Now before you get into this post, thinking I’m going to drop knowledge on HOW TO turn your passion/hobby/interest into your job, I don’t mean to disappoint but I’m not going to do that.

Hell I’m still working on making that my reality but I CAN share with you some motivational talk and tools that others have equipped me with to make strides in that direction.

I’ve started diving into leadership books and recently I peeked into John C. Maxwell’s Developing the Leader Within You. He gave me this food for thought:

“Some time ago I spoke at a leader’s conference… The title of my lecture was ‘Take This Job and Love It.’ I encouraged the audience to find something they liked to do so much that they would gladly do it for nothing. Then I suggested they learn to do it so well that people would be happy to pay them for it. Andy Granatelli said that when you are making a success of something, it’s not work. It’s a way of life.”

Reading that sent chills down my spine. To think that you could actually do what YOU wanted to do so well that people would have no problem paying you for it…mind blown!

And then I came across a post from Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. He spoke to work/life balance in Work Hard, Play Hard: The Virgin Way.

“Feeling overworked is not good for you and has a negative impact on your health and happiness. But if you can find a career you are passionate about, working hard doesn’t have to ever become a chore. Work is where you spend roughly 80% of your life. If finding a job you love means you need to take a pause from your current career to think about what excites you and then take a leap of faith, it will be well worth it in the long run.”

Boom again! So my steps toward making my passion my job is staying up on this blog, knocking out other books (shameless plug but my first book will be announced on Mid-WYFE Chronicles at the end of the month so follow that blog today), and to look for other opportunities to write for other outlets.

This week put some effort toward making your passion your job. Whether it’s researching “how to” books or having coffee with someone who is in the role you want or if it’s just simply writing a dream to-do list — get it done. Don’t waste any more time doing something that you don’t LOVE!

So I’ll restate that at this moment I don’t know how to turn your passion into your job…but I will. #waitforit

-DNC