One of the great joys in life is having a successful home-based business. Since I made the switch from the office to my home office I have had better health, time to find a wonderful spouse, more time with my family, time to pursue new hobbies, and many other benefits. All while commuting less than 30 seconds to my office. Believe me, there is little that I miss about those days of hours long commutes and "business casual" dress codes. How can you find the business that is right for you?

* Sit down and list everything you have ever done that you loved to do. Fishing, drawing, playing board games, writing, fixing things, it all counts here!

* Make a second list with all of the things you have ever done that someone MIGHT pay you for. Housecleaning, bookkeeping, watching kids, organizing your home, again, it all counts here.

* Put the lists away and do some research. I highly recommend both Barbara Sher's book" Wishcraft" and Paul and Sarah Edward's "Finding Your Perfect Work."

Now, take your lists back out. Get a BIG piece of paper. The bigger the better. Posterboard works great for this. Start by drawing a circle in the middle and writing in it what you most enjoy doing. Draw a line and a circle and put in that circle your next favorite thing. For instance, if "writing" is what you love most, then "camping" might be your second choice. Now start drawing in circles and connectors with ideas about ways you could make money from that the things you love. "Books," "articles about camping," and "wildlife photography" might be added next. Keep adding ideas wherever they seem to fit. This is just for your eyes, so don't worry about the logic.

This technique is called mind-mapping and it is a powerful way to get the creative juices flowing in your brain. When you see things on paper you may begin to draw connections that you never dreamed of. One woman started a healthy housecleaning service using essential oils and safe cleaning products. Another woman runs wilderness tours. Don't worry about "how" you will do it, just get the ideas moving and see what comes up for you.