Follow Your Passion – The Key To True Happiness In Life
This article, Follow Your Passion – The Key To True Happiness In Life is a continuation of the previous article I wrote on my other website called How To Be Happy In Life – Follow Your Passions, only here we will go into greater detail on what steps need to be taken in order to live a life of your own choosing.
I previously explained that to live a more happy and fulfilled life, you really ought to be following your passion and manifesting your dreams into reality.
This can indeed be done, but it takes a process to design your life and if you heed the advice and follow the steps, then there is no reason why you, yes YOU can`t have the life you have always wanted, living it on your own terms…and with purpose. Let`s look into this further…
Living To Work
There are so many people who have set out on a course in life only to sadly discover later on that they’re not passionate about what they’re doing. They’re working, they appear to have a great job and from the outside looking in everything looks like they have it made.
Ultimately though they know within themselves that something is wrong. They’re not happy. Going to work every day feels like a drag. They can’t wait for the day to finish and just dread the thought of going back the next day. The weekend just can`t come along quick enough!
As you are reading this article, I might hazard a guess that this could well be you in this situation…Am I right?
Well I commend you for taking the time to visit Formula To Life Success, it demonstrates you are interested and perhaps seriously considering a change of direction in your life, all be it for the better.
Let`s take a look at what you should be thinking about if you are determined to make positive life changes and live it with purpose and true happiness.
A Great Career Influenced By Others
It`s a myth that the course you set out on in life is your forever path. The world has changed, people change. What you thought was going to be your chosen career path back when you were in college or high school may seem a lot different at this stage of your life, because you’re now different, your outlook on life has changed.
You’ve grown and matured. Maybe you see things that you don’t like about your career. Or maybe you don’t like the job as a whole. Many people end up trudging to work every day stuck in a career that they can’t stand. This is so sad!
This is something that happens far too easily for many of us and we end up in a job that doesn’t really suit us at all. In all honesty, we`re not passionate about our job because in many circumstances we got steered in certain directions influenced by high schools or college.
Get A Secure Steady Job
Maybe you showed great strength in science whilst at school and now you’re in a career that’s science based. After a number of years doing this job you don’t like it anymore, even though you’re good at it, your heart isn`t in it and its now just a means to an end. It pays the bills!
When we are young we tend to be influenced by other people and they can sometimes steer you in a certain direction. They mean well really and they think that they’re trying to help.
When we’re in high school or in college we think the older ones know better when it comes to career advice and tend to lend an ear on their suggestions. We are really not that aware that over time our mindsets, self beliefs and strengths can and will change.
What you do with your life should reflect on what you love to do, not what you’re particularly good at or what someone else thinks you’d be good at. If you happen to be good at what you love to do then obviously this is the perfect scenario.
Most high school and college students get options presented to them, but what they don’t realise is that these options are often in the same box that everyone else is fitting into.
For those intelligent enough, who hasn`t been told that it would be fantastic to become a doctor, get a career as a lawyer, become a teacher, an engineer, a nurse, a pharmacist or work in financial services.
These are standard or tried and true career options. Unfortunately, many high school students, college students and even those who are older were never given the option to become an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship Is Fantasy
One reason for that is because you don’t find too many entrepreneurs as high school career advisors, who are employed to guide the students. You won`t see many college professor entrepreneurs either.
So the opportunity to do something completely different from the usual job descriptions isn’t offered. Someone might feel the desire to do or be something else – but they just don’t know that it’s possible and would most probably be discouraged from it anyway. I digress…
A Career You Dislike Means An Unhappy Person
Let`s get back on track…You need to analyse your career and find out why it’s not delivering any personal satisfaction to you. Maybe you just don’t like the tasks involved anymore, it`s become boring, it doesn`t challenge you anymore? You couldn’t care less about what you do.
Or maybe your work colleagues don`t inspire you, you don`t have much in common and you wish you could work for yourself.
You might not like the mission statement of the company you work, maybe they don`t adhere to their mission statement or maybe you’re just fed up of the long weary commute each day and wish you could travel and work from a laptop instead.
Just remember that if you’re not happy in your job right now, life is too short to keep putting up with it. It is never too late to make positive changes that will give you more personal satisfaction and allow you to lead a more fulfilling life.
Decide What You want
When you decide to change your life for the better, I would certainly recommend you do it sooner rather than later, it can suddenly feel like the entire world opens up to you. It might even feel quite overwhelming when you’re faced with so many choices.
Maybe you’ve chased a career for the money and you’ve discovered that it hasn’t made you happy. It`s nothing to be ashamed of, many have been down that road and you certainly won`t be the last. Perhaps you`ve earned so much money now that it doesn`t really matter and you`d like to go to work at a non profit organisation.
Or maybe you have a desire to be your own boss. You like the idea of answering to yourself. You want to indulge what you’re passionate about because you feel like it can make a difference in your life and in the world.
A Career You Already Enjoy…But Want More
If you’re in a career that you do actually like, but you don’t particularly like your department or job title, you might perhaps find your passion within the same company but a different department.
Then again, there might be a company that’s in the same career field as the one that you’re with now, only offering you more freedom to do what you’d be passionate about.
Sometimes people enjoy their career, but they know they want to move up the ladder. You can make changes happen in your life so that you do exactly that.
So often people will stay stuck in a career that doesn’t make them happy and they’re not fulfilling what they believe is their purpose, but they remain where they are because they just don’t realise what’s out there for them. Or maybe too scared to do anything about it.
Research Careers That Will Bring True Personal Satisfaction
You can research careers that you feel will enable you to demonstrate your true passion. However, it’s imperative that you be honest with yourself first. Take a look at what you’re talented at and make a list of all your potential interests and hobbies.
For example, if you have a talent for drawing, ask yourself if you’d like to be doing things related to art or graphics. Pay attention to the things that you love to do and write them down.
Ask yourself could you make money doing that? Pay attention to what you invest your time and money in. Those are good clues that you’re passionate about something.
Look back at your childhood or school day dreams to see if something that you really wanted to do was replaced by “being practical.” Check out seminars, webinars, online sites, go to meetings, talk to others who are doing what interests you and read books in the specific fields that interest you.
Research careers based on where your true passion lies. For example, if you’re creative, look up careers for creative people. If you’re someone who’s passionate about the outdoors, search for careers for the outdoorsy type of person.
Passion Into Income
When you figure out what it is that you love to do or makes you happy, then look for careers that can be built from that love or passion. Don’t forget that you can also carve your own path in a niche as an online entrepreneur.
This is something that I personally do and the opportunities from working online can be both fantastic and rewarding. At the same time it can not only provide me with a good income, but also much more freedom and enjoyment to pursue other interests in my life such as photography.
This just happens to be one of my passions, so I created a website around it and make an additional income stream from it. You see how this example can have positive changes when you look at life from a different perspective?
Can You Turn a Hobby Into a Career?
You might be someone who has a hobby that you love, but you’ve always kind of kept it on the side while you worked in your job. You love your hobby and are passionate about it, but you’re not sure that you could turn it into a career.
Everyone has something that they love doing and they’re good at, but they just never thought about turning that particular hobby into something that could make money for them.
Anything that you love doing can be turned into a career, even ones that might surprise you. If you love sports, you can build a career out of that. If you love surfing and are pretty capable, you can start a business teaching others how to do that.
Maybe you love to play golf and it just so happens you’re good at it. You can make money by teaching others. There is always someone looking to learn what you know. How about opening a golf related business online with digital courses and tangible product promotions.
You can turn a photography hobby into a career. If you like taking landscape shots, you can emulate what I do. Maybe you`d prefer to take photographs as a freelancer and sell your photos to travel magazines. How about being an in demand wedding photographer? People are always getting married.
If writing is a hobby of yours, you can write for blogs, write fiction or nonfiction. You could even learn how to author an Amazon best seller, an International best seller, or a New York Times best seller by taking the programme offered by my friend Peggy McColl. She`s achieved all these and is a great mentor who will help you do the same.
You can write for children or adults. You can write for TV or write movies. You can write plays or write for magazines, both online and off. If you love flower gardening or landscaping, you can turn your hobby into a business creating gardens and designing yard layouts for other people.
Make Money Online
For those who have a music hobby, such as playing the guitar, you can teach other people how to play or you can create guidebooks others can buy that can help them learn. You could set up a website in your chosen field and sell what you know to make money online.
Maybe something like working out and keeping fit is your hobby. You can turn that into a career too – by becoming a personal fitness coach.
I think I forgot to mention this is something I also do. It is still a passion of mine after nearly 15 years of being a personal trainer and this is my website I built from scratch with no previous knowledge.
I embraced the challenge and learned new skills to diversify, and I know you can do exactly the same if you put your mind to it. Whatever your hobby is, if you’re passionate about it, you can turn it into an online niche blog and become a leader in that area.
You can make it a career by teaching other people how to do what it is that you do. You can share your knowledge. If you know how to garden, you can create a website with tutorials teaching others.
You can create videos or guides to gardening. You can share with others the items and the tools that you’ve used that have helped you or ones you’ve created yourself.
You can recommend other products that are associated with the hobby you love and turn that into a career by earning a commission. This is called affiliate marketing and can be very lucrative.
You Don’t Have to Rely on Your Natural Talents for Success
Some people stay stuck in a career that they don’t really enjoy because they feel like they don’t have the talent to make a change. It could be that there’s a job they’d really love to do and it’s something that they have a passion for, but they don’t attempt it because they feel like they’re lacking in talent.
Fear of not knowing enough to make a change keeps many people trapped in a life on the wrong side of happiness. Not feeling qualified to do whatever it is that you really want to do is a common belief.
Conversely, some people think that they do have the talent, but they’re not truly prepared or committed so they don’t make any changes at all. Instead, they stay where they are and daydream away their lives. What a waste!
They think about what it would be like if only things were different. If that sounds like you, then you should know that you don’t have to rely on your natural talents to find the success that you want.
While it’s true that natural talent can help pave the way in certain areas of life, it’s not a deal breaker if you don’t have it. Look at whatever it is that you want to do in life as a task and break that task down into manageable goals or steps that will lead you to becoming qualified, skilled or prepared.
Natural talent is something you’re born with, but every success in life is found by honing that talent. There are many different ways that you can help yourself reach the point where you feel that you are ready for success and that you’re ready to find what your passion is in life.
Learn New Skills
You can take classes that are associated with whatever it is that you’d like to do. For example, you might love flowers, but not have a natural knack for arranging them.
You’d like to start a flower shop or break into business creating the flowers for weddings. By taking classes you can gain the knowledge you need to make your passion become a reality.
You can also find others who have walked the same path that you’re on and have them act as your guide or mentor. You can learn one on one. Or you can take online classes or seminars.
There is so much information out there these days to enable you to become properly qualified in your passion and then its simply a case of taking the next steps to create the wonderful, purposeful life you deserve.
Check out this valuable resource below that has helped me personally on my journey to more freedom in my life and teach strategies on how to create a life living on your own terms >>
Fight the Resistance That Change Brings About
There’s no doubt that going after your passion means you’re going to bring changes into your life, all be it for the better. These changes will inevitably seep into the lives of other people that you know.
It can affect your your spouse, your mum and dad, work colleagues, close friends and so on. Change is scary and that’s a given. When you decide to make a change in your life, it means that things aren’t going to be the same again afterwards.
You’re not going to be the same. It means that you have taken steps to change the status quo. It could be that what you’re doing will upset things financially at first.
Maybe the budget will get a little tighter. You’re prepared to make that sacrifice because you believe in what it is you’re going to do. But others may not jump on board because money equals safety.
People who decide to break away from the norm and bring about radical change will more often than not encounter resistance from friends and family.
This is normal. They genuinely want the best for you and will try to persuade you to get back in your comfort zone where everything is safe and comfortable. But you are destined for better things in life are you not?
If you have a good job that pays well and you want to leave that behind to chase a passion, others will express to you their strong opinions about it. They’ll question your decision and you might hear a lot of negative talk about it.
It could be because the people who love you are worried. They’re worried about you. They’re afraid of how you’ll take it if you fail because they can’t see the dream the way that you can.
They’re worried about how life will be if you fail, especially if you’re the breadwinner in the situation. Finding your true passion in life means breaking away from the normal and that scares people.
It makes them not only worry, but envy you as well. They wish that they had the guts to step forward and make a change.
Be Strong, Stand Firm, Choose Success
You may hear almost every downside under the sun. Expect it to happen. But don’t let the backlash keep you from moving forward and choosing success. Let others know that you believe in what you’re doing and that for you, what you’re doing is the best possible thing for you in your life.
Try talking to the person who’s not supporting you. Ask them why they’re saying what they are saying and what they’re worried about. Talk to them, but stand firm in your desire to make the change you want.
Be prepared with proof that what you’re doing is the right thing. Sometimes, by showing that you’ve done your homework, you can ease the fear that family and loved ones are experiencing.
You might have to let what’s being said go in one ear and out the other if you know the person talking is simply jealous.
If it’s a constant backlash that’s eroding your confidence in making the change, you might have to put some space between you and them until you feel grounded, because nothing and no one should stand in your way when it comes to pursuing your true passion. Life is too short to miss out!
I`ll leave you with this thought which should resonate with us all and get us excited, It`s also the title of this blog post…Follow Your Passion – The Key To True Happiness In Life.
To Your Success!
Steve
P.s Again I just want to point you in the direction of the amazing mentors that helped me change my life to become a digital lifestyle entrepreneur.
I can`t recommend them enough and they are well worth checking out if you are serious about bringing positive changes into your life and living on your own terms!
