How Does Passion Play Into Your Business?
I remember when I was young and well-meaning adults would tell me, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” What I didn’t know at the time is that those people were neither happy nor wealthy and possibly a bit delusional! Unfortunately, I didn’t learn the truth until I tried to follow their advice.
A few years and a liberal arts degree later and now that I’m the delusional adult. (Haha) To be fair; I actually use my creative writing degree to a great extent. I still love writing and yes, I even get paid to do it.
But the advice I give young adults is a bit different.
So, let’s break it apart. If you’re making a living that you deem comfortable and you feel satisfied and fulfilled, you’ve figured it out. But what if you’re not?
In a blog post a number of years ago I asked, “Are you doing what you love? AND Are you loving what your do?”
Those are two pretty different questions. Are you doing what you love? Are you going to work every day living a passion that started before you ever were paid for it? Is there a fulfillment that comes, a gratification you feel just by doing the work?
As a Virtual Assistant I can honestly say yes to this question. I love helping people with their administrative tasks; but also I love helping them with reaching a goal or solving problems.
The second question feels like it’s the same as the first, but you see a tiny difference. Are you loving what you do? Do you really enjoy the actual work of it? Or is it something you slough through day in and day out? A better question would be, “Do you enjoy the process?”
Again, as a Virtual Assistant, I can say that I do…but with the caveat that I’m sure you’ve already thought of.
Most days.
There will always be those few days that are just plain miserable. And some that aren’t exactly something to love. And that’s ok.
But what if it’s more than once in a while? What if the passion is long gone and the day to day has you questioning everything?
If that’s the case, it’s time to take an inventory and decide if you need a break or a new path. Sometimes a pros and cons checklist is all you need to see that things are better than they seem.
Or worse.
Getting it in black and white can help you see that you need to make some changes. Whether those changes are big or small will be up to you. And, if you find yourself in that loveless relationship between yourself and your work, I want you to know it’s perfectly ok to break up! You are worth finding that fire again.
And I believe in you. So go find your fire!