Yesterday, my granddaughter comes up to me and says, “Papa, I know what I want to do with my life!” Very excited, she continues, “You know how you’re always talking about doing what you love vs making money?” I respond enthusiastically, “Yes. Yes, go on.” After some thoughtful framing, she tells me the details of her plan.
When she told me the details of her plan, it nearly broke me, because what she wanted to do with her life, what she was so passionate about, what she loved to do more than anything, her reason for getting up every day, to breathe, and how she defined herself in the world, was reduced to her presenting business plan.
I was blessed and honored to be the first person to whom she reported her heart’s desire, and to know that my encouragement that she seek to achieve her highest and best had found resonance in her. She had thoroughly understood my explaining about doing what you love vs making money to her and developed a sound business plan which monetized her hopes and dreams.
In a million years, I would have not come up with an idea to pursue, like hers, and I would have hoped that she choose almost anything else besides what she’d selected to be her ultimate goal in life, but this did not dissuade me from supporting her completely. For how can you deny or dictate the desires of someone’s heart? You can try, but to do so doesn’t make any sense.
The desires of someone’s heart, what they love more than anything, can change over time, but whatever it is, right now, simply is. You cannot change it. So, bless and support whoever they are in whatever it is that they love beyond all other things in this life.
Doing What You Love vs. Making Money
In doing what you love vs. making money, the basis is that you discover the thing that you’d love to do, what you are passionate about, the activity that you would engage in where time just disappears, to make money doing what you love would be far superior to working just to make a paycheck to survive.
When I am working with a client, it is very rare that I find someone who does not know what they are passionate about. Even so, with a little probing, together we can find out what turns you on.
Now, finding a way to monetize your passion is a whole other process. It takes some creative detective work to come up with a plan for making money doing what you love, and you’re going to have to stretch your imagination enough to look at ways you can make it happen.
It takes a bit of ingenuity to monetize your heart’s desire, and there is a degree of risk in stepping out in faith to make money doing what you love. If your need to make money outweighs your desire to pursue your passion for profit, this can be a problem, and it is the primary reason why more people do not do what they love for money.
In most cases, people are more likely to settle for finding a career doing something they like, or is not too distasteful, in exchange for a paycheck. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but you could do better, if you are courageous enough to tackle such a task.
In the case of my granddaughter, she had done the research, developed her brand, a marketing strategy, and even came up with potential locations to launch her dream business. A grandfather couldn’t be more proud.
Generally, you will need some assistance in working out the details to create or pursue your passion and make your dream come true.
Thanks to the world wide web, you have access to all the resources you need to get from here to there, and if you’re feeling like it’s just too much to take on, seek out a qualified coach or consultant who can help you get you to where you want to be.
You May Fail
Doing so, will not be without risk, and you may not achieve your financial goals the first time out.
There is no need to feel dejected if you fail, for those who have found their way to monetize what they love have failed, but kept going. Look for your Return on Failure Learning (ROFL) and you can use what you have learned to strengthen your resolve to keep going.
Even if you’re feeling unworthy, or like, “My life has been so awful,” and you just can’t see the forest for the trees, look for others who you look up to, and know even though to us it looks as though they experienced instant success, a closer look at their stories will reveal their journey was not an easy one, and they continued to push through and overcome the obstacles which presented themselves along the way.
You can do this.
Do what you love and the money will follow.
If you need help, call me.