Are you doing what you love?
Are you passionate about what you currently do to earn a living?
You may have heard it before… do what you love, and the money will follow.
When a person is enjoying what they do, it does not feel like the dreaded 9 to 5; it does not feel like work.
Now, just to be clear, when I am saying, “do what you love, and the money will follow,” I’m not referring to traveling all over the world with the expectation of your trek to somehow pay for your good time.
You can decide to be a journalist or maybe an airline pilot and be close.
Follow Your Passion – Don’t Settle… Do What You Love!
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” ~ Confucius
I don’t believe it has been said any better than this, prior to his death in 479 BC!
Mondays are usually the days that people dread after spending the weekend doing something that they enjoy. If you are passionate about what you are currently doing, then you will wake up in the morning looking forward to your day, even if it is a Monday.
It does make sense that if we love what we do, we will do it better, longer, and with greater passion. There are entire books dedicated to this topic about following your passion, and yet there are so many people still sitting on the sidelines waiting to discover what their true purpose in life is supposed to be.
There have been many that have been fortunate enough to stumble upon their passions early in life, knowing that, what they currently do, is what they were meant for.
On the other hand, there are many people that will spend their entire life working at their dead-end job just to get by, all while questioning themselves whether there is more to life, knowing that there has to be something better.
Many of you reading this are probably saying to yourself, “I have to make a living,” “I have to survive and pay the bills,” “I have to provide for my family.”
All this is true… we all recognize the fundamental need to survive, but many people ignore the thought that you can do anything that you set your mind to.
There is an amazing book on this subject called The Slight Edge – its main premise is about turning simple everyday decisions and disciplines into massive success.
“Simple disciplines repeated over time will create success, while simple mistakes created over time will create failure.” ~ Jeff Olson – The Slight Edge
You know you can have both, right? You can make a living doing what you love and are passionate about… it’s just a matter of taking that first step.
I have seen and heard many stories to where a person is not happy in their job, so the person takes that first, sometimes scary, step towards their passion, and next thing you know it, the person is living the life of their dreams.
Whether it’s 1 or 2 years later, or whether it’s 5 years later, the person is following their dreams and passions and leading a fulfilling and enjoyable life.
Many of us have been receiving the message for years now to get a good education so we can find a good-paying job. This is great as long as the education you choose will lead you to the job you desire and are passionate about.
For many of you that don’t have a higher education and have lost touch with your core desires, you will need to take stock to find out what your true passion is.
If you have the strong desire to live financially free and make a living on your own terms but are unsure of exactly what lights your fire, then it might be a good time for a bit of self-discovery.
Time to Discover YOUR TRUE Passion!
Are you ready to discover what you were meant to do, to find out what your true passion is?
Before we get going, let’s start by finding a place that will allow you to concentrate, a place that is peaceful and serene. I would also suggest you have a pen and pad of paper at the ready.
Now that you are in your place of comfort and serenity, enabling you to concentrate, let’s begin with your talents.
Write down “Talents I’m Good At!“
Next, write down everything that you feel you are inherently good at. Don’t limit this to your playtime, think of everything, including work and at home.
These can be things that come naturally to you, things that you don’t have to work too hard to accomplish, and things that others have told you that you are good at.
Next, add to your list any skills that you have developed either for work or for your personal life.
Last but not least, write down anything that you are interested in learning about or may want to pursue.
When you were a child, did you dream about being a policeman or a firefighter? If you can recall what you thought about, write down what you wanted to be when you grew up.
Now… with your list of each item that you wrote down that you are good at, inherently talented in, or skilled at, ask yourself the following questions and write down your answers:
- DOING THIS – gets me excited so much that I can talk about it all day long?
- DOING THIS – makes me excited to get up in the morning?
- DOING THIS – I would be willing to do it for FREE?
- DOING THIS – can make me lose all sense of time?
- DOING THIS – gives me extra energy?
- DOING THIS – makes me smile?
Answer them in this manner, replacing the word “DOING THIS”…
Question #1 – “Watching the progression of my friend losing weight gets me excited so much that I can talk about it all day long.”
Question #2 – “Working at the hospital makes me excited to get up in the morning.”
Question #3 – “Designing websites is so much fun I would be willing to do it for FREE.”
Question #4 – “Working with animals can make me lose all sense of time.”
You get the idea for the remainder of questions… hopefully, your subject will be the same in front of each question.
Spend a good amount of time reflecting on your list and these questions. You can even meditate about it.
Once you have discovered what really puts a smile on your face and makes you lose all track of time, the next step will be to brainstorm for ways that you can move towards your desire, passion, and purpose.
Follow Your Passion to the Future
In this next step, imagine your future 5 to 10 years from now. Write down on your pad of paper, in as much detail as possible, what this future looks like using the following questions.
- What does your typical day look like?
- Where do you live, and what does your house look like?
- Who are you keeping company with, who are your friends?
- How much money do you have in the bank?
- How much are you giving back to the community? (could be your time or your money)
Hopefully, you can see your vision clearly.
Once you have this information documented, re-read your note; does it feel right to you?
If it does feel like this is your destiny, then you have a vision of what is in store for you.
Now it’s time to begin planning your path to the life you desire, to make a living following your passion, and never again working a day in your life. It’s definitely not too late to pursue your dream, even if it means going back to college at the age of 50.
Heck, I made the choice to start a blog in 2010 for fun and have recently turned it into a money-making machine, and I’m not regretting one minute of it.
