Who Needs a Hobby?

I was 39 years old, worked 50 to 60 hours a week and added to that a 1hr commute each
way. My life consisted of diving to and from work and watching bad TV at night. I needed a
hobby.

When I started thinking about what I wanted to do I realized I need to find something that
fulfilled the following criteria:

• I needed a hobby I could do with my family (my wife and my 2 yr. old boy)
  
• I needed something that required a versatile amount of time.
  
• I needed something that wouldn't cost much money.
  
• I needed something that would get me out of the house.
  
• I needed something I could do for the rest of my life.
  
• I needed something that I could improve at over time.
  
• I needed something that would change and incorporate a number of different
  activities.
  
• I needed something I could be fascinated by.
  

I knew there was something out there that could meet these criteria, and as I thought about it
on my drive I realized Treasure Hunting was it.

How It Met My Needs

Treasure hunting worked for me on every level. My son loves to go searching with me. The first
day we began looking for treasure (in our backyard for a 1/2 hour after work) my son became
obsessed. For the next two days all he would say to my wife was "We find treasure". What
treasure did we find? Two dimes, a penny (see picture) and two odd pieces of metal. He
didn't care, to him we go to dig and search and play.

Not only does my son love it (my wife feels like it is worth it just to see how much my son loves
it), it meets all of the remaining criteria I had as well. I can do it at a park for an hour, or go to a
ghost town for a day. My starting cost was only $250 for a metal detector, which I have nearly
paid for with the stuff I have found. I don't have to limit myself to merely metal detecting, I can
go prospecting, my wife and I can go antiquing or bargain hunting, we go off roading to get
to ghost towns or other remote places, we go hiking, camping on the water and in the
mountains, we can incorporate almost any activity under our "treasure hunting" umbrella. But
what really makes treasure hunting perfect is that it is something everyone is interested in.

Try This Experiment

If you don't think everyone is interested in treasure hunting try this experiment. Next time you go
to a party or dinner with friends bring up treasure hunting. When I did this last weekend with my
extended family at first people made a few jokes, but then the idea of finding lost treasure
dominated the conversation for the next two hours. Everyone has a story about someone they
know who found something that was worth a lot of money. Everyone has some fascination about
a sunken treasure or a lost mine. They may chuckle at the people walking along the beach
looking for coins, but the idea of finding things is simply intriguing to everyone.

You may find somewhere in the middle of your treasure hunting discussion that someone will say
that all of these last treasure stories are simply "fish stories", exaggerations that never or rarely
really happen. This is actually an apt description of treasure hunting, which is in many ways like
fishing, but remember this, just because people tell "fish stories" doesn't mean you wont catch any
fish.

Will You Get Rich?

The dream of the big find is fun and it does happen to some people, but that is a little like saying
some people hit the jackpot in Vegas; it is true, but it is unlikely to happen to you. While you may
not hit the jackpot, unlike Vegas you are destined to go bust. Everyone I have spoken to about
treasure hunting, both when I was researching it and since I have begun to do it, have said the
same thing -- "if you use your equipment you can pay for your equipment". What other hobby can
you say that about?

The Perfect Hobby
               by, Robert Edwards