"Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs" - Farrah Gray
I came across this quote recently when researching how to become an LLC. It made me reflect on how far I've come and what has inspired me to get to the place that I am now. I am a big believer in pursuing your dreams and am passionate about helping the people I love to realize their own dreams, believe that they can make them a reality and help them to take the steps to get there.
What's the first thing that usually comes up in small talk in a conversation with a new person (other than the weather)? It's the question, "what do you do for work?" More frequently than not, my family, friends and even people I meet for the first time at networking events tell me about their "xyz" job and that they aren't really passionate about it, or worse, hate it and wake up each morning not wanting to go.
Don't get me wrong, I know that we all have to do things that we don't want to do for a variety of reasons (I sure did!). We all need to make enough to pay our bills, support our families, put food on the table, etc. All of that is important stuff and we should be doing whatever it takes to cover the essentials. But what really gets me going is talking with someone who tells me that their job is just for these purposes, they dread going to it, and what they really love is (you fill in the blank).
Then there are others who cannot make the connection between their passions and work. They believe that a passion should be reserved as a hobby for after 9-5 hours or on the weekends. Work is just work, and that's just the way it is. What I say to that is No! It doesn't have to be that way! You can have your job be your passion and your passion be your job!
So, I first start with asking the question, "What do you love?" or "What are you most passionate about?" I recently asked my brother this and he thought for a while and said, "I mean I guess it's something in marketing or social media. That's what I got my degree in." I could tell by the way he said it that it was NOT his passion. Plus, being his sister and seeing what he gets excited about, I could have already guessed what his real passion was. He's been applying tirelessly to hundreds of marketing related jobs, going on interviews and not getting much of anywhere. It was time to re-evaluate. So, I said "Forget about your degree for a minute. What is it that makes you happy and that you get excited about doing?" He said, "Well, music but that's not really realistic to do as a job".
This is the attitude that I am passionate about killing. So many of us have dreams but they will forever feel like dreams because we don't think it's even possible to make them realities. But consider that all big projects come into reality step by tiny little step. If you look at any project as a whole, it can be very intimidating. If we look at the first step, it suddenly seems a bit more doable. And in my experience, if you take the first step towards something you are passion about, the rest of the steps start happening naturally!
One thing I also have to mention is failure. Yes, failures WILL happen. There is no way around them. We may take our first step towards our dream and completely mess it up, get rejected or find that we need some work at it. This is just reality, but we can't just give up when we fail. Failures make us stronger and teach us what we need to improve on. Pursuing a dream is hard work and it's definitely not always easy or fun! But after persevering through the hard stuff, we can look back and see how far we've come.
Just this year alone, I look back at a few of the major goals I accomplished in my business and still can't believe they actually happened! All that work that I put in during the first few years is now paying off in ways I couldn't have imagined. So, all this to say, follow what your heart wants, not what the world tells you to want! I believe we only have one life, so love deeply and follow those passions. Happy New Year all!
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