#passion #bills #life #DoWhatYouLove #jobs #LoveWhatYouDo
“Passion doesn’t pay bills.”
So says the beginning of a TV ad for Etsy.
This makes one think of childhood, and something everyone’s parents may have said.
You may passionately want to be a rock star, the conversation then proceeds, but not everyone can be a rock star. You have to find something steady that will make you a living.
Play your guitar at home, during your off hours.
It’s certainly true that not everyone who wants to be a rock star will be. Competition is fierce, and there’s a lot of talent out there. The difference between one who makes it as a rock star and one who doesn’t may involve a lucky break or two, or meeting the right person.
But the conversation with one’s parents almost always seems to devolve into encouraging the child, regardless of age, to settle for something he or she may not want.
We can extrapolate further. How miserable, and regretful, will this child be 40 years later that he or she did not pursue his or her passion?
Very likely, a lifetime of paid bills may be no consolation.
One should have a twofold consideration in the pursuit of life. What do you WANT to do? What do you have to do to get what you want? If you don’t get what you want immediately, what do you do in the meantime? The second part is: What do you do to ensure you have a good life throughout? What plan do you put in place to make that happen? How do I make enough to live well, save well, invest well for the future etc.?
The answer is to be both idealistic and practical. Give yourself some time to pursue your passion. If you fail initially, put a Plan B in place as you continue to pursue your passion. What you earn in Plan B can buy you time to get to Plan A.
Sock away a portion of what you earn toward your future, and invest it prudently. Don’t raid that stash for frivolous expenditures.
Perhaps you are the person who has not yet found his or her passion. Perhaps you started with a relatively secure Plan A, and it is treating you OK. You are content. Yet, you want something more.
(Remember, too, that secure Plan A’s are fleeting. They may not last as long as you want them to.)
Or, you may have a passion that is not necessarily paying your bills, but you want to keep pursuing it.
In short, if you have a passion, don’t be afraid to pursue it. Pursue it because you enjoy it. If it pays off financially, consider yourself fortunate. Do something, preferably something you don’t hate, to accommodate your practical needs for as long as you need to. (Hopefully, for as long as you want to.)
Try to live the life you want with few regrets, so you can reach your death bed not wondering what could have been. Not everything you want to happen will happen, but make sure that if things don’t happen, it is not because of something you did, or didn’t do.
Passion may not pay all of your bills, but if they pay some, you would probably have achieved your goals. If they don’t pay any bills, make sure your Plan B does not stop you from pursuing your passion.
Peter
Tag Archives: make a living
CHANGE CAN BE HARD! EMBRACE IT!
#change #gettingunstuck #changehappensquickly
A few decades ago, change came slowly to the world.
It evolved over time. Chances are, people could ride out the evolution without having to worry much about the change when it came. They believed they would be long gone from it.
Today, change happens quickly. Just when you think you will be set for life – or for at least as long as you want to be – boom! Your very secure job is gone! Life as you knew it will never be again.
But with frequent and sudden change comes opportunity, as well as hardship.
George and Sedena Cappannelli discuss all of this in their book, “Getting Unstuck: 10 Simple Secrets to Embracing Change and Celebrating Your Life.”
The authors talk about how many of us were taught by our parents to look for security, to gravitate to what was “safe,” and to pay little or no attention to those who would encourage us to take risks.
You see, our parents lived in a world in which change evolved slowly. The tried and true was constant. You earned a living, instead of fulfilling your dreams.
Today, change is frequent and quick. One must adapt constantly. It’s more challenging for us, yet we have more opportunity to fulfill our dreams, rather than to just make a living.
How do we fulfill our dreams when our supposed security blanket is pulled from underneath us?
First, we need to presume that there is no such thing as a security blanket. We can’t, for example, look at a job, or even a career, as something long-lasting. We live in a world now in which change is so constant, tomorrow there could be a new way to do what you do.
So, learn skills and get experience. Keep thinking of new ways to use your skills, whether in a particular job, or on your own. Remember, always, that the day will come – and you don’t know when – in which you could be literally on your own. When that comes, it won’t matter how good you were at your job, or how valuable you believed you were to your company.
The Cappannellis also talk about how security blankets inhibit dreams. Did your (pick one: parents, teachers, preachers) ever tell you to stop dreaming and get real? Well, you got “real” and suddenly, you’re alone. Reality has slapped you in the face. With that lesson learned, go ahead and dream again.
How do you make dreams come true when, you believe, you have lost your method of making a living? There are many ways out there not only to dream, but to make dreams come true. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You’ll see how other people, just like you and your friends, got real, got slapped and made their dreams come true.
OK, perhaps you have no reason to throw away what you have. Great. Keep it. Just don’t presume it will never go away, or that you can have it for as long as you want it.
When you are not doing your “real” thing, what are you thinking about? If you think about a life in paradise, or a life of service – free from the need to make a living – it’s OK to dream. You can get that life. Just have your Plan B in place so that when reality slaps, you can smile.
Peter