Trying to find your dream career but don’t know where to start? Or you’re worried following your passion will only leave you broke? Life has dramatically changed. Finding work your life and being able to live comfortably doing it is no longer a foreign idea. We’re not in the same position as our grandparents where jobs and food were scarce. For them, it was about survival and giving the generations ahead of them more opportunities.
So understandably the dreams they pushed on to their kids and grandkids were ones that included the words “school, doctor, lawyer”. Whatever was safe and predictable. But as the world changes quicker than we can imagine, so have our options and our opportunities. The terms “find your passion” and “do what you love” are everywhere.
While following your passion for our grandparents meant poor, for us it means opportunity. It holds the promise of a life where Mondays aren’t just tolerated but enjoyed.
So the big question remains – how do you find your passion and dream career?
What We Are Really Looking For
Chris Guillebeau’s book Born for This
answers this question perfectly.
It’s not just about passion or our dream career but finding these 3 components:
- Something that makes us happy (joy)[note]Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do,Chris Guillebeau[/note]
- Something that’s financially viable (money)[note]Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do,Chris Guillebeau[/note]
- Something that maximizes our unique skills (flow)[note]Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do,Chris Guillebeau[/note]
These are the 3 things we need. And we need them all.
Related post on finding your passion:
Something That Makes Us Happy (Joy)
It’s realistic to say that if we’re spending 40 hours a week doing something – it needs to at least bring us joy.[note]Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do, Chris Guillebeau[/note]
If your current job doesn’t bring you joy – you probably understand why this is important.
But while we can like most of our job, there are always bits we don’t like. Nothing is perfect.
This can’t be changed. But we should seek something that, for the most part, we can imagine doing day in day out for the rest of our lives – without picturing retirement.
Joy isn’t just important for us either. It’s also important for the employer. Creativity is three times higher when you’re a happy employee. [note]Orane, Marguerite. “From JOB to JOY: How to Find JOY at Work, No Matter What Your Job Is.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 May 2017.t[/note]
Related post on mindset:
Something That’s Financially Viable (Money)
Cold. Hard. Cash.
We all need it. It’s a necessity. We have bills to pay. Houses to live in. Families to support.
There’s nothing bad about it. But it does make it an important factor in the passion equation.
There’s huge talk around this topic. “Follow your passion, not the money”.
It’s a nice thought. But it’s leaning on the unrealistic side.
The argument of doing what you love vs earning money is a close minded one.
There is so much opportunity available to us now with the internet. There’s no reason that your passion (or at least one of them) can’t help you create the lifestyle you want.
How? By making sure whatever you create is also useful. That it provides value to other people. Not just you. [note]MoneyBuilder. “The Real Secret to Making Money by Following Your Passion.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 23 May 2012. Web. 17 May 2017.[/note]
You can be passionate about all kinds of things that won’t actually pay you anything. But when you combine your passion with something that’s useful to the world, that’s where you’ll find synergy. And that’s how you can make some money.- Chris Guillebeau[note]MoneyBuilder. “The Real Secret to Making Money by Following Your Passion.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 23 May 2012. Web. 17 May 2017.[/note]
Chris’ book The $100 Startup
is jam-packed full of real-life people who created micro-businesses (and lifestyles that they love) out of a need they saw wasn’t be
Each of these people found a way to apply the formula — they did something they were passionate about, but they also made sure to translate their passion into a valuable skill.Each of these people found a way to apply the formula — they did something they were passionate about, but they also made sure to translate their passion into a valuable skill. – Chris Guillebeau[note]MoneyBuilder. “The Real Secret to Making Money by Following Your Passion.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 23 May 2012. Web. 17 May 2017.[/note]
Relevant posts for making money blogging:
Something That Maximizes Our Unique Skills (Flow)
Flow is a state.
In positive psychology, flow, also known as the zone, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does.[note]”Flow (psychology).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 09 May 2017. Web. 17 May 2017.[/note]
The final part of the passion equation.
Does whatever you’re looking at putting you in a state of flow? Not all the time. But you’ve got those days or those few hours were nothing else exists except what you’re doing.
That’s flow.
“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”[note]Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.” Pursuit of Happiness. N.p., 10 Sept. 2016. Web. 17 May 2017.[/note]
It’s about finding that balance between challenge and enjoyment.
Csikszentmihalyi described it as a form of meditation. Where you are completely in that moment. Focused solely on the task. And when you finish, you have a sense of calm about you.
Passion Doesn’t Mean Entrepreneurship
Maybe this is in my head but part of me worries we can only find our passion and dream career if we work for ourselves. This isn’t true.
We can find passion and our dream caraeer with any job. It’s just a matter of thinking of these 3 components and then finding a job that meets them.
It’s when we allow more joy than money or more money than the joy that we end up in the same place we were before!
Not Just What You Do But How You Do It
Finding joy, money, and flow is vital in finding your passion in life. But without the right working conditions, it doesn’t mean much.[note]Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do, Chris Guillebeau[/note]
You could find something perfect in all 3 areas and have a horrible boss. Or the commute could be so long, you don’t make it in time to see the kids.
These things are also vital in finding work you love doing.
Fighting between work you love and work conditions leave you stressed. It almost defeats the purpose of the journey. Keep in mind that the right working conditions for your passion or dream job are also important.
So, It’s Possible – Finding Your Passion & Your Dream Job Can Happen
So while finding your passion is important. Lifestyle, working conditions and of course money are also things to consider.
But it’s possible.
No, you won’t love everything that you do every day. But judging from all the people Chris has found – finding your passion, creating a lifestyle you enjoy and being able to pay the bills is more than possible.
Sure it’s no easy task – but is life ever?
