes:-
“So why am I writing or doing all this? The reason is that I have decided to follow my passion through the things I like. I am very passionate about my job as a health professional and I also think that I have a thing for fashion (right? Lol), so I found a way to merge both things to express myself while pursuing one of my many purposes.”
You see it is not an either/or thing these days. Learn to separate your passion from your hustle. The hustle should bring in the money, enough for you to explore the passion. I mean, I doubt the salary as a pharmacist will ever not be enough for her to buy as many outfits as possible and pay for as many photoshoots as she needs. You see while I was going in head first, the sister reverse engineered the process, albeit unknowingly.
After toying around with music for a while, I realized I was thinking too much about my passion and forgetting the side hustle. I have done stuff here and there to make some money but every time the money reached a certain amount, I quit and took many months to work on music, then it gets frustrating when you have the music and not the cash for the video and promo etc. Finally, I realized I had to find and keep a constant side hustle if I was going to enjoy doing what I considered my passion and that is exactly what I am up to right now.
So GO get you a side hustle and follow you PASSION happily ever after. Don’t be religious about following your passion. Be REALISTIC.
