One of my favorite things about blogging is the people I meet because of my blog experiences. Take for example, Peter Normandia from Yin vs. Yang. I discovered him through Jonathon Mead over at Illuminated Mind. Peter isn’t necessarily someone I would discover on my own but because of connecting with other people through the words they share, I now have the chance to share with you a guest post by Peter. Enjoy!
I do not have all the answers, or possibly even any, but I do know what my past experiences have shown is key to living a good, satisfying life.
It all starts with following your passion.
I believe I am probably most passionate about being creative. Be it film, business strategies, web applications, camp programs, blogging, or making marketing videos, if I am creating, I am happy. There is nothing better for me than creating something no one else could have ever possibly made exactly the same. It gives me a great sense of pride and accomplishment.
I believe this to be true for everyone.
It is natural to feel this way as a human being. It does not matter if you create football plays, Jiu Jitsu moves, a school curriculum, happiness, cinnamon rolls, better employees, poems, home runs or the best pooper scooper in the world. If you are creating, you are going to have a deep sense of pride. You are going to have something that you can call your own. Something no one can ever take from you. Hence, the incredible sense of accomplishment.
Even look at the change over the years in the pride people put into their work. Things that were handcrafted were always better than the counterparts from the factories. They just were not made fast enough. So factories won out and the Industrial Age was born. Unfortunately, lost in the work was the pride and sense of accomplishment of someone passionate about what they are building. Instead, you had people screwing in one screw 5,000 times a day. Hard to find passion in that I would imagine.
I live for the butterflies I get before revealing my latest creation. It’s what drives me to get through the tough part of creating it in the first place. Having a great idea is one thing. Executing it to its completion is the real accomplishment.
That’s why creating something gives everyone such a sense of pride. Like a real tough day at the gym, you made it through the work load. Instead of giving up, you pushed yourself to reach your goal. It is not easy to travel a path no one has before you. It is not easy to risk failure without a scapegoat. It is certainly not easy to go out on your own. These are all of the reasons people wind up giving up their passions.
When I graduated film school, I took a year to try and become a writer/director. One year, that’s it. Then, because I was getting married, and desperate to start my adult life, I completely put my dream on hold to get a job in the hot mortgage industry. Two years later, we all know how that went. However, it’s not because of that. I could have done something else and been very successful in terms of finances. It still would not have been my passion.
We have one life that we all are guaranteed. The rest is up for debate, and unfortunately, I’m not sure if we will ever have all the answers. So for this one life we do get, we really owe it to ourselves to get the most out of it. Be yourself, live your passion, and give the world what it has never experienced before:
You.
My experience has clearly showed me that living your passion beats building up your bank account, keeping up with the Jones’, or looking the part of success. Whenever I am feeling down, I just go back and look at some of the things I have created. It always lifts my spirits, and gives me the energy I need to continue on.
As the great blogger Steve Pavlina recently tweeted on twitter,
” What are you doing to contribute to the lives of others? If the answer is little or nothing, that explains why your finances are suffering.”
Think about what you are passionate about. Think about the joy you get out of it. Think of the job you would be able to do if you could just do what you were most passionate about. When you’re done smiling from the thought, think about how warm it made you feel inside. Now, think why on Earth you are not doing that.
Then answer this question in the comments section…
Are those reasons more important than getting the most out of your life, and subsequently becoming a better person for everyone?
Alex Shalman said...
1Great article. What do you do if you’re great at your job, you’re creating a lot of value for people and making boat loads of money, but you’re just not into it?
10/28/08 10:54 AM | Comment Link
Jed Yoong said...
2“My experience has clearly showed me that living your passion beats building up your bank account, keeping up with the Jones’, or looking the part of success. Whenever I am feeling down, I just go back and look at some of the things I have created. It always lifts my spirits, and gives me the energy I need to continue on.”
That’s so true.
A great post, something that I was looking for to keep me going.
We only have one life, make it count, at least for ourselves.
10/28/08 11:46 AM | Comment Link
PJ_Normz said...
3@AlexShalman
I believe in aiming for 100% happiness in your life. Not sure if that is the right answer, but its what i believe
@Jed Yoong
Glad I could help!
10/28/08 6:28 PM | Comment Link
Dorie said...
4@Alex Shalman – I think if you find fulfillment in other ways, it’ll be okay. But if that job is destroying your will to be the person you want to be, I’m just not sure its worth it. You won’t be able to take the money with you when this life is over.
10/29/08 3:44 PM | Comment Link