Everyone has talents and gifts and there are certain things which when we are doing them we feel contented, complete and happy. In essence there is nothing else we’d rather be doing.
Of course there may be many things we love doing – some people love doing many things as long as they involve interacting with people. Other people love doing many other things because they don’t involve dealing with other people! So firstly you need to define what you love.
Recently while coaching a client I simply asked him the question – What do you love?. He replied “I love being in the outdoors“. And that was enough of a seed to get us moving to create more of that in his life and to earn some money from it.
His current job involved no outdoors at all and he had been feeling totally stressed and that is why he wanted some career/life coaching. We came up with a plan that he could offer outdoor pursuit type courses to children to teach them “Self Reliance”.
Of course he needed skills in this area. However he was in the military for a number of years so he had an abundance of outdoor/self reliance skills. To encourage him more I said “as I parent I would like my kids to go on your course because I’d certainly like them to learn ‘self-reliance’”.
To offer a bit more positive leverage I asked him – “Would you like your son to do what he loves and go after his dreams?” Of course he answered “yes”. So I replied “the best way to do that is to do it yourself and lead by example!”
Many people think you have to leave your job to pursue what you love. You don’t. In fact make sure whatever steps you take you’re still bringing in an income which will cover your monthly needs. There will come a time to take a leap of faith but its best to test the market first. Of course particularly these days there is no job security anyway, your best security is within yourself.
This client is now planning his first outdoor pursuits days to teach kids self-reliance. He will do it  with children of people he knows. He is also learning more about what formal qualifications he needs and how to run it a business.
The most important thing is, he’s feeling a lot happier within himself because he’s making progress in doing more of what he loves in his life – what makes him feel contented, complete and happy. It’s not a quick fix but he’s on track.
Not only that these steps he’s taking will positively benefit the most important people in our world, our children!
What do you Love doing?
Are you investing any of your time doing it?
What step could you take today in that direction?
Yours comments are welcome below and remember can help others too.
Related Links
Why must we Do What we Love – Sean M Kelly
The World Needs You to Do What You Love – Jonathan Mead
How to do What You Love – Paul Graham
Is Productivity the Key to Happiness – Jonathan Wells