I want to pursue my passions.....but I have a full time job?

First off… What do you do for full-time work? How many hours per week do you work? What is this passion you’d like to pursue?

@cprevite I work in the cosmetics industry for a small, yet very successful company. I work full-time (40++) hours a week, plus a 1 hour commute to/from. And I’m at the gym 5 days a week after work, which is a must… I’m very passionate about my physical fitness and that consumes some of my time. I have several different things I’m passionate about, fitness being one of them, but my others include things that require my studio at home. By the time I am done with my daily routine, I am worn out and tired for my day. If I were to pursue my passions full-time, I would have time to work in my studio and go to the gym, among other things. But I would have to leave my job and risk the loss there.

Okay so:
8 hrs @ work +
2 hr commute +
1 hr gym +
3 hrs for bathe, dress & eat +
8 hrs sleep =
22 hrs/day

You have 2 hours/day left over during the week. 10 hours/week. And what about weekends? There’s another 20 hours right there (10 on Saturday, 10 on Sunday).

If your studio time is truly a passion, you prioritize it over socializing, resting, television, etc.

Doing exactly what in your studio? Why are you not more forthcoming about this passion of yours?

1. Where does your income go? You’re in this great situation where you don’t have many obligations other than your job. If you’re not already, start saving your money. Start researching your options: I’m not sure exactly what it is you want to pursue (music? art?) but there’s a community out there doing the same thing, there are courses where you can hone your skills and make contacts, maybe you know exactly what you want to make.

2. Do you want to be doing this work for the rest of your life? On the other hand, it’s often not so much the type of work that you’re doing, but who you’re working with. Even the most menial jobs can be fulfilling if you’re working next to a friend. So the question is: what makes you happy?

3. How do your parents feel, since you’re living with them? There may be many more opportunities to pursue your passion in the future, but if you’re going to do it, you’ll have to take a chance at some point. Maybe now’s a great time, maybe you need a little more preparation. Nobody can make that call for you.

Cut a deal with your parents. Get a part-time job to make some sort of financial contribution to the household and try it for a year.

You have the studio in situ and are young.. If you were able to find a very good job at which you were successful without a college education, you can surely do it again.

Or, bundle up…Eat in the car, go to the gym every other day and clean your parent’s house on the off-days…exercise plus.

“I work in a good company with very good long term potential, and it kills me to think of leaving here, but I have way more important things to do!”

Then you say, ” I’m essentially going nowhere.”

Which statement has more validity?

I too would like to know what this ‘passion’ is. It would make it easier for us to answer your question.

Still, pay yourself first and restructure your day.

If you are most intellectually energised in the morning, get up early and spend an hour on your ‘passion’ before you commute to work. Or if your high energy time is at the other end of the day, factor it in there.

You can go to the gym when your brain is less active. So go there when you are mentally tired or less alert. Similarly with housework, eating, bathing.

Know your own schedule in terms of when you work best and build this thing into your day.

Find a job that is related to your dream job but still pays the bills. If you want to be a writer, work at the library or a bookstore, or if you want to be a painter, look for work in a gallery or studio, etc.

That’s not even a very risky move. Look for related work while you’re still with your current job. Give notice before you leave, and keep in touch with the current employers.

Not many people manage to support themselves as artists. A job in the field can help you meet the right people and get started.

You’re not alone. I very much like the idea @iphigeneia put forward about finding community so that you can get good ideas from other people working with the same constraints. As a member of that community, I can tell you that I never made much money because I needed the time more. But I made enough. That was easier then than it is now, but enough is better than too much, strange to say. You are not alone. You are not alone.

I think it depends upon your interest. I think if you love your passion then you have to collect the time from the 24 hrs in a day and have to provide the time on your interest. Also I think you should do only the thing which you love to do…..

Curious that the OP has not yet defined his passion.