For Your Money or For Your Life?
Kahlil Gibran said: “Work is love made visible”.
Ultimately, we all want to make a living doing something we truly enjoy while adding value to the lives of others. You may be searching for a way to do just that, but haven’t quite figured it out yet. If that’s the case, this is just for you.
Reality
Research shows that roughly only 5% of people work their passion. Further studies state that only about 20% of people are happy at or with their work.
Are you one of the lucky five percent who bounces out of bed each morning, feeling fulfilled?
Or are you among the 95%, just surviving, managing, or hating your career?
Society has conditioned you to separate work from passion and to accept bigger salaries over greater happiness.
Your job may pay more, but what is it costing your soul?
How could you manage your career more consciously and uncover your gifts and passions, and link them to the practical needs of the world?
There are many ways to earn a living, some enjoyable and rewarding, others not. Because we spend so much time working, it makes perfect sense to be financially rewarded for doing what we love, raising the quality of your life experience.
So how do you do that?
The road to success starts with a decision
If you’re one of the lucky five percent, perhaps you’d like to be a mentor to friends, family members or colleagues, sharing your skills and experience of achieving your dreams and career goals?
If you’re in the 95% camp, you have a choice. Do you keep the status quo and be content with what you have?
Or will you step up and take charge of your career to make things happen your way?
Passion without fulfillment
You know the story:
‘Mary bakes amazing pies.
Her friends encourage her to open a bakery.
She does.
Her biggest dream quickly becomes her worst nightmare.
She wakes up at 4am to do the books, manage employees, deal with zoning regulations and buy the advertising.
Mary’s doing everything — except baking.
Her business is killing her. ‘
If you’re feeling like Mary, don’t despair. By zoning in and getting clarity on why you originally started baking your pies, you can take immediate action to change. You’re not alone if you’ve forgotten what your passion was, or if you know what it is but have never acted on it.
Here’s a plan to manage both scenarios.
Get the Goal
Set aside some time to answer some of these questions:
– What would you do and not get paid for?
– What are your real likes?
– Hobbies?
– Dislikes?
– If you could have only one career wish, what would it be?
– If you win the Lotto tonight, how would you want to spend your days?
If you find it too challenging to do this crucial exercise by yourself, work with a personal coach or friend who can help and support you.
Research shows that when a highly motivated person works with a coach, they progress twice as fast than working on their own.
Once you’ve answered these questions, you should be connected to your passion and goal.
It’s an exciting, scary, liberating and empowering moment to savor.
Strategy
With that goal in mind, design a strategy for success.
What needs to happen to get you from where you are to where you want to be in your life?
For example, your goal may be: “Mary’s Killer Pies”. Your strategies could include:
- Research
- Timeline
- Finances
- Menu
- Suppliers
- Work Life balance
- Mentors
- Equipment
- Location
- Mental readiness.
Whether it’s opening your dream business or designing the career you’ve always wanted, these strategies are examples of the chapter headings in your book on how you succeeded. Achieving your goals may take you a month or several years, but every single day will take you a step closer to your dream.
Actions
With the strategies in place, you must stay committed to completing daily, weekly and monthly actions, challenged, supported and encouraged by a coach or a friend. After gradually ticking off each strategy, before you know it, you’ll be ready to sell your first pie.
Home free
When you reach this point through an equal combination of inspiration and perspiration, you’ll be implementing your dream. In time, you’ll be ready to quit your unsatisfying day job because you can see a different tomorrow.
Good luck on this journey. I’ve done it myself. It’s an awesome feeling!