Do What You Love

Do what you love. I’ve heard this for many years and it rings true. You will be faced with many opportunities in your life. Oftentimes an opportunity will mean more money for you and your family but the work may not be what you want to do. I read somewhere that 80% of Americans that are working are in jobs they hate. There are so many quotations regarding work but the one I like best is "make your vocation your vacation." I know for a fact that when I’m writing stories, blog entries, or songs, I lose all concept of time. I think it’s like the theoretical situation in which if you were to ever to move faster than the speed of light, you would actually take years off your life.
I read a story about a man that worked in a job all his life that he hated. Every day was met with a sense of dread. His disposition was often sour and he rarely smiled. On weekends he fished. He would take his wife, his kids, and his friends fishing. He was an extraordinary fisherman.
Then one day he went to work and his boss met him at the door and told him he no longer had a job. He was crushed. He looked around for a long time for a “regular” job but was unsuccessful. Then one day out of the blue, his old boss called him to say the he had some clients coming in from out of town and wanted to work in a fishing trip while they were in town. The boss asked if he would be interested is being a guide for a day. He jumped at the chance.
Once he opened up to the idea that he could actually make a living fishing, things blossomed for him. He put classified ads in fishing magazines, and he gave out business cards to other businessmen and slowly he started picking up work. That was several years ago and now that’s all he does and he’s making more money than ever before….and he’s doing something he loves.
The reasons people continue to do work they hate are many. Some people take the first job that comes along and stay with it for unknown reasons. Sometimes it is the security of a regular paycheck. Some people are in jobs because it’s what their parents wanted for them. Some people don’t think about the things they really love.
Sometimes you do not have the luxury of doing the work you love. You may have a family and responsibilities and life pulls you away from your dreams. But if you must work a “day” job that you hate, at least spend some time each day doing work you do love. Oftentimes this will take you toward your dreams instead of away from them. In doing this, you will build needed skills and make contacts in the field you love. You will be in a position to take advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself.
Don’t be like the 80%, be like the 20% that do what they love.