Dave Mathews is an extrovert inventor that has been taking things apart and finding innovative ways to put them back together since kindergarten. One look at Dave’s kitchen table will tell a life story shaped by gadgets, tinkering, and an innate curiosity to find out how things work.

With the Golden Gate bridge in the horizon, Dave and I discussed how he’s made a career out of inventing, and how it translates to anyone making a career out of a hobby.

Dave’s advice:

“First, figure out what your hobby is. What are you passionate about? What do you love to do? Is it arts & crafts? Programming? Tinkering? Whatever it is, try to figure out a way to make that your career.”

So just how can you take a crazy hobby like taking things apart and putting them back together a career?

“Well, the hard part is making money, right? I was lucky coming out of school because there was a computer revolution and all these offices needed computers set up. There was opportunity everywhere. But there is opportunity everywhere today too. The video game industry is larger than Hollywood and the film industry these days. Literally, if you love playing video games, you can find a way to play video games as a career. Whether it’s coding, developing them, whatever, there’s no excuse for you to find a job you want because there’s so many different career paths that you can take based on your hobbies.”

More info on what Dave is up to can be found on his website – www.davemathews.com