If you\’re in employment are you truly doing what you love?
Probably not, if numerous recent surveys are to be believed.
In one global survey of 30 000 workers, between 28% and 56% said they wanted to find new work.
[box type=\”shadow\”]\”If you do what you love, you\’ll never work a day in your life.\”
– Marc Anthony[/box]
A common problem
In a recent survey in the US only 19% of people said they were satisfied with their jobs. 16% said they were partly satisfied and the remaining two-thirds were not happy at work.
No doubt the results would be pretty similar here and elsewhere in the world.
A special kind of fulfillment
By contrast, the great majority of life coaches love what they do. There is a special kind of fulfillment that comes from helping people to reach for their dreams and live the lives they love.
Life coaches work in a variety of different \’niches\’ (meaning the areas or groups of people they choose to specialise in working with).
Vocational coaching
One very attractive niche is what you might call vocational coaching. This is coaching aimed specifically at guiding and supporting people who want to make their passion their work – and who wouldn\’t?
Craig Nathanson is, today, a very successful vocational coach living his passion but, like most of us, he didn\’t start out in his career doing what he loved.
Craig spent many years building a high powered corporate career until he had the courage to turn his back on it and follow his passion. It certainly wasn\’t easy for him but today he is reaping the rewards of a joyful and fulfilling life.
I was touched by his life story and his determination not to compromise on finding authenticity and happiness in his work despite having a lot to lose. I wanted to share this with you today.
Here is a brief extract from his story as posted on his website:
Craig\’s story – an extract
“After 25 years in Corporate America being good at what I did, but never liking it, I walked away. I walked away from faceless products, faceless bosses and pointless meetings.
Over the next four years, I pursued my life’s passion — helping others of my age find the will and the strength to pursue their own passions. This change has given me peace and joy because I am now living my life with authenticity and integrity and I am now being true to who I really am.
But this change did not come without a price. I had to give up my million dollar house and I ended up in bankruptcy. The best I could afford was a 400 square foot, one bedroom apartment.
Living an authentic life also meant that I could no longer stay in my lifeless and abusive marriage.
As you can imagine, this was a very difficult time and there were days I wasn’t sure that I would be able to feed my kids. I remember once trying to find a pawn shop to sell my wedding ring to buy food.
But we grew closer as a family and we had many fun-filled pizza and popcorn nights at home on the floor (no furniture!)
Although I didn’t plan for this extreme situation, I did want to teach my kids a lesson about life and authenticity and what it meant to have integrity.
Will you go homeless or die? You probably won’t die but you may have to redefine what homeless means.
Following your vocational passion is not easy. It may be the hardest thing you will ever do. I had days with no money, no gas and little food for the kids to eat. Yet somehow, someway, I always managed to come through when it counted.
Even as I went through this time of crisis, I wrote and published a book, started a private practice, and started teaching, speaking and creating CDs and other products all targeted at those over 40.
My father’s suicide not long after his retirement just served to strengthen my belief that we all should be doing what we love.
If he had found and pursued his life’s passion, perhaps he would still be alive today.
One of the things that got me through was my deep belief in my new life mission: that the world would be a better place if we all did what we love.“
For me the final paragraph says it all.
How about you?
So True. Because once you do what you love you will never regret a minute or second spent. You will not have the reason to wonder and stress about life and its challenges, you’ll only have solutions and a smile every morning. As for me right now, i followed a path taken by many and avoided the right one for me. Now I’m not happy at work because i thought this was it. But i always tell people they should love what they do and do what they love as this will only nourish their soul… Why is it so easy to advice others but hard to follow your own advice?
So true. I have just recently started doing what I love, and even though business is slow, I feel happier than if I was still working in a job I couldn’t stand. My time will come. We just need to take that plunge and start somewhere. 🙂
Good attitude!
Hello Bill,
I am one of the fortunate ones who IS living my passion. It didnt come easily though. After a divorce, change of job, and a house move all in the space of three months, I realised I had evolved. From that moment on I knew what my life purpose was and I am happy to say I am living it.
Congratulations Karen! I’m sure for most of us it doesn’t come easy … but the challenges we have to go through make it extra rewarding.
The message could not be any louder or any clearer for me! But oh how difficult it is to give up that pension fund and the good salary! But I know that the time will come when I shall no longer feel trapped in the cocoon (the Corporate) but instead will emerge as a colourful butterfly to playfully spread my wings! The world will not only be a better place if I do what I love most, but most of all, if I help others to develop the courage live their dream life. What struck me most of all was Craig’s “deep belief” in his life purpose. Without it, one is so easily crushed.
This is a beautiful comment Karen! Let’s spread our collective wings and make the world a happier place.
Thank you Bill, yet again for an inspiring article. I find it interesting in this regard that the word vocation has the Latin ‘Vocatus’ as root, meaning ‘to call’ or ‘being called.’ In our language we often refer to one’s ‘calling’ in life. This applies to a voice from within; the voice of one’s Life Purpose: for me still the most powerful Session of the New Insights Programme!
Thanks for this Arjan – an interesting reflection!
One of the reasons why I pursued life coaching was because I wondered how the rest of the people managed to live the rest of their lives in situations that they are not happy with. I often got angry when someone is in a loveless relationship or marriage or even a very unhappy job. I am really happy now knowing I can help people understand the beauty of living your authentic life but also I am now living my truth!
Thanks Bill
When you are happy, fulfilled and content in what you are doing it is difficult to understand why others do not move heaven and earth to attain the same. However, when you are unhappy, unfulfilled and discontent in what you are doing it is easy to feel trapped with no way out. As a life coach your role is to show those who feel trapped that a way out is easily within their reach!