What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s this question that seems to loom over our heads since childhood. We start out as astronauts, professional athletes, and the like, eventually finding our way towards more traditional roles such as teachers and engineers. It’s true that some achieve their dream job and find complete fulfillment. However, according to a recent poll, nearly 70% of the workforce feel disengaged at their job.
I believe that somewhere along the way, many choose to compromise and passions take a backseat to a paycheck. With that said, a degree of compromise may be necessary depending your passion. For example, I practiced for years with the hope of becoming a professional musician, but found compromise in an area of creativity and better financial security. The key is discovering the right balance of passion, skill, and market need. This will allow you to start chasing passion into profit.
Passion, Skill, & Need
Passion, Skill, and Need – I consider this the holy trinity of personal fulfillment and success. A situation where you are consumed with purpose and find Monday just as exciting as Friday! Now, each of these three need to exist in equal balance for things to work in your favor. For example, you may be passionate about sailing, but have very little experience and minimal demand in the marketplace. To further illustrate these three, let’s explore each in more detail.
Passion
Passion is defined as an intense enthusiasm for something, or what I consider to be your state of flow. In this situation, one may find themselves completely absorbed, resulting in the loss of one’s sense of space and time. Now, you may find that you have a number of passions and that’s great! For example, I find myself passionate about guitar, design, online business, and finance. Sure, I have other interests, but I find these subjects fascinating.
It’s up to you to discover your passions in life and it can take time. Explore the possibilities and narrow down to the topics you enjoy most.
Skill
Next, you need to analyze your current skill set. Do you have the skills necessary to practice your passion? If not, what are you doing to improve that? For example, if you have a passion for photography, but don’t have the skills or equipment necessary to succeed, how will you acquire them? It’s in this situation where you need to look into degrees, certificates, self-study, mentorship, courses, and anything else that’ll build your knowledge and skill.
If you are already skilled in your areas of passion, you’re well on your way. That said, someone who is passionate about a certain topic never stops learning and improving. It becomes a lifelong pursuit where you continuously build knowledge and skill.
The person who stops studying merely because he has finished school is forever hopelessly doomed to mediocrity, no matter what may be his calling. The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.
Need
Finally, there is market need. Passion and skill are great and may be fulfilling in their own right, but it’s important to consider the demand for those skills. Take my passion for guitar for instance. I’ve spent countless hours playing guitar and loved every minute of it, but there’s not exactly a high demand for that skill. I wouldn’t trade that time for anything, but I realize it’s not a great financial pursuit.
The key is to find which of your passions contain the most potential for financial gain. Keep in mind, this is not always an easy decision and may take time. Once decided, focus all your energy on becoming the best in your chosen field and people will pay for the value you provide. Find a need and fill it.
Chasing Passion Into Profit
Now, you may be asking yourself how this information could lead to a more fulfilling and profitable life. Well, it’s important to understand balance, illustrated by the graphic above. I believe the 70% who feel disengaged in the workplace are out of balance, with more emphasis placed on skills and market needs. Described as the typical 9 to 5 employee who lacks passion and works for the weekend. Those in “the sweet spot” are in balance and find enjoyment not only on weekends but in their careers as well!
If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and seek to build a business centered around your passion, here are a few things you may realize.
Enjoyment/Less Burnout
When you are passionate about what you do, there really is no “work/life balance” because you are consumed by your passion. You’ve found purpose in life and strive to learn and be the best you can possibly be. Does this sound like a person who easily gives up and moves on to something else? Hardly! By finding purpose and enjoyment in your line of work, you’ll be excited to start work everyday!
Creative Freedom
By realizing your calling in life and building a business centered around your passion, you’ll achieve complete creative freedom. This may be in stark contrast to your typical day job where you are required to work within the confines of your given field. With this freedom, you reach a state of flow and work on what you want, when you want, how you want, with who you want, however long you want…you get the idea. Creative freedom sets your mind free to realize your potential.
Unlimited Potential
One of the most exciting aspects of business ownership is unlimited potential. As an employee, you are only worth what your employer pays you. Yes, it may feel comforting to receive a consistent paycheck every month, but is that really fulfilling? By fueling your business with passion, people will find value in what you provide and pay a premium for your products and/or expertise.
Purpose
Last but not least, you’ll find purpose in life. It’s easy to float along in life and take what comes your way, but by following your passion and working towards a higher goal, you’ll find purpose and fulfillment in life like never before.
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
– Mark Twain
Follow Your Passion
In closing, I want to stress how important it is to follow your passion as best you can. You may fail, but continue to fail forward until you succeed. Sure, failure may sting, but nothing in comparison to regret. Time is a limited resource, do you really want to spend your entire life building someone else’s dream or build your own? By chasing your passions with skill and market need, your sure to run into success!
What are your thoughts, are you following your passions in life? Leave a comment below!
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