Yup. The author is conflating "hobby" and "work." He states he wants to eventually go solo and all his side projects end up needing a monetization plan to move him in that direction.
It really sounds like he needs to sit down and think about his 5-year plan. What does he actually need to do to work for himself? What real steps can he take now? Tomorrow? Next year?
This could be his hobby as well, but it doesn't sound like that's what he wants. I would suggest picking up a hobby that isn't in any way related to work. Sports, camping, photography, something that is nearly impossible to monetize without a lifetime of training/effort and good luck on top.
As you say, money for money's sake is mostly worthless. I've found I'm quite happy where I am, with an income to support the things I want to do (plus save for retirement). Every time I think about a side project, I quickly realize I'd rather spend that time riding my bicycle, walking my dog, or just sitting on the deck with my wife looking out at the trees.
> Every time I think about a side project, I quickly realize I'd rather spend that time riding my bicycle, walking my dog, or just sitting on the deck with my wife looking out at the trees.
As do I.
I know some people enjoy working on FOSS, but for me, development is work. If I'm coding, it's for work. I work when I work, I relax when I relax.
Of course I've done a few personal projects, but mostly tooling and automation to let me do other things I enjoy.
This does seem to be a somewhat developer specific problem though. My lawyer friends don't do legal stuff in their free time (a few do pro-bono on occasion). Nor do my nurse friends do medicine when they're not on the clock.
It really sounds like he needs to sit down and think about his 5-year plan. What does he actually need to do to work for himself? What real steps can he take now? Tomorrow? Next year?
This could be his hobby as well, but it doesn't sound like that's what he wants. I would suggest picking up a hobby that isn't in any way related to work. Sports, camping, photography, something that is nearly impossible to monetize without a lifetime of training/effort and good luck on top.
As you say, money for money's sake is mostly worthless. I've found I'm quite happy where I am, with an income to support the things I want to do (plus save for retirement). Every time I think about a side project, I quickly realize I'd rather spend that time riding my bicycle, walking my dog, or just sitting on the deck with my wife looking out at the trees.