Love What You Do

After six years in a job which brought little pleasure and only mediocre monetary reward, I have learned an important lesson. I've heard others preach this lesson, but it never made sense until I had so many unhappy experiences in a job I thought that I would love.

Stop chasing the dollar, work in what you love, and ultimate happiness will follow.

I used to think that more and more money would make me happy. I joined an organization which promoted based on test results and I promoted rather quickly. With each promotion came a bump in pay, but little by way of personal fulfillment. I was proud of the work I did, and I was happy at being a part of something bigger, but pride and fulfillment are two different things. I needed fulfillment, a personal reason for going into work everyday, which I was hardly offered.

I had known that I wanted to be a writer, but to make it in a creative career field these days can be hard, with less attention paid to artistic luxuries and more attention focused on industrial output. I also knew that the lives of most writers is modest, with only a few number actually making it onto the best seller lists. That didn't change my motivation, so I started to peek around on the Internet for writing opportunities. I stumbled upon great sites which would let me write what I wanted and reward me accordingly (this site is one of those sites).

Now, I feel fulfilled. I get to say what I want and let people know what I think only if those people choose to read what I have written. I never like to preach, so writing offered a good outlet for me to share my thoughts without being too "preachy". I figure that if people don't want to know what I have to think, then they won't search for me or my articles on the web. Also, if someone does not like what I have to say, they can stop reading at any time and move on. No harm no foul.

I work from home, write when I am inspired to write, and write what I am inspired to write. I earn as much as I want as long as I can produce the content, I answer to nobody but the IRS once a year, and I pretty much live how I want to live. As an Internet content writer, I can take my job on the road, seek out new places, people, and experiences to write about.

So how does this translate to you? Maybe you don't want to be a writer, maybe you want be something else. Maybe you actually enjoy the rat race and want to succeed in a corporate endeavor. Whatever your goal is, you should work to achieve it, if it truly makes you happy. It is okay to try different things, so do not feel bad if you ever feel that you have to quit your day job to try new things. On that note, do not feel bad to quit at all, as long as you do it for the right reasons. As a society, we are taught that quitting is bad, and only quitters quit, and nobody wants to be a quitter. You should not quit if you become overwhelmed or frustrated, those are feelings of life that have to be dealt with. Quitting a job because it truly does not make you happy or because the work does little by way of personal satisfaction is a valid reason to quit. Why should a person suffer in a career just because society tells them that they have to? Many older generations of people may disagree with this way of thinking because they have been taught that work should not be done for fun, it should be done to support life. To those people I say this, we are a new generation, and times change.

I know what you're thinking. You think that you have too many responsibilities to just drop everything. I understand. The transition to being a writer for me was easy because I made the transition as a single individual only looking after myself. To those with family responsibilities, I say start slow. Branch out to your true passion on weekends, starting as a hobby. Any time you have off should be split between spending time with the ones you love and exploring your true passion. It is important to keep the ones you love in the loop, because they should be able to support you along the way and will be excellent people to bounce ideas off of and talk about your goals. Talking about goals can be a great way to realize them because the ideas are heard, they are out in the open, and you get "pepped up" from talking about the things you want to do.

If you start slow, treating your passion as a hobby (at first), you will have time to master your craft, so that you can turn you passionate hobby into a career change. Learning through making mistakes while you still have a traditional full time job will ensure that even if you do make mistakes here and there in the beginning, you and your loved ones won't have to suffer financially along the way.

For those who want to work in certain career fields, who find fulfillment through traditional jobs, pursuing the necessary educational and licensing requirements either at night, on weekends, or through taking vacation days from your traditional employer is suggested. If those requirements are met, turning your education / training into volunteer work is also suggested. Find those in your area who are doing the work that you want to do and ask to shadow them, performing small errands along the way. This will provide practical experience, strong references, and will still allow you to keep your traditional full time job.

For some, simply doing the volunteer work will provide enough fulfillment and many may be happy with keeping their full time job while keeping their passionate hobby just that...a hobby. If this becomes the case, then more power to you. This is not an article on making a career change, it is about being able to do what you want to do while still being able to live comfortably. Many people who can tolerate their full time job volunteer some of their weekends to being volunteer police officers, firefighters, reserve military members, etc.

If opposition is met with from your loved ones, then acknowledge their fears and frustrations, don't avoid them. Try to make them see how happy the move would make you, and the benefits to being able to do what you love. Less stress and tensions at home is at the top of the list of "benefits". Also, do not let your passion consume you. Your time will already by strained by splitting it up between regular work and using free time to explorer a passion, so set aside a set amount of time every week to spend with the family, let them know that you are still around, and constantly show them how much you appreciate their help and understanding along the way.

So, find what you love, and start looking at every possible way to start exposing yourself to what you want to do. The process may not be quick, but it will be fun and rewarding. If you can turn you passion into a full time job, while still being able to support yourself and your family comfortably, then you have managed to reach a level of the American dream which only a select few are ever fortunate enough to experience.