What Are You Passionate About?

What makes you tick? What do you really like to do? What do you wake up thinking about and go to bed and dream about?

I have come to a place in my life where I am asking similar questions. The skinny is this, I do not want to ever work a 9-5 job getting paid far less than what my time is actually worth. When I could be doing something I really enjoy.

I recently took a part time job at a store called Saxon Shoes. The people I work with are nice, my boss is easy to work with and the job is, for the most part, pretty simple. I clock in. I do my thing. I try to help people. I clock out. Bam!, money.

Sure, a paycheck. That’s cool. But really, that’s all it is.

So my thing is, why not make money doing something that you enjoy! Does it have to be something that everyone deems is important or enriches a global society? No. It may. But no.

You may really like landscaping. That satisfies a need people have and you earn money doing it. Not bad.

But then again, you may kites. There is nothing in the world you love more than kites. You know everything there is to know about kits — how they work, the different kinds, the tricks of the trade, the best places to fly kites, how to make your own, the list goes on and on…

My point is to many people that may seem worthless. But if you are passionate about it, than I say forget what everyone else is saying and do it! Just go for it! Who cares what people think, anyhow.

Take, Byron Reese, for example…

(Byron Reese) Started his company, SantaMail.org, which sells fully personalized letters from Santa Claus all across North America (they’re even postmarked from North Pole, Alaska, to give them an authentic feeling). Reese sold 10,000 letters in 2001, his first year in business. Though holiday sales have increased every subsequent year, he still looked for ways to expand his offering. Now, parents can order birthday cards for their children from Santa as well. The strategy pushed 2005 sales to $1 million.

(h/t)

Dude, is selling cards from Santa! And is making a killing. In the long run does it really help anyone?… I men really? No. It makes a kids Christmas a little more magical but other than that… No.

So what’s the deal?! Byron had a dream, an idea, an inspiration. Was it stupid? Yep. Did it pay off? Yeah, to the tune of 1 Million dollars.

My point is not that money is everything… believe me, it’s not. What I want you to understand is, whatever your passion is, whatever little or big dream you have, however silly, or meaningless, or absurd it may sound, don’t back off of it just because you are afraid what people will.

You love to install swimming pools? GREAT! Do it. Don’t you dare settle for a multi-million dollar a year desk job IF you just really want to install swimming pools.

Naysayers and skeptic know-it-all’s, feel free to criticize and demean me. Tell me that your passion and vision is better. Just don’t get mad when I accomplish what you said could never happen.

Look, I’m not telling you these things because I have “arrived” but because I am on the journey.

Live your passion.