Do What You Love

Good things will follow

It’s often said that if you could only make a living doing what you truly love to do, then everything else will fall into place naturally and automatically. Sometimes it initially results in decreased financial reward, but for many, the pure satisfaction and enjoyment that you inevitably get out of it will make up for it. It’s unfortunate that in today’s society, we tend to measure a lot of things in dollars. This is the world we live in. When we compare different jobs, job titles, levels, careers, we always look at the hourly wage or annual salary. Think about it – we all do it. Satisfaction and time don’t seem to fare into it as much, yet these are factors that greatly contribute to whether you find happiness or misery in your work, and whichever that is, it trickles down into every aspect of your every day life.

It’s hard to walk away from a good paying job and suddenly decide to try doing what you love as a self-employed individual or small business owner. Perhaps this doesn’t sound realistic. The first few years are often difficult, but if you can manage to get through them financially, then you have a good chance at succeeding. If you’re doing what you truly love, then that will translate into high quality, and the passion that you have will carry you through and help you to succeed.

If you are thinking about leaving a secure full-time job, but one that all too often makes you miserable and not want to wake up in the morning, then work on a little exercise to determine the advantages and disadvantages of both staying where you are or starting up a new challenge as a self-employed entrepreneur.

First, forget about measuring everything in dollars. You must take all factors into consideration. How much is your time worth? The best time to contemplate that thought is on the commute home, particularly if you are spending more than 2 hours per day, 10 hours per week on the GO train, the TTC, or any of our not-so-fast moving 400 highways.

What about the pure satisfaction of doing what you love, and the energy and drive that it creates in you? What is that worth? These things can’t be measured in dollars but they must be seriously considered.

Flexible hours, working from home, and choosing the people you work for are just some of the additional advantages to self-employment, but at some point you must also deal with the financial implications as well – that’s just reality.

We all need to make a living and pay the bills, so in many cases the decision to try self-employment may also come with a number of sacrifices particularly in the early going. Reducing expenses, moving to a different location, or sharing accommodation are all difficult choices that could be part of that. The decision could also become an exercise in extreme patience. It may not be possible financially or otherwise to do it at a particular point in time, so you must avoid that now or never attitude. If your passion and dedication is there and you’re in it for the long haul, then you can plan ahead and start taking positive steps to making it happen one day in the future.

In the meantime, plan it out and work on your vision with a positive attitude. Take courses, educate yourself in your new chosen field, work hard, hone your craft even if it’s on a part-time basis, network with like-minded individuals, join groups or organizations, get advice from those that are already doing what you would love to do, and consult friends and family.

Last but not least, continue to remind yourself about those often overlooked yet heavily weighted non-financial factors that should drive you - and believe it or not, you’ll be alright.

Reposted: original article date: February 1, 2010
http://www.examiner.com/self-employment-in-toronto/do-what-you-love