Today I'm delighted to announce the first annual Best Second Acts Awards.

Yes, SecondAct.com is handing out awards. How better to celebrate those who reinvent themselves in amazing ways even -- especially -- in these most challenging of times?

Forget art for art's sake. These people -- a jewelry designer, a soap maker and a pair of studio owners -- traded less-fulfilling jobs for occupations that allow them to make a living from their artistic passions.

Here's a behind-the-scenes look at their transformations, along with their advice for others who want to pursue an art- or craft-based encore career:

Rich Sandomeno, 40, Los Angeles

While other people celebrate birthdays or anniversaries with parties or perhaps a fancy dinner out, Gary Sarinana and wife Ana Ochoa spend special occasions on the road, driving an 80,000-pound Kenworth T660 truck through the backroads of the United States.

Sarinana and Ochoa, both 49, are a driving team for an international freight transportation company based in Ann Arbor, Mich. The couple started driving together eight years ago after Ochoa quit her job teaching high school Spanish to join her husband, who left his career as a U.S. Customs agent in 2001 to become a truck driver.

John Locke used to own an insurance business and gave speeches and taught training and marketing seminars on the side.

Today, Locke, 60, has transformed into the bestselling author of mysteries, westerns and a publishing how-to guide. On June 20, he became the first self-published writer to sell more than a million ebooks for the Amazon Kindle, joining the ranks of celebrated authors such as Stieg Larsson, Michael Connelly and James Patterson.

For 16 years, Rob Prosniewski spent his days shoving, shouting and spitting as a floor trader at the Chicago Board of Trade, a cutthroat world captured in the documentary, Floored. He walked away two years ago, tired of what he calls the "survival of the fittest" mentality.

At age 40, Prosniewski took on a new battle. The father of three enlisted in the U.S. Army and is now a combat medic serving in Afghanistan.

Karen Freeman was a successful banker, working in commercial finance for more than 17 years with two of the largest banks in the country. But, when the economy started to sour and the lending industry took a particularly hard hit, she started thinking about starting her own business.

Together with her three sons, Freeman followed her passion and opened a cheesecake shop in Glendale, Calif., last year.

Erik Proulx turned his pink slip into a blank slate, and he's been encouraging others to do likewise ever since.

The former ad agency copywriter is the creative mind behind Lemonade, a documentary on the transformative powers of getting laid off.

Standing six feet tall and weighing 260 pounds, Robert Salzman is aptly nicknamed "Big Rob" by his friends. The 51-year-old bouncer has worked in bars around New York City for the past eight years after spending much of his life bouncing in and out of jail on robbery, assault and drug charges.

A chance encounter on the subway last year has led to a fresh start. Film director Rashaad Ernesto Green spotted "Big Rob" while riding the D Train and noticed his distinct stature and the tattoos on his face. The director asked Salzman to audition for his upcoming Bronx-based movie Gun Hill Road, an independent film about a man released from prison and the emotional challenges he faces returning home to his family. With zero acting experience, Salzman tried out and landed the supporting role of "Sugar," a former convict and a "not-so-nice person," he says.