The Secret to Uncovering Your Passion

My mission this year is to change lives by supporting individuals to get paid to do work they love! My clients and I are off to a phenomenal start!

Experience shows me that when people do work they are passionate about the positive effect ripples out to their families, colleagues, communities, companies, and the world.

Conversely, I’ve seen the pain and tension in families and companies when individuals settle on work they think they “should” do versus what they want to do.

(Hint: It’s not good for anybody.)

Are you doing what you think you “should” versus what you want?

Do you tell yourself, “I’ve got a good thing going, how can I leave it?” Or “I don’t think I can get paid to do what I want.”

Are you settling because you don’t have the confidence to pursue your passion? Or worse, do you not know what your passion is?

This month several of my clients are actively transitioning into their dream careers, and by “transitioning” I mean they are doing it! Not researching, talking and considering it.

Here’s some of what’s going on…

• corporate director leaves his job to open his own business on a large property in downtown Chicago
• successful business owner, burnt out from his current business put the right people in place to run it so he could start a new business which excites him
• passionate entrepreneur closes on her own franchise this week
• corporate manager pursues “the big leap” of promotions and starts his new role today

All this in the month of January!

All different career pursuits, but they share similarities.

Bored, overwhelmed, or frustrated is how every one of these individuals previously described themselves.

Each knew there had to be something more, yet they weren’t going after it.

And each individual’s career and life forever changed once they decided.

If you want to make a change like these, here are three well-tested steps to get you started.

Step 1: Decide and commit to make the change. When you are no longer wishy-washy about where you are headed, you will no longer get wishy-washy results. Amazing things happen once you decide. (Even my self-proclaimed “skeptic” agrees.)

Step 2: Identify your passion.

To uncover your passion, answer the following:

1. What do you like to read, buy, and talk about?
2. What do you enjoy so much you would do it for free?
3. What energizes you and lights you up?
4. What does someone who knows and loves you see is your passion?

One of the main reasons we have trouble identifying our passion is because it’s too scary for us to see.

If your answer is “I don’t know” to any of the above questions, ask yourself, “What would I do if I weren’t afraid? If I couldn’t get it wrong, what would I do?”

Step 3: Take action today. Once you identify your passion—get started. Don’t wait until you have the certificate, degree, title, confidence or permission. If it’s truly your passion you can get started doing it today. This was some of the best advice I was given.

Bottom line: Decide to either love the work you do and bring your passion to it, or create a plan to leave it. The world suffers when you don’t love your work.

If you aren’t motivated to do it for yourself, do it for your children. As a mother of three, I know children do what we say, not what we do. If you want your children to believe they can do anything they want, then you must live it.

Remember: When your life improves, the world improves. Begin today!