Doing What You Love

Once in a while, in a rare and elusive moment of total reflection, I stop and think of how grateful I am to be eight years and counting into two careers that I absolutely love. I left a corporate career to be a professional photographer and open an art gallery/art studio and I am still doing both today. I always forget how rare it is that someone ditches a career to completely change their work life, simply because they are passionate about what they want to do. A bit of talent, a bit of being stubborn and a lot of determination are what keep me motivated and moving forward.

I know how difficult it can be to let go of all the things that come with changing your entire professional and personal life and can certainly appreciate the level of fear that many folks exhibit. Although fear can be a motivator and a deterrent, a bit of fear isn't bad. Letting fear stop you from trying something  you want to is silly and a waste of time. I always play a mental game with myself. I call it: Whats the worst that can happen? It came from my early days in a corporate job when I was a new manager in a corporate restaurant chain. My mentor at the time seemed so wise. In reality, he really wasn't much older than I was at the time (mid 20s at most) but he was an out of the box thinker which made him seem so confident. I expressed that I was always afraid of failure. His first response was, "then don't fail". We laughed a little at that and then he went further and said, "but if you do fail, what's the worst that can happen?" He wanted me to really think about what my scenario was for the worst that can happen. I thought about it and I still do, to this day, when I am approaching things. Money, stuff and all the trappings that illustrate "success" no longer define success for me. You can't put a price tag on putting yourself out there in a new and unique way. Yes, there are always sacrifices but nothing good is ever free, folks. To me, if no one that I care about is dying or seriously ill/in pain, it's all good. So if I fail and none of those things happen, what really is the big deal? I pick myself up and try again from a slightly different angle. But the important thing is TO TRY. Nothing ventured, certainly nothing gained.

I came across an article recently at www.zenhabits.net about why the world needs you to do what you love and wanted to share a brief list from the article:

Five things you can do to move toward getting paid to do what you love:

1. Find your passion. This is all about your great love, and what makes you come alive. To get started here, ask: “What am I insanely interested in?” “What could I talk about for hours?” and “What would I do for free?”
2. Find your strengths. What we’re looking for are things you’re naturally good at, and the unique strengths you’ve had since birth. This is about contributing your gifts to the world. To get started, interview your friends, family, or peers and ask them what three things you’re naturally talented at.
3. Find your value. Finding the intersection between what you’re good at and what people are willing to pay you for is what it all boils down to. If you can’t find a way to get paid to do what you love, the other stuff doesn’t really matter. So it’s worth spending some time figuring this out. To get started, think about the benefits you’ll give others by contributing your value. Think about whether or not there is a desperate pain or a deep passion involved in what you’re offering.
4. Make the commitment. I think, more than any other reason, people fail to succeed is because they fail to commit. Thinking “I don’t know” or “maybe someday” will not get you to the point of doing what you’re passionate about for a living. It takes an uncompromising commitment to make this change for yourself. Instead of thinking “I don’t know,” think “I’ll figure it out.” Remember, paths are made by walking.
5. Be willing to let go. As much as you might want to make this change for yourself, it can be hard to let go of the old patterns of thinking and behaving. A lot of us have ideas that “work shouldn’t be fun” or “you should just suck it up.” Breaking down those beliefs can be difficult, but moving toward a new direction is most definitely worth it.
6. What will you give up? You might not think that you have time to take on a new endeavor, and you’re right. You won’t have time until you make the time. There are a lot of things we place in our schedules that we think we must do. But in reality, our world wouldn’t collapse if we chose something else. Make a list of all the activities and time sinks that you’ll give up in order to make time for your new journey.
7. Will you say Yes to yourself? You may want to become a writer, dentist, life coach, painter, or public speaker. If you know that this is what you’re meant to do, then give yourself permission to call yourself that… even if you’re not established yet. And even if you don’t make a full time income from it. Own your passion, completely and unreservedly.

From an article by Jonathan Mead at www.zenhabits.net

I leave you with a few little blurbs on people who tried, failed and tried again:

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. We all know the career he went on to have.

R.H. Macy-Most people are familiar with this large department store chain, but Macy didn't always have it easy. Macy started seven failed business before finally hitting big with his store in New York City.

Walt Disney-Today Disney rakes in billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. He was fired by a newspaper editor because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn't last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked.



Vincent VanGogh-During his lifetime, Van Gogh sold only one painting, and this was to a friend and only for a very small amount of money. While Van Gogh was never a success during his life, he plugged on with painting, sometimes starving to complete his over 800 known works. Today, they bring in hundreds of millions.

Stephen King-The first book by this author, the iconic thriller Carrie, received 30 rejections, finally causing King to give up and throw it in the trash. His wife fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it, and the rest is history, with King now having hundreds of books published the distinction of being one of the best-selling authors of all time.

Babe Ruth-You probably know Babe Ruth because of his home run record (714 during his career), but along with all those home runs came a pretty hefty amount of strikeouts as well (1,330 in all). In fact, for decades he held the record for strikeouts. When asked about this he simply said, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."

Susan Boyle-The singer tried out on Britain's Got Talent and the audience laughed at her and dismissed her when she first got onstage. I think my favorite moment (and I have watched it on You Tube many times, is the moment she starts to sing and everyone is floored. I mean, jaws literally dropped...I love watching the underdog win! Susan has now become the professional singer she wanted to. No one would have predicted that.

So here's a question for you:
 What are you waiting for?