I "get it" about hobbies; I spent a fair amount on my stamp collection pretty much since my late teens because it offered me some ongoing enjoyment and a bit of a challenge. It stood me in really good stead because some 7-8 years ago I was able to sell most of it for enough to cover a lot of my wife's medical expenses after a couple of shoulder surgeries...
I never held any "real" jobs for very long; the longest being about a 3-year stint in the IT industry in the mid- to late 1990's... I bailed out (even though I was "successful") because it was just such a soul-draining experience.