I have loved to draw since age 3. After noticing some ability by age 6, my father asked if I wanted to enter a drawing contest. His department was raising safety awareness by having employees draw caution-themed pictures, and there was prize money.
I won. The jury however decided not to award me the purse when they found out my age, and that I wasn’t an employee. In the end they agreed to pay only a portion of it. (I bought roller skates with it). I was profoundly transformed by the notion that I got money for doing what I enjoyed. I’ve pursued that ever since.