Do What You Love & The Money Will Follow. Here’s Why
We live in a society where we are very used to doing something we don’t enjoy for long periods of our life so we can put food on our tables, partially see the world, have material objects etc.
and so forth. According to a recent Gallup Survey, 70% of employed Americans either hate their jobs or are simply checked out of their work.[1] What does that say about how we ‘work?’ You can call it backwards or you can just observe it for what it is, the bottom line is we have the ability to do something our heart desires, we just have to make a few adjustments so we can make that happen. Before we go on, it’s not all about the money. It’s about your passion.
The money (a resource we require right now) will simply flow the more we balance our passion with paying attention. You may have heard me say it a number of times, I’m very passionate about other people’s passions and getting them to act on them. I don’t know why I’m like this, but I don’t need to understand that. For now, I know I want to share my message, a bit about my story and inspire other people to do something they love in their life, because if I can do it, so can anyone else. You may have heard the statement before “do what you love and the money will follow.” This statement can sound cliche at times because it also seems to mean we can just start something and it will automatically work out. It all depends on how you interpret the saying. I also believe it comes down to what you think “do” means in the context of the phrase. More on that shortly. Below are thoughts and things I learned along my journey of leaving the beaten path and starting something I’m passionate about, this organization, Collective Evolution. When I was in college, doing things I wasn’t a fan of; things that didn’t light me up and get me excited, I would often think to myself “Why am I doing this? Is this what I want? Where will this lead?” I had the opportunity to work in multiple corporate settings, during and after high school, while I was in between getting degrees. This experience allowed me to see, feel and understand what it was like to be in a corporate setting for not only myself but other people.
The vast majority of people there had been there for 10+ years and they didn’t like what they were doing. I was there for a couple of years on and off and I didn’t like it either. But it paid the bills and this is what most people accept as “good reason” to stay in a job. You could say it’s a good enough reason depending on how you look at it. You can raise a family, have a car, house, do some things etc. To some, that limited way of life may be all they are looking for -or so they think as I like to say. Sure, you could work your way up through the ranks of a company that you don’t enjoy working for and you may make a lot of money if you stick to that, but will you be happy? Do you want to go through life coasting? Just repeating things over and over again with a few days a month here and there where you do something you enjoy? Or would you rather do what you love as often as you could; even if it comes with less money? The Grant Study, a 75 year study out of Harvard University found that in a career sense, feeling connected to ones work as opposed to simply doing it for financial gain played a big role in feeling joy in life. Those who simply chased the traditional idea of success, accumulating wealth and having a “good job,” yet who were not doing what they loved to do, did not find much joy compared to those who simply followed what they liked and felt drawn to.[2] Lesson: We know doing what we love is important for feeling peace in life. You may not always know exactly what you are passionate about and what you want out of life; THAT’S OKAY! The key is not to find false passion but to be open, explore and not stop looking. Don’t simply settle in what you’re doing and start thinking you don’t have a passion. Do what you’re doing but keep your eyes open, challenge yourself, learn new things, you can find passion and joy in many things and sometimes you don’t figure it out until you try. One exercise you can also try it simply writing down what you love doing. Ask yourself, “what do I like doing?” And just start making a list. Do simple things to start if it helps get the flow going. ‘Gardening, walking, video games, etc.’ Then allow it to go deeper; ‘helping people discover themselves, working with animals, helping to educate kids.’ The more we do these basic reflective steps, the more we understand about ourselves and uncover what our desires are inside. Lesson: We often don’t explore what our passion is. Take some time to do it. “Do.” What does it mean? When we think about taking action on our passions sometimes we simply think about doing it and hoping all will work out. Sometimes, this is all it takes, one simple step and everything flows like you wouldn’t believe. Other times, we need a bit more thinking, planning and discovering of how we are going to get from point A to B. This is where I feel most people hit a wall, especially if they subscribe to many concepts of spirituality and are not fully understood. By that I mean sometimes we forget that we are here to use all of our tools, balance our minds, bodies and spirits when we create. Not simply to be creative with no logic or to be logical with no creativity. To be free flowing yet terrified of planning or be a critical thinker yet terrified of using feelings to make a choice. We must work out these balances and we are all capable of them, but often set it aside as we identify with one or the other. Lesson: Remember to keep balance in your life and take action that is both mixed with ‘leaps of faith’ but also knowledge of what you are doing. When you are passionate about what you do you light up. People can see it, they can feel it and they are attracted to it. You’ve seen this yourself in other people and others may have said it to you, it is a very recognizable phenomenon in people; you KNOW when they are passionate about something. Have you ever noticed that when things are going “good” they just seem to keep going good? You get in a flow, things are easy and it moves smoothly one after the other? This is because of the energy you are emanating cumulatively as things unfold. What does that do exactly? And how does it help living your passion lead to finances? It means you are not only making all the physical world connections that will help bring opportunity, experience and ultimately finances to keep you moving, but it will also help send out an auric field from your heart that helps to align with experiences. From a strict business mind, this may sound hoaky or wooy, but that’s simply because as a culture we have become accustomed to shutting these parts of ourself off and setting them aside. We forget that our energy opens doors, makes connections, and aligns with things based on how we feel. This is a force we cannot forget about and discount. Remember, you are not living your passion for money. You are doing it because that is what you love, the money is simply a resource that we need in this world right now. Lesson: Passion lights you up. It brings things together and allows you to do what it takes to make things happen without things feeling like work; because you love it. It is an energy that allows opportunities to align with you. Go, play, have fun with life. Life isn’t as serious as we make it.
The biggest struggle many people have with this situation is that they take the idea of a career, the money, the house, the car, the things, the “life” all too seriously.
They are all great things to play with but are not meant to be there so that we can “suffer” or struggle to support it.
The bottom line is we have been fed a story, a “dream” as many call it. One that tells us what we should be doing and what is best for us to do to make it in this world... but it’s just a story! A story that makes 70% of the population unhappy. Ask yourself... why? Why is it that it’s SO normal to complain about your job and dislike it? Is it simply the human condition that we are complainers? Perhaps, or maybe it’s because it’s very tough for us to force ourselves into things we don’t like doing, that don’t light up our hearts. You have a choice, just like I did, to do something you love and to follow it to the end. You will be fine, you’ll see. You just have to go for it. Be balanced about it, but dare to dream. Sources: 1. http://theweek.com/articles/462832/most-americans-hate-jobs-are-just-checked 2. http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/01/17/harvards-epic-75-year-study-reveals-what-men-need-to-live-a-happy-life/ .
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