Inspirational Quote!

Photography by Monica Li

"Great leaders leave a trail of footprints that inspires you to follow your passions and dreams..."
~ Vinh Van Lam

Original post:

"But HOW do I know what my passion is??"

Passion Drives Actions By ArtSHINE Associate marie-nicole

Passion drives action!

This topic has been right in the forefront of my mind for months... actually years, and over the last few weeks I've had conversations, read articles both online and in magazines on this very thing.

I'm often asked how I find the time to do what I do, and I truly believe that if you are passionate about something you can find time in the busyness of everyday living to engage in it. Some people have expressed how daunting they would find doing what we (my hubby and I) have done recently: pick up our family and shift our entire lives to a completely new region. Relating to that there is one question that is constantly asked:

"Why did you move here?"

 
If only I got a $1 for each time I've been asked that, all of our financial woes would be no more.

 
The simple answer to that question is:

 
space and the lack of chaos. Digging deeper though, I would have to say the most important reason is passion... passion for away of living; not having but doing; a way of being; the lifestyle that a region such as this offers allows us to work and live in close proximity to the land, experience first hand the affects on nature on our environment and things such as food supply. Now these are things my hubby is very passionate about! 

 

Which is partly why we are here. The other part is that I am passionate about experimenting, creating, reigniting new life into old things and giving them a second chance at being appreciated and utilized; adding little bits of art into everyday living. We also still enjoy the buzz of the city and so close proximity to a thriving hub was also important. It may sound like we are only passionate about our careers but we are not, as our careers represent our personal way of living. We are both very passionate about being available for our children when they come home from school, sharing with them skills that will enable them to live a life without pure dependence on a supply chain... and so forth.

 
So with our desire to live a life of passion we have chosen careers and a lifestyle that enable us to turn our passions into actions!

 
Life is too short to live in regret, to just do what you can for now and work towards a better future...or early retirement! Why not live the best life you can live now, making the most of what you have. Live within your means rather than focusing on accumulating wealth in order to live the life you wish to lead much later.

 
If you are feeling like you are just plodding along doing what seemingly 'needs' to be done to put food on the table and pay the bills, perhaps it's time you started really thinking about what is important to you. 

What are your core values and what lights your fire?

What is it that you find yourself being truly grateful for each day? 

What aspect of your 'job' excites you?

And think about how can you engage in more of these types of activities without compromising your quality of life.

 
This all may seem like a lot to decide on, but you don't need to do it all in one day, you just need to give yourself the chance to entertain the possibilities. You may surprise yourself. You may, in fact, discover you can turn what you thought to be impossible into your reality just by allowing yourself to really think about how to you could make it happen.

 
If you're thinking of working for yourself then don't worry about whether or not someone else is doing something similar to what you would like to do and have been doing for longer!!! There will always be someone else doing something similar but that fact that we are all unique means that if you're being YOU, then what you do WILL have a difference.

 
If changing jobs to something you are certain you would love to do on a daily basis, but will mean less money, then perhaps it's time to look at your expenses a little more closely and see where you can cut back... your quality of life is far more important than your standard of living. Happiness comes from being true to yourself, not having what society says you 'need' to invest in.

 
I could go on... and on... but I won't... enough said!

 
Some recommended reading if you wish to delve deeper into finding how to turn your passions into actions or how to discover what it is you are really passionate about:

how to find your passion by scoutie girl
let's get real about passion by scoutie girl
turning your passion into your full time job by crafting an MBA
finding your core and your ideal business model by crafting an MBA

 
For inspiration on paper... read about others living a life in the 'slow lane' and still progressing forward. Slow living is not about slow thinking it's more about living a considered life.

Slow Magazine

Again, I could go on... but that's enough for now. I just really wanted to share some of this as I feel so many of us get trapped into living a life that does not really match our values in the hope that one day it will magically happen.

 
You are in charge of your destiny... work on living the life you wish to NOW... why wait?
by marie-nicole

"But HOW do I know what my passion is??"

Don't know what your passion is?

Don’t worry, sometimes passion will find you instead of you finding it!  For some it takes longer to find their true passion and for others, it’s just right in front of them and sometimes you don't even realise it.  Sometimes you need people around to guide you to make you aware of it too.

As for Stuart & I, we've gone through quite a few before we’ve found our true passion as a business coach.

One advice I can give you is stay true to who you are, life is too short to not enjoy what you do. If you no longer love what you do then it is important to find or rediscover something else that brings the spark back into your life. 

So, whatever it may be you will know when you’ve found your passion!

It's a calling! Some people might call it

HOW?

Well, the HOW is a great way to start to discover your passion. You will start looking around and the constant head chatter in your head is looking for your passion too, this is because you want to find what it is that will make you happy and doing what you love so your "RAS" (‘Reticular Activating System’) is on to attract all the things that  interest you helping to define your passion. RAS is your brain's unique compass device. It helps you focus on things that are relevant to your passion.

Your passion should be things that make your heart sing yet perhaps instil some fear... and gets you asking questions like, "Where do I start & how do I bring my passion into reality?" 

Remember this...it's not in the knowing. The knowing will come if the passion is worthy.

One of my dear friends asked me "But HOW do I know what my passion is??"

My questions to her were:

What makes you feel good? 

What excites you? 

What fulfils you?

What are your interests? Eg hobbies etc

Once you’ve identified what you love to do, the next key step is to figure out whether there is an opportunity for you to live the life you want and earn an income from your passion.

Once you’ve worked this out, you have to ask yourself the following questions: 

·         Are you good at it?

·         Do you think you could make a living from this?

·         Are you ready for this?

·         Are you 100% COMMITTED

     Are these questions confrontational to you at all?

    You need to be honest and be true to yourself. If you've found your passion and you are not confident or competent with it, that does not say you can't pursuit it. First of all, do your research and learn more about it. You can take classes or even get professional help like hiring a business coach or a mentor who can work along side you.  

Pay attention to your trap mode. A "trap mode" is something that you might fall into a mode that will stop you from achieving your goals and therefore it's also a distraction from reaching your desire and passion.

     Want to find your Passion or to fine tune your Passion? 

     Here are the exercises you can discover what truly will make you happy and fulfill your life.

     Find Your Desire, Passion & Purpose (DPP) Part 1 

     Find Your Desire, Passion & Purpose (DPP) Part 2