The components of lifelong learning are like parts of a jigsaw puzzle. It is up to you to pick up a piece to complete your puzzle. Some individuals have applied this principle and successfully turned hobbies into profitable business ventures.

Lifelong learning can be broadly categorised into three types – academic learning earns paper qualifications, skills-based courses qualify you for blue-collar jobs while recreational learning encompasses language courses, dance classes and other types of hobbies.

More often than not, programmes are chosen to fulfil a functional need. Thus, most people focus on academic and skills-based learning. 

The very definition of the word “hobby” does not help one to see it as an income generator. Instead, it is associated with money going out of the pocket.

A passion for baking, for example, can lead to more than pretty, delicious cakes. You could take up various courses in baking and cake-decorating. From there, you can start conducting cake-decorating courses on a part-time basis. 

Baking is just one of many hobbies that Malaysians indulge in. I would say that hobbies for rural folk and city folk are somewhat different. Those from the rural areas are generally more involved in outdoor and physically-inclined activities such as fishing, football, kite-flying and picnicking. 

City folk are more inclined towards indoor activities and technology such as shopping, gym classes, computer games, Internet surfing and watching movies. 

The development of technology, especially the Internet, in the country has opened many doors for Malaysians in terms of widening their interests and options. Those who have mastered IT on their own could take advantage of opportunities provided by this sector. 

Many people start out by blogging to pass time. Blogging is a way to express personal opinions in a weblog (personal website). Some blogs have so many readers that bloggers actually start earning cheques from online advertisers. 

Some bloggers set up more websites with their own domains which, with enough hard work and luck, can earn them several times more than a day job. 

Others use the Internet as a tool rather than a source of income. There are people who have turned their passion for reading into a business by using a website as their office and marketing tool. Many others with different interests have done the same thing. 

What appears to be a hobby of making personalised memorabilia can turn into an international trade. Usually it starts as a home-based enterprise, but with enough determination and by learning the ropes of entrepreneurship, it can expand to reach a worldwide market. 

Dance can also be a business. Many young adults have become part-time or full-time dance instructors in dance studios and fitness centres. The more enterprising ones have even started their own dance studios. 

What can we conclude from all these shining examples of success?

Firstly, practising lifelong learning pays. Secondly, it can help solve part of the country’s unemployment problem.