Almost everyone with some years of business under their belt, in every profession, at some point attains the end of the phase of innocence. It marks the end of most illusions and unfounded revery regarding a specific professional activity and reveals every rose has its thorns. This is not a question of stop loving what you do – although that can happen too –, but of knowing what your occupation is not, rather what it is.

What I mean is: understanding the limits imposed by an everyday job that shovels tight schedules, admin procedures and emergency drills sometimes takes away some of the freedom to embrace projects passionately and thoroughly. I believe it takes a lot of vocation and dedication to keep the good mojo going. This applies particularly to creative fields.

So who is truly free to pick their own projects, run them how they want and spend as much time as they want on them? Amateurs, of course.

If you think of it, a lot of the best work in creative fields is being produced by amateurs. With digital communication technology tools becoming ubiquitous, a growing number of professionals nowadays comes from the immense pool of amateurs. Quite often, amateurs have excellent technical skills and – in Marketing lingo – they opt in: they are not pushed to do it, are usually not paid, work in their own free time and frequently operate under the radar.

Photographers, illustrators and designers; writers, cooks and musicians; geeks, thinkers and undercover agents – moonlighting and exploring their passions by night. What moves them? It must be the love for their production or the need to be involved with their chosen medium of expression.

Who has the drive and disposition to spend two hours a day, after wrapping up a day’s work, illustrating a comic they post online?

Who will spend their holliday money shooting buildings just for kicks? Who knits woolen gorillas for sale at the office?

Amateurs, of course.

Kudos for all amateurs pursuing their artistic projects and passions!