I realized something the other day: I don’t have any real hobbies.
You might look at an average week in my life and see all the stand-up paddling, fat tire biking, crossword puzzles, training, walking, and swimming I do and think, "Sisson, what the hell are you talking about? Of course, you’ve got hobbies."
Those aren’t really hobbies. Those things I do for fun to improve my physical and brain health. I do all of these activities because they’re tons of fun and keep me healthy and strong. A hobby is something you do without any benefit to your life necessarily; it’s something that you’re just purely interested in. Certainly, businesses and activities can become something that you enjoy, but I think a hobby is almost an exploration of how the world works and your place in it.
So, if I had to say what my hobby is, it’s probably work. When I try to drill down into my motivation for getting up in the morning, for starting all the businesses I’ve started over the years, it was essentially my way of exploring what makes people tick. It was me figuring out how to change people’s behaviors or how to effectively map them so that I could sell something to improve their lives. It's how I gave my family the life they deserved. Since I was a child, I’ve been figuring out how I could impress myself on the world and make my way through it by my own means, and work has been the most reliable path thus far.
I believe your hobbies reflect who you are on the deepest level possible. The kid who takes apart radios and computers is a tinkerer on the deepest level, will most likely do some form of that for his entire life. It's how he approaches problems and discovers solutions—by tinkering.
I am a worker working toward a series of goals. I want to give people what they want. What they need—at least from my perspective. These are the things I’m most curious about.
How far can I go?
What can I accomplish?
How much can I get done?
How many lives can I improve?
Can I go to bed at the end of the day confident that I’ve given it my all?
Work isn’t a typical “hobby” but it’s mine, and I find it to be the most energizing, interesting thing in the world.
