Don't Pin The Butterfly

My father was an inventor.

I remember him sitting at this desk many evenings and weekends, making drawings. Going with him to the hardware store to buy tools and supplies. Observing him while he crafted something in the little workshop he had at home.

Among all his inventions, the most relevant was inspired by my brother.

My brother practised rowing at a club by Ebro river in Zaragoza.

Zaragoza is a windy city. There is a characteristic wind in Zaragoza named "cierzo", cold and dry. Cierzo can become very strong and gusty.

Sometimes it's so strong and gusty that rowers are not allowed to go out on the river to train.

My father thought it would be nice for rowers to have an alternative when it was not possible to go out on the river.

He invented the "Ciclorem", a sort of a bycicle propelled by rowing.

It took him months to develop, craft, and bring his invention to life.

After making it a reality, he shared his creation with the world.

He took the Ciclorem to some exhibitions. He participated in some competitions. He even tried to market it.

All he received were kind words and pats on the back.

Finally, he stored the Ciclorem in the garage and went back to his desk to create his next invention.

The point is, although he tried to promote and sell his Ciclorem, he never really believed he would be making a living from it.

He simply enjoyed the process of inventing things and making them real.

It was his hobby.

Inventing was his way of escaping from the daily grind. His way of relaxing and disconnecting from troubles and worries at the office and home. His mindfulness moment.

Nowadays we are encouraged to start side projects.

To look for additional sources of income.

To monetize the time spent on our crafts.

To transform our hobbies into hustles.

But do you know what?

The moment a hobby becomes a hustle, it stops being a hobby.

It's as if you enjoyed observing flying butterflies. Then you feel the pressure to make the most out of your time and want to monetize it. You buy a butterfly catcher and go out to catch some to create a collection to sell.

But the moment you pin the butterfly to your collection, you kill it. It stops being funny.

Don't pin the butterfly.

Anyway, if you are still thinking of starting a side hustle selling butterfly collections and want to figure out whether you will making a living out of it, you'd better craft a financial model.

But I have a suggestion to make:

You go get your butterfly catcher.

And I take care of your financial model.

Deal?

P.S.: One of my father’s inventions ended up being a sucess. He engineered a drilling machine that transformed the process of drilling slewing bearings at the company he was working for. His drilling machine was adopted across all the company’s factories.

Well done, dad!

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