Feeling lost when aiming to follow your passion?
In this guide, you will find the keys to start navigating with clarity the challenge of creating a professional life that fulfills you without falling into the Myths that prevent most people from creating a passionate life.
Nowadays, it seems that every advertisement and self-development book tells you that you have to follow your passion, right?
It seems that if you are not working on something for which you would work 14 hours a day for free or wake up every day with the intention of changing the world you are not succeeding in life.
If you feel like you have no damn idea what your passion is or that building your life around what you love means giving up any financial future that allows you to live a decent life, this guide is for you.
We come from a society where what prevailed was safe work and there were established models of professional success.
This pushed and continues to push many people to climb the ladder of success to realize that it was the wrong ladder.
However, the «follow your passion» message can become almost as toxic as the previous message, if you take it the wrong way.
After having gone through this process myself, and having accompanied other people in theirs, there are many things that would have helped me to do this process in a much more natural, faster way, and with less stress.
I share them in this guide.
1. Stop searching, It’s Time to Get Creative.
Your passion is not lost on a desert island or hiding among the tables of your city’s work offices.
You were not born with a purpose or mission that you need to find throughout your life.
You CREATE your passion.
It is an active process, not a passive one.
It is a process of self-inquiry, of listening to yourself, and of taking a lot of action because when you try things out you get the information to know what you enjoy and what you don’t enjoy.
There is nothing that you should do, it is what you choose to do.
2. Diamonds are forever, Your Passion doesn’t have to.
Your passion is NOT set in stone. What you are passionate about is intimately connected to who you are at this moment.
You, like everyone else, change and evolve (which is great), and what you are passionate about will evolve with you.
For many people, the fact that one day they decided that they wanted to dedicate themselves to something they were passionate about leads them to want to sustain it even when it no longer makes sense to them.
This,
- Puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on defining what you are passionate about right now (it’s like you’re going to marry someone for the rest of your days just by seeing their profile on tinder)
- Can make you get stuck in your past instead of evolving and letting your life evolve with you.
The only constant is change and holding on to the past is only going to bring you frustration and suffering.
3. Follow Your Passion and the Money Will Follow = BS.
Money doesn’t usually come alone, and this can be one of the most frustrating parts of the “live your passion” that many people experience.
Your life is a whole. And when we talk about living from what you are passionate about, many people forget that living from something means making money with it.
If what you are dedicating yourself to makes you struggle to make end meet and to live under stress, you will not enjoy it in the same way and it will limit your progress.
If you already know what you want to turn into your passion and you want to make a living off it, whatever it’s working for a company or for yourself, you must take into account how you are going to offer value to your clients (a value for which they are willing to pay the amount that will allow you to live as you want to live).
It seems like common sense, right? But they already say that it is the least common of all senses.
4. To Live From Your Passion, it’s not Mandatory to Start a Business.
Not at all. Again, it depends on you and your needs. And working for someone else can make you just as happy and even more than starting your own business.
Don’t get me wrong, I do to run a business and for me, that’s an amazing adventure but it is not short of a lot of effort and uncertainty.
There is no single answer to what is a successful life. But as many as there are people in the world.
The crux of the matter is to know yourself and create a life that fits you well and this is a never-ending endeavor.
5. To Succeed, you must take Big SMART Risks.
We have a very romanticized idea of the figure of the successful person.
That person who risks everything to one card and that ends up triumphing despite of the odds.
The One that goes to take the island and burns the boats.
This is a losing strategy.
If you are taking risks that can put you out of the game and playing it all to one card, chances are that at some point you will be out of the game and make a mistake that does not allow you to continue over the long haul.
If you study carefully the most successful entrepreneurs and business people you will see that they are not big risk-takers.
What they are exceptionally good at is taking smart- controlled risks.
In reducing the risk of the worst possible scenario so that it is easily repairable while the possible benefit if things go well, is practically unlimited.
This is taking risks wisely.
And it will significantly reduce your resistance to taking action.
If your only option is to leave a job that puts fut on the table for you and your family or jump into a pool and hope that there is water, it is normal for you to be afraid!
And this fear may have a very good reason to be there.
Now, if you create some clarity on how will you make the money you need, save some money, and get 2 or 3 clients before leaving your job.
Doesn’t that sound much easier?
Become an expert in taking controlled risks and you will have developed one of the most important skills of any successful person.
Conclusion
In the end of the day, your passion is something that you choose to nurture and develop.
It can be very rewarding, but like many things in life that are worthwhile, it also takes effort and dedication.
What is the next action you can take to develop your passion?
- Identifying your strengths?
- Reaching out to someone that’s already living your dream life?
- Looking for a coach or mentor to help you?
Now that you already know the 5 most common myths to avoid when you aim to find and follow your passion.
Will you commit to take the steps to create a passionate life?
Let me know in the comments.
Much love,
Clara Agnès
