“Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.”
August 21, 2015 10:41 AM   Subscribe

Freud said “Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.” So I want to add variety and depth to my working life, irrespective of financial gain.

Money isn't a problem for me. I run an online business that gives me flexibility, so can work for free. But whilst I don't need payment, but I do require some acknowledgment from the market that the services don't have 'negative' market value.

For example my oil portrait paintings are fun to do, but have negative value, in the sense that the blank canvas has a higher monetary value than the actual paintings. So whilst it's a valuable hobby , I'm really looking for fulfilling jobs that I can 'break even' with, that have some market value even if it's pennies.

I already do some volunteering, specifically youth business mentoring for Princes Trust, so ideally I'm looking for jobs outside of the charity sector/youth work/teaching/mentoring/computors.

Some obvious ideas

Clothes retail- volunteer at a charity store
Cook - volunteer for a foodbank / homeless cafe
Copywriter - write free content for online publications
Postman - post leaflets for a campaign group
driver - volunteer for a charity transporting people around

More challenging
eg
Musician - play cover songs in corner of a bar
Journalist - write articles for a recognized blog
Artist - paint pictures of dogs
Carpenter - make tables and chairs
Sailor - work as crew on a boat

I'm willing to train and study and invest in materials!
posted by choppyes to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (2 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
I think if you already do volunteer work, you might get more fulfillment from learning a craft as you suggest in your last few suggestions. Gaining mastery in carpentry or music would be the most satisfying to me. They would provide personal fulfillment, and eventually you could sell or gift your work to others.

I'm not positive I totally understand your question though?
posted by latkes at 11:43 AM on August 21, 2015


So I want to add variety and depth to my working life

If you were a friend, asking this, my first question would be 'How precisely is your primary career lacking depth and variety?'

I'm a big fan of that old Islamic fable, Death in Tehran. Everywhere we run, we bring ourselves along.
posted by mrdaneri at 12:28 PM on August 21, 2015


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