I was learning anyway, but after a while I realized that the main ideas were very valuable, could help people get what they want (start new businesses, get a raise, get promoted, etc.), and that people would be willing to pay for services that helped them get those things.

Starting a blog with a unique name helped the idea spread and allowed me to build an e-mail list. I also started offering coaching services via a free initial consultation - I talk with coaching prospects for an hour with no obligation, then set up an arrangement to meet regularly if we were a good fit. Coaching alone allowed me to quit my day job.

The e-mail list made it easier to test various ways to serve people who found it interesting enough to sign up. The 12-week course tested very well, so I spend ~3 months developing it. Initial signups brought in enough money to pay off all business startup expenses (computers, cameras, software, etc) and pay off all family debts. Everything the business brings in from now on is 90%+ profit, which is a good feeling.

If you can find an intersection between what you like to learn about and knowledge people will be willing to pay you for, you'll be set for life. All you need to do is focus on putting your knowledge into some form people will pay for, then ensure prospective customers find it.

There are lots of folks out there who have managed to do exactly that. They're called consultants, gurus, etc. It's not as simple as just learning stuff, teaching it, and getting paid, but if you love doing those things it's certainly a way to make a living at it.

Among the keys to pulling this off includes finding information that people are motivated to pay you to teach them. Unfortunately, most of the obvious things that pass this test are pretty well-covered by slimy folks that can outsell most of us (how to make money in real estate, how to pick folks up at the bar, etc.).

But anything you know that other people know that they want to know can be made to work. To get started, you have to start proving that you're an expert at what you want to be paid to teach. Start making high-quality contributions on forums that discuss what you want to teach. Attend conferences. (Self-)publish a book.

You'll have to act like everyone knows you're an expert even in the early days before everyone knows. But eventually you'll get there if you're patient, smart, and just the right amount of self-aggrandizing.