Ron asked:

I am interested in studying philosophy. What is the criteria for a way of thinking to become a
philosophy? Or what makes a philosophy? What I would get out of it by studying it?

I think I have a philosophy but do I need to categorize it as realism, idealism, pragmatism,
existentialism, etc. or can I mix classical philosophies and come up with my own and name it?

Do words from a great philosopher make a philosophy or is it anybody's way of living or thinking? Are
some people's philosophies credible and others just opinions?

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I think the difference between having a philosophy and practising the subject of philosophy is
comparable to the difference between going to a high street bank and going to a river bank. That the
same word is used, (or better: the same sequence of letters) should not lead to confusion. Having a
philosophy is having a particular view on life. Doing philosophy is more about solving problems. By
doing philosophy one might develop a viewpoint, or 'a philosophy', but I don't think it is necessary.
Someone who is not upset by great misfortune might be described as being philosophical about it.
But this does not mean that they are a philosopher. (And when I find out, as I frequently do, that I
have made a mistake in reasoning, I get angry, i.e. not at all 'philosophical'.)

Will Greenwood