Being Okay With Being an Amateur

I'm going to be completely honest with you. Today’s episode was supposed to be titled and about something entirely different. I had originally scripted it out, planned for, and had made a lot of steps in the background to announce a new endeavor that I was planning to launch  that would go hand-in-hand with the Celebrate Confidently podcast. I’ve decided I'm not going to go into immense detail right now as to what that would have been -- mostly because I'm still unsure if the Lord will call me back to it one day or not -- so I don’t want to throw baby out with the bathwater, if you know what I’m saying.

However,  I do want to share with you something I am learning through this process, that I have found both really, really hard and really, really encouraging. And that is being okay with being an amateur.

Maybe you’re like me and you have many interests. Or maybe you have just a few but they’re ones that you really like to throw yourself into. Or maybe you're someone who has a lot of different skill sets and you've had someone who, with a pure heart, has encouraged you to take whatever you're good at and turn it into profit. I know I’ve said that to others. And I’ve been the recipient of it. I just accepted it, maybe like everyone else. You're good at it. Have you ever thought of doing that for profit?

You like to work out. Have you ever thought of being a fitness instructor? You are really great at hand lettering. Have you ever thought of opening an Etsy Shop? You are really great at leading people. Have you ever thought of going into full-time ministry? Any of these situations could be said, and encouraged in a pure heart. And sometimes they may land on eager ears. And sometimes, those words were truly passed on from the Lord, I believe it. 

But sometimes -- and this is the lesson I'm learning right now and I'm so grateful that I am -- it is okay to be an amateur.

I recently finished “That Sounds Fun” by Annie F. Downs. Annie has a wildly popular podcast by the same title and she's been a podcast host that I have enjoyed following along with for several years. In this newly released book, she details why it's important to have a hobby, her journey through a lot of lessons learned while starting something new and champions the need we all have for more fun. In one of her chapters, Annie broke down the real definition of amateur as she made a case for us all to embrace the concept. I want to read that definition for you now…

When I finished reading that chapter something in me took a deep sigh of relief. Prior to listening to Annie’s book, Nathan and I had already decided that I wasn't going to move forward and launch something else on the side. This idea would have been an income-generator that I had previously planned on for quite some time to be able to eventually free me up to spend more time at home with my daughter, Reese. But like most things in life, it wasn’t a guarantee and would almost certainly make my plate even more full and overwhelmed in the here and now. And while I had the whole podcast scripted out to announce the launch later this summer, after a season of overwhelm, stress, and a really deep desire to spend more time with my daughter, I was feeling the weight of spreading myself even thinner. Even if the new thing was a good thing and potentially promised more of what I was looking for down the road.

I needed someone with an external, unbiased perspective who believes in me and my abilities. That perspective happened to come in the form of a conversation with my boss, where I shared my worry of decreasing my full-time workload just to inadvertently fill it back up with other things. I shared my worries about a shift in the busyness rather than a decrease and I shared my biggest fear -- the fear of myself. See, I’ve been a people-pleaser all of my life. I love to work hard. I am so fearful of having a good idea and not executing it for fear that someone else will come along and do it better and I'll miss my opportunity for no other reason than myself. I am afraid of myself. I also know that I'm a perfectionist. I can be intense. I can say yes to everybody else, except for the people who are right in front of me, who truly are the ones I want to spend the most time with. This is a pattern that I have seen in my own life for years and years and years. It's a big part of the reason that I started learning to slow down while hosting parties and gatherings. So that I could be present. I became afraid of missing out due to my own propensity for perfection, for performance, and for people-pleasing.

As I talked this through, my boss listened and then stared at me point blank and said “Just because you can doesn't mean you should. There will always be things you can say yes to, good things, things that can make you money. But it doesn’t mean you should do them.” 

His firm words and honest concern made me take a step back and realize that all good things aren't my things and it's okay to just be good at something and not make money on it or turn it into a business or responsibility.

It made me pause. And as he spoke, the first thing that popped in my mind was this new business venture. You all, I’d had focus groups. I was working towards building inventory. I was working on the back end of a website. Heck, I was looking at a third-party software system of how to take payment. I was going to do it and I was running so hard and fast out of fear  that somebody else with great ideas and more stamina would get there first. 

But here's what I'm learning: I had to let go of that fear because it's not of the Lord. I can and should focus on things that are right in front of me because that's what I'm called to do right now. And then I read Annie’s book and it was the hug from a metaphorical big sister that I needed telling me it's okay to be good at something and to love it and to do it just for fun. 

We desperately need hobbies. If you look around, our world, or at least Western culture, has taken a lot of things that used to just be pure fun and turned them into profit or at least seeking profit.

I love party planning. I love hosting themed parties. I love helping you host parties.

I get excited when someone tells me an idea they have for a 30th birthday party or a baby shower. I love jumping on Pinterest, doing a deep dive then and going to the Dollar Tree to see how I can make it happen on a budget. It gives me energy and excitement and is truly something I enjoy. You may sit down and watch a show to relax; I sit down and make a mood board for the next small gathering I’ve imagined. That's just how my brain works. And while I was thinking of launching something into the world, that would maybe go hand in hand with these passions and skill sets, I also realized that new things take a lot of time and I already have many things on my plate that I also really enjoy.

The thing I so appreciate about Annie and her book, is that she doesn't say that all fun things can't be for profit. She encourages us to look at the full picture and to give it to God and to let him tell us, what's the next right move for me. I can confidently say that this podcast is both a hobby and something that I feel very called to monetize one day, if the Lord will have it. He hasn't told me otherwise and so I'm just walking forward and faith. 

But I also love building balloon arches, designing a themed Harry Potter birthday party and doing an over-the-top baby shower. And I do see how I could monetize that, but I also don't feel like that's the next right thing right now. And so, I'm learning to hold both. Both of the ways to do things for money and the ways to do things for fun. And there's so much freedom in that. There's so much freedom in being able to walk forward with just open hands and being okay being an amateur at something. It's hard to do it, especially when the feedback starts rolling in… People saying you should do that for money because you’re skilled at it or passionate about it. But what a revolution it would start around our friends and around our families and our communities if we became people that started to respond in gratitude and thanksgiving for the compliment and simply said “Thank you, this is a hobby right now and I am finding great joy in that.”

What freedom that would give others to be able to say, “You know, maybe it's not party planning, but maybe it's writing and I just enjoy writing for the pleasure of others getting to read what I'm saying. Maybe it's photography, maybe it's something you enjoy doing and you love doing to bless others, but you don't want to have to make money on it because when we invite money into the equation, it can rob joy. It can make it a burden. It can make it feel like a have to, instead of a get to.

Especially in a time where making money is King and treated as a God in our culture, how incredible would it be to take what we're good at and if we don't feel called to monetize it to still use it to bless the socks off of other people? And to do it for the glory of God and the good of others forever and ever. Amen. No profit.

And again, still being willing to say, God, if you want it to make money and to have that money to bless me and bless others, I will also do that. But it's all about the posture that we receive these talents and these gifts in these fun things we do.

So here's to telling you that maybe one day down the road, I will air the podcast episode that I have scripted announcing some big fun new business venture that I am doing on the side in relation to my Celebrate Confidently podcast. But today is not that day, friend. 

However, if you need me to help you with the balloon arch, give me a ring. I don't have all the hours because I'm not charging you for them, but I would love to make a quick video tutorial on my phone or stop by your house. And I’ll drop off my pump to help you inflate your balloons and give you a quick DIY tutorial. That's fun for me and life-giving and I don't need to make a profit on it right now and that is so good. 

So what is it today that you have felt pressure for either in the past or currently of something you love to do that you think “Hmm. I could make a profit.” Can I encourage you to take a step and take a pause and ask the Lord if you are supposed to make money on it? Ask people that know you well, express your fears, express your worries. Maybe you're not afraid of yourself like I am. Maybe you're afraid of your family, or your time constraints, your full-time job that you also love having and, you know it'll detract from. There's a million other reasons why we can be afraid of taking a hobby and turning it into a business.

And I think it's okay. I think it's good. I think it's needed to pause and to really dig into that fear. Not all fear is bad. Sometimes, fear can help us understand what we need to take a pause and pay attention to. I'm encouraging you to do that today and I would love to hear about it more. Let's continue this conversation because we need to have more voices sharing the good news that hobbies are good, fun is needed, and it's okay to be an amateur.