Never Work A Day In Your Life

You’ve heard the sayings before:

Live to work: don’t work to live.

Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.

Success doesn’t create happiness; happiness creates success.

Chase a dream, not a pay check.

Okay, I made the last one up.

Why?  Because my dream job is to make things up.   (I'm a writer and that includes fiction.  I really do get to make things up.)  I’m a journalist too, so don’t worry.  I’m happy to work with facts when my job requires it.

Whoa--did you see that?   I used happy and job in the same sentence.   Believe it or not, you can too!  I’m not talking about getting rich quick or work-at-home schemes.  I’m talking about honest-to-goodness hard-word, pounding the pavement every day (and sometimes every night), and just plain putting yourself out there for the business world to see.   The difference is you are putting your “true” self out there.  The self that makes you comfortable, makes you smile, makes you shine.  Make no mistake about it, when you shine you become easier to see!

If everyone on this planet had the same interests and capabilities our progress would be very limited.  It is our differences that provide value.  It is our interests that provide that drive.

So, why is work so hard? According to a quote released in an article by Forbes.com, “Some surveys have found that 87 percent of Americans don't like their jobs.”  (Sorry, no sources were cited for these surveys.)  Whether accurate or not, plenty of people can’t stand Monday morning.  Or Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings, for that matter.  Friday’s a toss-up.  That's because they've found a job, not a passion.

Well, I’m doing what I love and what I’m good at.  While I’m not a millionaire, nor will I ever be (unless I win this week’s lottery, and you’ll know it if this is my last blog); I hope I never return to the 9 to 5 scene.

How did I get here?  For the record my background includes marketing, public relations, advertising, sales and writing.  I haven’t always liked all of those tasks, but apparently I was good at what I did.   I was willing to work hard and cared about my reputation.   More importantly, I found out what I loved to do.  Even more significant, I figured out how I could make money doing what I love to do.

To find out what you're passionate about check my Passions blog!

What's Your Passion

If everyone on this planet had the same interests and same capabilities our progress would be very limited. It is our differences that provide value.  It is our interests that provide the drive.

Know anyone driven by a hobby?  Someone who spends their evening tinkering in the garage? Or the weekend chasing deals at flea markets?

What about you? What's your passion?  If you don't know what drives you, it's time to find out.  If you already know what you love, find out how you can make money doing it.  In the next few days I'll be adding posts to help you find a career niche.

Determine Your Passion
Step One: Start with a "Passion" List
-What hobbies/activities really get you excited?
-Write down all the things you enjoy doing on your free time
-Write down all the things you wish you could do or have always wanted to do
-Write down the "activities" you would do if you had a free weekend all to yourself.  (Note the word activity.  Sleeping does not count!)
-Try this link for hobby ideas

Step Two: Evaluate your Passion List
-Circle any repetitive or similar answers
-Put these items in order by preference or enjoyment level
-Consider your top choices.   These should reflect your current interests.  If you don't feel comfortable with the results, search the web for more ideas.
-Whittle down your Passion List to the top five, or better yet, the top two favorites.
-But DON'T delete your other entries.  Dream jobs often combine several passions and hobbies.

Step Three: Consider what you currently think your dream job would be
-What do you think your job dream is and why?
-If you need some dream job ideas check out tomorrow's Career blog

Step Four: Evaluate your dream jobs (try to choose less than four jobs)
-How do your dream jobs match any of the favorites on your passion list?
-Did you choose your dream jobs for the money potential?  Did you choose them because you've heard others describe them as exciting?   Or did you select these jobs because they truly fit your interest level?   Remember, just because someone else has found the "perfect" job, doesn't mean you'll find it perfect for you.
-If you feel any of these dream jobs fit your personality add them to your Passion List

Step Five:  Consider your Passion List for a few days-Add or remove any items you feel is necessary, or change the order of the top listings
-If you haven't already done so, whittle your list down to the top two

Step Six: Determining your skills-Make a list of all the skills you have (include hands-on learning, actual training, education and experience) that relates to your Passion List
-Make a list of all the skills you have that relate to business or could be considered useful.   Examples include: sales experience, organizational skills, people skills, writing, seminar training, phone skills.   Also consider any additional skills you are good at, particularly if you enjoy them.  Examples include: bargain shopping, internet research, texting skills, etc.

Step Seven: Creative Thinking-This step is the most critical and the most exciting part of the whole process.   If you're ready for this stage check out Creative Thinking in the Career section.