The Fantasy Approach Fails
Everyone has a fantasy: be a photographer, own a coffee shop, write a novel. These are dreams. They're good dreams. They're not a career path.
Career path comes from inventory, not fantasy.
The Honest Inventory
What work have you done that made you lose track of time? Not because you were distracted. Because you were so engaged you didn't notice hours passing. Do that a few times and you have data.
What problems can you spend time thinking about without getting paid? What do people naturally ask you for help with? What comes easily to you that feels hard to everyone else?
From Inventory to Work
Now look at the patterns. Can you build work around that? Can you find a market where that skill or interest is valuable? Can you turn it into something people will pay for?
That's not fantasy. That's the foundation of work you'd actually love.