Building a Career Based on Your Passions

We have all known people who seem to be a perfect fit for their jobs or their careers. Not only are they successful but enjoy what they are doing with a passion. We have also known people who are successful but hate what they are doing with a passion. What is the difference? Which category do you fall in?

If your prime motivation is the bottom line, then maybe it does not make any difference if you are making money and providing for you and your family a desirable lifestyle.

But, if you long for a job or career you can love and do with a passion then it may be a little more difficult.

True, some people just fall into their lifelong passion with little or no trouble at all. Maybe they grew up in the family business, never knew anything else, or cared to learn anything else, and found contentment staying close to the nest. However, this is not the norm. Most of us seek to fly out of the comfortable nest and fly over the fence to see if the grass is greener.

It is never too early or too late to discover your passions and act on them but first determine what you are passionate about. When you understand your own passions (and this is not an easy matter) a whole new world of possibilities opens.

Step back and take a close look at where you are now and what brought you there. Perhaps, you are a plumber but long to travel. More than likely you will make more money being a plumber, but if you are not happy each day and dread going to work, then the bottom line is not your motivating factor. See, you are learning about yourself already.

Look at your passions from all angles. In the case of travel, is it really the travel you love or is it exploring new lands and meeting new people? You could meet new people and make new friends in all kinds of endeavors.

Meeting lots of people as a plumber is usually limited. Maybe you enjoy making travel plans and scheduling cruises and flights which could lead to a travel or tour business. It is important to search for your passions from different directions.

What you think your passions are could be just admiration of others who do what you think you would like to do. Would you like to become a writer but hate to sit down to a computer and write?

Do you admire a person who makes birdhouses for a living, but you hate to be cooped up in a woodshop all day? Do not confuse your passion with admiration. And be prepared for the realization that doing what you love will not always put bread on the table.

You can bet people who are working at whatever their passion spent long hours to get where they are today. But, if it is truly your passion, getting there will be a joy. Explore your passions whether they are a lover of animals, gardening, or photography, and take these passions to the next step.

Learn all you can about your passion. Take a class or a course, volunteer, or intern in the field you love. See where the path leads. It could lead you right back to where you were in the first place, but you owe it to yourself to find out. Enjoy the journey.