There’s a plethora of people out there who throw out the “follow your passion” line out again and again. And we eat it up, again and again – because it sounds so sexy. So irresistible.
It’s an easy sell because, let’s face it, who doesn’t want to love what they do? Who’s going to disagree with living a happy and personally fulfilled life?
But what I’ve found challenging myself, and with most of the folks I’ve shared beers, coffees, or emails with – isn’t about following passion – it’s discovering it.
It’s answering, “I don’t know” when someone asks, “What do you want to do?”
It takes critical thought to discover what drives us. What excites us. What makes us feel creative and useful. What we want our contribution to the world to be.
And it’s because we get hung up on one thing: Money. We’re afraid of it. We’re downright terrified of it. And it warps us into believing that “fun” and “passion” are lightyears away from “profit”.
But that line of thinking is out of order. If you’re stifling your ideas and passions based on the potential paycheck, they’ll likely never see the light of day.
Instead, when it comes to starting something new – when it comes to realizing your potential and tapping into what matters most – think about and embrace what you’d do, if you could, for nothing.
If money were no object – what would you create? Who would you help? What would you contribute? What would an ideal day look like?
We’re driven by our contributions – and that drive to contribute something great. To matter. To leave a legacy, exists within us all.
Yes – money matters, but a funny thing happens when you realize what your passion is – what you’d do for nothing – what you’d give away if money grew on trees. What you’d work tirelessly to create.
You get paid. You get paid dividends. Monetarily, and maybe most importantly, emotionally.
What would you do, if you could, for free?