Ask Lemmy

There are two types of passive income: the first is where through the magic of capitalism, you benefit from the labor of others; the second is the same but it's someone else earning money off of you. Those internet survey things are the second type, as are all pre-packaged passive income type things. It is possible to profit from them, but that would involve you scamming others, so I advise against it. I think the better path in life is to try to make a living with your own efforts.

Learning new things is hard, and it takes a long time, longer if your schooling didn't give you a strong foundation to build from. In that case, you'll have to repair the cracks in your foundation as you find them, which can feel like going backwards. It isn't, but I can't deny that it sucks to have to go back and learn stuff you "should" have mastered as a child. But you can't change the past, and your options are either learning it now or not learning it now. Might as well do now.

Learning is also work, because what you're learning to do is work, and you learn by doing. If the work is fun that can be a bonus, but it's not necessary, and it can even inhibit you from expanding your toolbox if you only ever do things that are fun. I would approach your practice with the same attitude you would with household chores or personal hygiene: it's work that needs to be done.

As to talent: I have never met anyone who had zero talents, but they are rather beside the point. If you don't have a talent you want to pursue, then just pick a thing and start doing it poorly. You have to actually do it, even if you're really bad at it. The doing is the important thing. Since you're broke, I would pick something where failure isn't prohibitively expensive, because you'll be doing it a lot. Music is very cheap to make poorly, as is software, as are garden veggies (some of them), as are knitted or crocheted garments. Pick a thing and start doing it. It's ok to switch things, but don't switch just because it's not fun. Do it a little bit every day, and soon you will have a skill. More importantly, you will have developed your skill in developing skills, and you will understand your own learning style better, which will help you in the development of other skills. You may even come to enjoy the process in time.

I don't have a ton of advice on making money, especially now. I'm between gainful employments myself, and I've yet to turn my own skills into sustainable self-employment, though I do make some cash with them at odd turns. The world never really has times where it's easy for everyone, but this does feel like a particular hard time, compared with when I was younger. I think times will get easier eventually, but it will take time and work.

Well, I wrote more than I thought I would. I hope some of that is helpful.