Finding Your Passion Without Being Poor

Trying to find your passion but don’t know where to start? Or you’re worried following your passion will only leave you broke?

As a millennial life has dramatically. Finding work you 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 then it was about survival.

And giving the generations ahead of them more opportunity.

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 without being poor?

What We Are Really Looking For

Chris Guillebeus book Born For This answers this question perfectly.

It’s not just about passion 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 thats financially viable (money)[note]Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do,Chris Guillebeau[/note]
• Something that maximises 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.

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]

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 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]

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 put you in a state of flow? Not all the time. But you’ve get 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.

When I read about how Csikszentmihalyi it’s almost like a 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 passion if we work for ourselves.

This isn’t true.

We can find passion in any job. It’s just a matter of thinking of these 3 components and then finding a job that meets them.

And remember – all 3 matter.

It’s when we allow more joy than money or more money than joy that we end up in the same place we were before!

Related posts on finding your passion & mindset:

• 3 Books To Help You Find The Work You Love
• 3 Steps To Control Negative Self Talk
• New Bloggers That Made Over $5,000 Per Month Blogging In Less Than 12 Months

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 leaves you stressed. It almost defeats the purpose of the journey.

So, It’s Possible – Finding Your Passion & Not Being Poor

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 everyday. But judging from all the people Chris has found – finding your passion, creating a life style you enjoy and being able to pay the bills is more than possible. 

Sure it’s no easy task – but is life ever?