Passion

Think about the last time you spoke to someone who was passionate about something. Their whole face lights up, you can see the fire in their eyes, they have a sparkle. They could talk to you for hours about it. They could make the most boring seeming topic sound incredibly interesting and attractive. Doors open to people who are passionate about what they do.

At my school we were not taught about two things: passion and money. The result? Many people learn that what they want to do either is not a well paying job (“you can’t make a living doing that!”) or it is considered “unrealistic” and they end up in a job they do not like.

Who wants to spend most of their waking hours doing something they do not like for 40+ years?

A truth I have known intuitively since childhood is that following my passion is an essential part of my contentedness. Note that I did not say happiness-happiness is temporary.

The problem with following your passion for most people though is money. How can we do what we love and still pay the bills? One of the keys to making this work is by learning about personal finance and building good financial habits.

You may need to work a job you do not love to pay the bills in the beginning, but do not work too many hours or get too comfortable-keep your goal in mind and work on it when you are not at your job.

This is the internet era-the amount of education that is available for free now is insane. Learn to judge quality though. Through the internet you can invest, run a business or earn money online now (even while you sleep), freeing you from one specific location and job (if you generate enough income). The world is your oyster.

For people who are already in stable jobs and have responsibilities, you can work on gradually making your passion full-time over time. (See my journey below).

If you are finishing high school, it is the perfect time to see where your passion takes you-you have fewer responsibilities. Study people who are already doing it.

When I was a child, I cannot remember how many times an adult asked me, “What do you want to be when you are older?”.

This is the wrong question to ask a child. “Be” does not equal “do”. This is old thinking that suggests that people are defined by their jobs, that you need to wait to pursue what you like, and that you have to have one job for the rest of your life.

Why are you asking the child what they want to be? To inspire them or to quash their dreams? If you want to inspire a child, maybe the better question is “What do you like doing?”, and encourage them to do that more. At my school, no one encouraged us to follow what we enjoyed unless it was a specific academic subject.

I have never known what job I wanted to do for the rest of my life because life is more than jobs, and jobs are not the only way to make money. My main passions are family, education (more in a life sense than a traditional school sense), and travel-I live and teach in another country with my family.

I am working toward financial independence. You see, I have come to learn that as long as I teach for someone else, I cannot choose who or what I teach and my income has a limit, and to earn more means working more hours or working toward a management role (not my passion). The teaching that interests me the most is much lower paid too, which would mean I need to work even more hours. Then there is the issue of what if there is no work tomorrow? Sickness, a pandemic?

I had been working silly hours to boost my income to speed up financial independence, however, I have recently had some time off and it has helped me realise the value of time. Time with family, time to work on what I enjoy. Time to allow creativity to flow and ideas to flourish. Never work too many hours-it turns you into a zombie. Awful for your mental health and a sure way to kill your passion.

I am a big believer in calculated risks. With no risk comes no reward.

Now that I have space to breathe and think, I have more clarity. I need more time away from my job.

I want to choose the work I do. Working for one employer is not the way to make this happen, but it does not have to be a clean break. I can slowly transition to where I want to be.

For me in the short term, this means leaving the comfort of my current job and going for a higher paid job in the same field. This will allow me to spend more time with family, write more, invest more money to speed up my financial independence, build up my own business in the background and be free to teach who and what I want.

Enjoy the journey regardless of the destination. The problem with obsessing over the past or future is that you miss out on now (which then becomes the past you obsess over in the future).

Follow your passions, learn how to make and use money wisely, make a plan. Do not waste your waking hours doing something you do not like.

Would you not rather be doing something you like or love every day? Life is too short.

What is your passion?