Do you wake up every morning with a smile on your face knowing that you’re going to spend the day doing what you love? No? Why not? If you’re not spending every waking moment doing what you love, it might be time to shake things up a little and turn your passion into your career, and here’s how you can do it.
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.“ — Steve Jobs
Now ask yourself, are you doing what you love? Are you doing great work? Or perhaps you’re a tax accountant when you’d prefer to be arranging flowers? Or maybe you want to work with animals instead of in customer service? It’s time to ask yourself what’s stopping you and how you can turn your passion into your career and spend your time doing what you love.
Gala Darling, a New Zealander living in New York who pens a blog dedicated to passions, pursuits and self-love, quit her high-paying day job to do what she loves and hasn’t looked back.
“In the end, I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter what you’re doing. As long as you are doing something that expresses your passion, you will excel and you will gain satisfaction,” Darling explains on her blog. And there’s no reason you can’t turn your passion into your pay cheque too.
Find your passion
Firstly, you need to know what your passion is, but if you’re not too sure, don’t worry because there are ways for you to find out. But if you do know your passion and how you want to spend your time, then start planning to make it a reality. Do you want to start your own company or begin by gaining experience with one that is already developed? Do you need to do further study? Or do you already have the skills to get you started? Once you know what you want to do and make the decision to make things happen, the rest will happen for you. It all comes down to knowing what you love to do and making that your priority.
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Not sure of your passion?
If you’re not so sure about what you’re good at, or what your passion is, don’t fret. Pay attention to what you like to do in your spare time or what you do when you’re procrastinating. And remember to think outside of the box, even if you think your passion sounds too far-fetched, go with it. If you love it and it’s your passion, you will do it with patience and love and that is what turns hard workers into successful people.
Leap of faith
Now that you know what your passion is, and you know what you have to do to get started, start making your move. Can you start working on your passion on the side while still working at your current job until it becomes more stable? Are there people in your desired field who you can engage with and talk to for advice and ideas? Take slow steps and be patient and remember it’s never too late to start something new.
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Excuses, excuses
Do you have a list of excuses buzzing around your head as to why you shouldn’t be pursuing your passion? Perhaps you have kids and you’re worried about what following your passion could do to your pay cheque. Or maybe you’re worried that it just won’t work out. It’s all well and good to be realistic but be sure to take note of those worries and make sure that they aren’t holding you back from living your dreams.
Remain strong
Once the word gets out that you’ve decided to sell all your earthly belongings to live your passion and turn it into a career, you might come under attack by friends and family. They mean well, but their comments and criticisms might lead you to push your passions to the background. Be strong and know that everyone has certain skills and talents and not sharing these is not doing anyone any favours. Be true to yourself, realise your passions and make your dreams a reality.
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