Last weekend, Jon and I met up with a few friends for some drinks at Knoxville’s Urban Bar. Later in the night, I sparked up a conversation with a friend about what she wanted to do in life. She told me she had a passion for video gaming and beta testing games before their release. As we got deeper into the conversation, it was very clear that this was something she truly did love doing, however, she was scared to pursue this as a possible career due to the fear of not being able to earn money and not knowing where to start.
As she revealed this to me, it became clear that her struggles of having a passion for something, yet having the fear of failure is what prevents us from putting ourselves out there to pursue our passion. Ultimately, we handicap ourselves from actualizing our true passions out of the fear of not making money. This begs the questions: “why should money be our driving force in life? Why is making a living doing something we are passionate about not the norm in our society?”
There is nothing wrong with wanting to make money and also nothing wrong in pursuing a career that involves making a lot of money. However, should we only seek these career paths that ensure financial security? Can we branch out and attain unconventional jobs for the craft and become content with living life on a comfortable income?
All too often, millions of people are in a career that brings them no satisfaction, joy, or a sense of fulfillment. Sometimes we get stuck in these situations out of necessity: the need to payoff bills or just get a leg up in life to get to the next step. I am currently in this situation, so I can understand relate to the struggle of being in a work environment that does not align with your life goals. The trick to surviving is to not get stuck in this predicament. Don’t fall victim and become part of our society that hates going to work each day or that becomes comfortable in their own misery because of the dollar signs at the end of the road.
Follow your passions and continue to strive towards your goals because in the end the amount of money you make really isn’t what brings you joy in life; it is the overall reward of knowing that your passion is what is sustaining you in life. It’s nice to be able to say that you can buy whatever you want at any time with no worries, but how much money is enough money? At what point do we earn enough and say, “I’ve made enough to get me through the rest of my life?” At times, people who are that successful seem to never get to this point of saying I’ve made enough. There is always the hunger or greed inside to continue to make more and more money to no end. Reasons like this is what causes the imbalance in this world we live in. The separation of the haves and have not.
We’ve all heard the phrase “mo money mo problems” or “cash rules everything around me”. If we know these things to be true, why do we continue to let the love of money dictate how we live our lives or hinder us from following our true passion. The presence of money doesn’t fill a void in our lives, it just provides the means to surround ourselves with more things that may not really add value to it. When we start on a journey towards building a life pursuing our passion, it will in turn bring joy and fulfillment into our lives, and money just becomes an added bonus versus the ultimate goal.
Living a life of pursuing your passion may not be ideal for people who struggle to make ends meet, especially for those (myself included) who live paycheck to paycheck. But, the struggle shouldn’t stop you from putting time into your passion! Your passion can be a side hustle that can eventually become your full-time job. Any free time that I have, I encourage myself to continue to put time into my passion, whether it’s lettering, cooking, or researching for future projects. These are times that give me peace of mind and double as a stress reliever over the monotony of my everyday work life.
I want to encourage you all to continue to strive towards what you’re passionate about. Don’t fall into the ways of the world, a life of keeping up with the Joneses; constantly worried about status and what others think of you or how much money you make. If you have a love for something, pursue it! Simply starting is the most difficult step.
Each week I remind myself that what I do matters to me and that I have to show up for myself every single day. I know that attaining my goals will not happen overnight but honestly none of that should matter. I enjoy doing what I do: thinking of new content each week, not only motivate myself but motivate others to keep striving towards their goals; and not settling for the way things are in this world.
Don’t worry about whether your passion will bring dollar signs into your life. The reward is simply in the art of doing what you love each and every day!
Great post.
Many people do look for happiness in money or material things, only to find themselves still feeling unfulfilled. I went through this myself, and realized that I would buy things because I was feeling bored, down, or a combination of both. Actualizing one's dream or goal through their passion is not easy, but so worth it in the end. Not only do we build confidence , but we also gain a better understanding of ourselves too. I look forward to more posts!
Thank You for comment Joel! I completely agree with you. When we actualize our dreams and goals it makes life so much more fulfilling. It also eliminates to need to fill a void in our life through materialistic possessions. I sincerely appreciate the support 🙂