A craft and a job
Work non-stop on your craft, not your job.
A craft is for improvement, A hobby is for pleasure.
It took a very long time for me to realize how important it is to separate your craft from your job or business. I’ve been told my whole life how important it is to focus your goals and aspirations for advancing and furthering your career, while working and carrying on your passions, interests and hobbies on the side. Whether or not to have a job in what you’re are passionate about is a whole other debate and discussion, what I think is more important is what our commitment and work ethic is to our craft regardless of our job, career or business. To turn our passions or hobbies into our craft is more realistic and sustainable than turning it into our career, business or even just as our hobbies.
I noticed how big the difference is between a craft and a hobby just now. The two definitions of a craft is: 1. An activity involving skill in making things by hand; 2. Skill in carrying out one’s work. To work on our craft is building and working on our passion(s) with purpose rather than for the sake of it. It’s a commitment to personal expression ( hence the building by hand, even if our craft is strictly digital it can become deeply personal) rather than imitation, following procedures and instructions for a desired outcome. I think the main difference between a craft and hobby is doing something to grow and improve yourself rather than for just fun and escaping boredom. Most people treat their craft, what they are most passionate about and what they care about the most as a hobby or just a passion, working and practicing on it just for the sake of it, going though the motions, not caring if they are improving on the fundamental skills of that particular craft, not pushing their limits or getting feedback.
Always work on your craft not job
I believe that everyone’s work or job, majority of the time is very stressful bordering painful for anyone. Especially for people whose work, career or business is their craft and what they are passionate about, because it hurts even more when you have to control the business, finance and economic aspect of your work. It seems to me a lot more harder to let go than if our career or business was in something we aren’t really passionate about because we aren’t as emotionally attached, so we can be more logical and rational. Either way I’m not advocating for never turning your job, career or business into your career, I do think everyone should strive for that and make it possible for their lives. It’s just hard to be careful when you get burned out and stop working you might risk not working on your craft as well.
Every job, work or business, no matter how creative and artistic involves so much administrative and maintenance work. A lot of managing teams, groups, paperwork, logistics, finances, sales and networking. It all becomes too overwhelming and stressful, so we all need to take breaks and find ways to disconnect from all the responsibilities and problems. We cannot run away from them forever, not even for very long for most people, that window of break and disconnection is so small and short that we cannot just do nothing for that limited time that we risk becoming rusty and inconsistent. We must always find ways to be productive without taking on more responsibilities and stress, that’s where our craft comes along. Working on our craft leaves us less vulnerable to complacency and flat out laziness.
Always be working on your craft
I noticed the biggest difference between the successful people that I wanted to be like and the people that I don’t is the focus and non-stop work ethic to their craft instead of their job or business. We must find creative ways to let go and disconnect from the stress of our daily responsibilities, to have a craft I feel is the only way we can consistently grow and improve ourselves because it is something that can always provide that deep sense of meaning to our lives. I don’t think anyone can get overwhelmed and burned out by their craft because it is something that we truly enjoy, our craft is what we would do anyway when no one else is watching or monitoring us. Working in a business that is not our craft or even passion is very frustrating in regards to limited time, energy and resources but is easier to separate. For people who are fortunate to turn their craft into their career or business, have the unfortunate risk of getting lost in the mindless tasks of managing the business or commercial aspects of their craft instead of the purity and core of their craft. I feel we don’t have to work everyday non-stop at our jobs or even passions to be successful, but I do feel we must work on our crafts everyday, non-stop to go wherever it is we want to go.
