One of the most common questions I am asked is “should I follow my passion”? There are many debates about this. The voices of those who say no to following a passion do not understand what it is.
What does it mean to pursue a passion? I break it down into the elements of vision, values, beliefs and interests. Consider Brian’s story.
When Brian came to see me he was struggling with how to bring his passion to life. We talked about what was important to him. In a previous post, I shared about values. Here are Brian’s:
- The great outdoors
- Honesty in business
- Hard work
- Being adaptable
Beliefs are also important. Through the conversation, Brian was able to share that he believes:
- It is important to invest a lot of time and energy in your business
- I am very capable in the field of outdoors tools and technology
- Hard work and long hours will pay off on the long term
His interests also aligned with his values and beliefs. These included camping, canoeing, target shooting and enjoying the outdoors.
A vision for a future business then emerged from this. He shared that he wanted to develop a large business enterprise. To create a place that offers one stop shopping for the outdoors: hunting and fishing, fish out ponds, motels and complete outfitting gear and supplies.
This led to the creation of an action plan where he focused on:
- Learning more about what it takes to be in business
- Researching current outfitters
- Developing a mentor relationship with an expert outfitter
- Interviewing potential customers to learn what they want
Once these steps were done, he chose to work in an established business to learn the ropes. This enabled him to save more cash to start-up his own venture while learning the ropes from a pro. Brian has a passion for the work grounded in a solid plan to help him achieve his dream. This is one way a passion-based career can be realized!
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I help people who desire to change their job or career in any way. To start this process, people need an action plan. My “Career Action Plan” session promises to get to the root of any career problem. I provide a concrete plan to get the problem fixed. People become empowered to take action because they have a plan designed for them. Contact me to book your session!
Photo courtesy of pxhere