Numerous workforce surveys have shown that only about 20-30% of people are actively engaged in their jobs. The percentage who actually love what they do for a living is smaller still.
How about you? Are you doing what you love?
Or, are you doing what you’re doing because you see no other way to maintain your standard of living or even just to get the bills paid in this uncompromising world?
[box type=\”shadow\”]“Today is a new day. Don\’t let your history interfere with your destiny! Let today be the day you stop being a victim of your circumstances and start taking action towards the life you want. You have the power and the time to shape your life. Break free from the poisonous victim mentality and embrace the truth of your greatness. You were not meant for a mundane or mediocre life!”
– Steve Maraboli[/box]
Going through the motions?
Do you find yourself going through the motions, waiting for better days or some stroke of good fortune that will release you from the uninspiring, repetitive and/or meaningless work that pays for your annual holiday, or keeps you afloat?
If so, it’s time to break free!
Deep down, you know you have a set of unique talents and abilities. You know that you’re capable of playing a very special and meaningful role in the evolution of our world.
The big question
But could doing what you love doing, and what you’re good at, be enough to sustain the life you want?
Yes, but …
The answer is a resounding yes … but only if you are prepared to consider redefining who you are, what you really want and the relationship you have with the outside world.
I’ve read countless inspiring stories of people who have left the rat race to pursue the life they love and who have found great fulfilment, happiness and enjoyment in the process.
Some are people who were so driven by money and material possessions that they had completely lost sight of their purpose in life.
Others struggled to make ends meet but had the courage to decide that if life was meant to be a financial struggle it might just as well be faced while doing something they loved to do.
The defining moment
In every case, there was a defining moment that acted as the catalyst for the action needed to start the process of breaking free.
This defining moment could be something traumatic like experiencing a serious health issue or losing one’s job, or it could be something as simple and subtle as reading an article (like this) or engaging in a moment of reflection, perhaps surrounded by the peace, tranquility and beauty of nature.
The best wake up call is one that is entirely of your own conscious making. If you delay doing what you know you need to do, your inner being may have to engineer something a little more dramatic to get your attention!
What would you rather do?
Okay, so if you’re open to change, what is it that you’d rather be doing?
If your response to that question is to shake your head and throw your arms in the air in despair, then this is simply a sign that you are completely out of touch with your purpose. Don’t worry, this is a surprisingly common affliction!
Questions to help you
Ask yourself these questions:
1. If I had all the money I could ever need what would I spend my days doing?
2. When I am relaxed and in good company, what is it I love to talk about?
3. What do I do to relax and unwind?
4. What do people tend to admire about me or complement me on?
5. What do I love to read or browse the Internet about?
Your life experiences – more questions to ask
Now think about your rich tapestry of past experiences and how it may have positioned you for your new life. Ask yourself these questions:
6. What life experiences (good and bad) have I had that have most contributed to the person I am today?
7. What have these experiences taught me that other people might want or need to know about?
8. In what ways could I use my experiences and abilities to tailor a product or service that other people would want to buy?
9. What could I do or add that would make my offering unique or at least stand out?
10. Who exactly are the people that would be most interested in what I have to offer and how could I best reach out to them?
Perhaps you can see from the above that it is not just the talents and skills that you have that make you unique. Your experiences – your life story – offer you some very unique ingredients for a successful future business.
Business: About solving problems
If you think about it, for any products or services you come up with to be in demand they must solve a problem for others in the world.
That’s exactly why good life coaches are in such demand. They look to solve one of the most common problems that people have – getting clarity on who they are, what they want and what they want to achieve!
Coming to terms with charging others
If the thought of actually charging for your products or services makes you nervous, remember what Robert Louis Stevenson once said:
“Everybody lives by selling something.”
How true. Think about it. What is it about yourself that you are actually selling in your current line of work. Now, can it be so hard to sell something you are passionate about?
Frankly, the more money you make doing what you love, the more people you can help provide solutions for. This is about serving society!
Overcoming your fear – more questions
The final issue is about how to get past the feelings of unease and fear you feel about making this change … so you can make it happen!
The answer is to ask yourself a few more questions:
11. What is the worst thing that could happen to me if I follow my heart and do what I love? What could I do to mitigate this possible worst thing?
12. What is the best thing that could happen to me if I follow my heart and do what I love?
13. Where will I be and how will I feel in five years’ time if I don’t take the action I need to take today?
14. In the next five years, how many hundreds of people will lose the benefit of what I have to offer if I don’t get my act together now?
15. Now, am I ready to break free?
My wish
May this post turn out to offer a defining moment for at least one person who reads it.
If not you, then please pay it forward by sharing it with others 🙂
Thank you for this post Bill.
I do believe in what Mike Dooley calls -” in Selfish Service” Do what you love! Not what someone else wants you to be. We are unique. Blessed to be sharing this time and space here right now.
That’s why I love the love list and find it such a useful tool. I would love to see our education system shift to seeing the benefits of bringing this way of thinking and being into the classroom.
Be in service of what you love and all will flow to and through you. Happy day and thank you for your service to us.
Thanks Renee,
I hope and believe that in time to come our education system will embrace this stuff … but it’s still some way off!
Great great great article Bill. I used to watch my mother drag herself to work everyday and still be grumpy after work because she had a bad day…again… I learned in those yeras that life is supposed to be miserable, otherwise, “who is going to pay your school fees and buy food”. I practiced that method until 2007 when I bumped into your website. I am still trying to unlearn that mentality which I learned for 27 years of my life. I recently realised that God actually wants me to be happy all the time and it is up to me to make choices that tally with God’s purpose for me.
Thank you Bill before I get carried away!!!
… And that’s why you are a life coach – to help others unlearn that mentality 🙂
Fantastic article Bill and one that resonates deep within me. For many many years I floated about in the world doing a job I disliked intently only to pay the bills and “get ahead” in life. I used to watch people on the freeway all trudging along to work, looking like they were going to their own funerals! I asked myself “is this it, is this what life is all about?” Sadly my drug addiction started very soon after that and carried on for 8 years until I had a defining moment ! Now I realize how badly people need purpose and how little of that is around. I find that being a coach is an answer to a very intrinsic part of my healing and that is to help those I coach find purpose and break free. Thanks for a great article 🙂
You’re welcome Timothy – and thanks for a great comment!!
If I hadn’t already broken free to do what I’m passionate about (being a life coach), I would be responding to your suggestions, Bill. Life Coaching gave me the courage to live my dream and to fulfill my true purpose. The very thing that I feared most (losing my financial independence), has not come about.
That’s wonderful Karen. You deserve a huge pat on the back for your courage and commitment!
This is a great message Bill and as Life Coaches one I think all of us have embraced and certainly should encourage others to embrace.
I do believe however that it must be tempered with the practicalities of life, as you mention paying the bills etc, as the need for a lot of hard work and dedication. Certainly not a reason not to pursue your goals and the life you desire but people must be aware that doing the job you love and following your passion requires a effort and dedication. Not just wishful thinking.
As NIA coaches we are taught to get people to take action and be aware of the realities of life. That is why I believe NIA is such a great coaching model.
Thanks Geoff – words of wisdom as always!
This so reminds me of something I read once: Maybe its not Mondays that suck – maybe its your job!
Yep – the sad truth is that for many people Sunday sucks too as they spend it thinking about having to go back to work on Monday 🙁