How to Pursue your Passion

How to pursue your passion, one which is true and will provide you with a lifetime of fulfilment, is the focus of this article.

So you’ve found something you love, something that gets you out of bed in the morning and has you feeling inspired throughout the day?

Congratulations! You’re among the lucky few that have found your true passion.

It’s a truly magnificent feeling when you find that something you love, the thing you feel is your true calling in life. Whether it’s writing, painting, snowboarding, or travelling around the world, that passion is the thing that makes you truly feel alive.

For me, I sought it out on two levels. What work am I MOST passionate about and what do I do when I play that I am also passionate about.

The answers for me are 1. Transforming people’s lives and 2. Waterskiing at my lake place.

So how can you pursue it? Should you give up your life to throw yourself into your passion? Should you take things slow, one day at a time? 

There’s no “right” way to pursue a passion. For some people, it’s easy to leave behind work, friends, family, and familiar surroundings in order to dive headfirst into whatever has them feeling passionate. For others, it’s not possible due to responsibilities, family, social life, and commitment.

Don’t listen when someone tells you, “Here’s how you should pursue your true passion…” 

Everyone has their own way of doing things, and it’s up to you to find the way that works best for you.

The various careers I have been in have all had the same undercurrent, which is service to others in some form.  Each time I have changed careers, the type of service has become more in depth. First, serving my country, next serving my community and currently, serving people on an individual level.

I had to explore different ways to achieve my desire to do this, so I had to take simultaneous action or what I call concurrent activity. While serving as a Police Officer I built my health business. But I built it in a way that provides incredible freedom.

Happiness is fleeting. Right now, you might be feeling dissatisfied with your job or life, so the idea of pursuing your true passion may excite you more than anything else in the world.

But be wary of that! 

Think of it like an alcoholic drink. You feel great after one or two drinks, and it’s a feeling you want to replicate. But over time, as you grow more accustomed to alcohol, you start to see the downsides: it takes more to make you feel good, the hangover is brutal, and it’s just not a sustainable lifestyle.

You may want to quit your job to throw yourself fully into the passion, but what happens when it, too, turns into a job? It may not be as mind-numbing as your current career, but that spark of happiness is going to fade as well. 

Happiness and excitement are fleeting—remember that before you make any life-changing leaps!

In addition, your passion or at least a profession that brings you fulfilment must be something that solves a problem in the world. If you are making soap figurines, they better be damn good because the market is small!

Business vs. pleasure. No matter what the passion is, most people find the biggest difficulty is figuring out if they should quit their day job to pursue it full-force or just keep it as a side hustle. 

As much as it sucks, the truth is that very few people can live without money. Money is what puts food on the table, a roof over your head, and gas in your car. If your passion can make you money, it’ll be much easier to throw yourself into it. If there’s no money or very little in the pursuit of your passion, it’s something you need to consider much more carefully.

Take a good hard look at the people who are making money through whatever field, career, creative endeavour, or ministry has you feeling passionate. Figure out if it’s something you can turn into a lucrative prospect. You may have to keep it to a part-time pursuit until you can figure out how to monetize it—or until you can find a way to earn money another way. 

Be ready to take a leap. This may sound counterintuitive to the previous point, but the two work hand in hand.

Money is important, but it’s not the only thing that matters in life. Sometimes it’s worth taking a leap of faith and throwing yourself fully into your passion. Often, that’s the only way you’ll ever make it work.

Listen, when the political forces tried to have my fitness business shut down by putting enormous pressure and attempting legal tactics to force my hand two things happened. I learned very quickly I no longer wanted to be a part of an organization that would treat its members in that manner. The second was, I knew it was time to make the leap.

Here is a quote you can ponder…

“I stood at the cliff’s edge and jumped… and landed higher than I ever thought possible.”

That was the quote I came up with when I walked away from my 130k/yr job and pension to pursue what I am passionate about. How did it work out? Well, I have been able to 10x what I could ever do in public service, just be going deeper into serving others.

Does that mean quit your job and abandon your life? Maybe, if the right opportunity presents itself. 

You should be aware of your financial pressures, but you can’t be so focused on “What’s going to happen to me if I quit my job?” which is fear-based thinking that will paralyze you ensuring you never make a move. You may just need to bite the bullet and make some huge leap of faith to seize the right opportunity at the right time in precisely the same way I did.

Terrifying! HELL YES but so was the first time I jumped out of Hercules Aircraft. So understand, if you are ok with going to your pine box never having given it a shot, then so be it… BUT a leap of faith may be the only way you truly find out if you can make it work!

So what happens when you pursue your passion? Well in my case I am living my best life. During the summer I start each morning at about 0400 with my work, then I head to the lake and waterski, from there I go to the gym and then after lunch I go back to doing the work I love. I answer to myself and am accountable to myself and my team that keeps this business running.

Put yourself in the right place. You’re not going to wake up one day as an expert on whatever subject or field you’re passionate about. Just like you had to put in the hours of study and practice to get where you are in your current career, you’ll have to do the same if you decide to pursue your passion. These are the phases of mastering your craft.

Often, success hinges on serendipity or good luck, but only for those who have prepared themselves to take advantage of those golden opportunities. 

Put in the hours of study, practice, research, and education. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to pursue your passion. Only by putting in those hours of work will you be ready when the time comes for you to take that leap of faith.

If you’ve found something that makes you passionate, you’re luckier than you know! Many people go their entire lives without finding their passion. But to make it possible to pursue your passion, you need to be prepared.