Act on your Passions

I don’t entirely agree with the expression ‘do what you love, and the money will follow.’ You might love what you do, and eventually the day may come where you are financially rewarded for it, but what will you live off in the meantime? Passion does not pay the bills.  We need to make a plan!

When you discover your passion, something you would really love to commit to full time, you must start developing your long-term plan and taking action on it TODAY. As much as we would all love to quit our job and jump into our new venture feet first, it is just not viable or practical for most people and for those that can – awesome and congratulations.  But that is not the norm. 

But dreaming is not enough, visualising is not enough .. we need to take ACTION to gain that experience and feeling you imagine from doing what you are passionate about. 

The good news is with the right mindset, quality questions and a plan, there is a way to succeed.

Where do I begin?

An exercise to identify your passions and establishing which of those could be used to create an income.

Step 1: Ask yourself the following questions.

1. What are your strengths?
2. What are you passionate about?
3. Can you align your strengths with your passions?
4. Where these passions and strengths align, would you be able to use them as a source of income?
5. Is that source of income a service to others; will it benefit others or the world we live in?
6. How will you generate revenue by doing this, what would be your differentiator?
7. Can you anticipate the hurdles you will encounter along the way?
8. How will you overcome these hurdles?
9. What are your 5 short-term and long-term goals?
10. What are your top priorities to focus on to begin achieving your short-term goals?
11. What would you need to do more of, less of for short and long term plan? (including less of or more of which humans in your life) 
12.  What will motivate you to continue reaching your goals, even when you encounter difficulties?
13. Write a story about how you will experience or feel when you have realised a sustainable income from following your passion(s).  Who is the first person you would tell, how would you describe the journey to them? 

Step 2: Start Saving

Think about your finances. Eventually you will have the stability to commit full time, but during the initial stages, it is unlikely that you will have that luxury. It takes the average business 2-3 years to start making a profit. Begin to prepare your ‘back-up’ finances and start saving for start up costs. Cut out unnecessary spend now. 

Step 3: Start Networking

Start forming connections to expand your network. The accessibility of social media makes it easy to reach out to similar individuals for inspiration, support, and information. Having a supporting network before you begin your venture will be a great asset to your long-term success.  Limit yourself to research, dont get lost in what everyone else is doing, gain enough insights then get off the ‘research’ merry go round and apply your plan. 

Step 4: Get guidance from a professional

Run your ideas past a mentor.  Their role is to assess your circumstances and support and guide you towards a successful path, applying their experiences in a positive and inspiring way.  You have what it takes within you, this is your dream, your passion.  A good mentor helps you improve your intuition and where you trip up inspire to keep going. They might point out obstacles you have not seen, or mitigations to risks you had not foreseen, or even shift your focus to another way to create an income from your skills and passion. If you still don’t have any ideas after asking yourself all the above questions, a mentor is a good place to begin.

Step 5: Don’t wait around

Studies have found that the longer your dreams spend in the ‘one day pile’, the less likely you will ever achieve them. Make a plan and start to take action today and every day from now forward.  Even if it is only 15 min a day .. it is a step to your future. 

Your old career or pathway is always going to remain in the background, but the chance to make a change to achieve your dreams will not. It does take time, energy, persistence and motivation but it is possible and worth it.  It is time to put the excuses aside and start making a change – you deserve it.

Love Life, Love YOUR Life

Ferne Eliz King