When I meet people for the first time I don't ask them what they do for a living, I ask them what they love.
This is because most people are not doing what they love for a living, they are doing what they feel they have to do or doing what they ended up doing so usually it doesn't make for great conversation.
You can always tell if this is the case because there is no passion in their voice when they describe their work. Their job is something they tolerate. Usually it's not awful enough for them to leave but it's not good enough to make them feel happy or fulfilled either so it just kills them softly day by day
until the will to do something real is virtually eroded.
The reason I can spot this quickly is I experienced it for so long myself. I'd meet someone and I'd be full of charm and enthusiasm until they asked me what I do for a living and then my voice would drop and trail off as I'd say "...errr, I work in a college, admin stuff, it's not very interesting..." before quickly turning the conversation to my passions. It would throw people off because that kind of work didn't seem to match the person they'd met.
For virtually all of my adult life I used work as a means to an end while pursuing my real interests outside of it. In a way this has meant that I have not given my work or my real interests 100% focus.
At the same time I have no regrets. Work provided the stability and the financial means to immerse myself in many things including complimentary therapies, music, martial arts, boxing, public speaking, travel and hundreds of books. Now I am writing and speaking I realise how much I have to draw from and I feel really thankful for that.
As Ryan Holiday said, if you're going to write first have something to say...and you need to do interesting things so you have interesting things to say.
Some of us don't know what we love yet, is this a bad thing? I think it is a question of perspective. If this is the case for you, it could be argued that you have so much to discover, including yourself so go and explore. Experiment with different things until you find it. Finding what you love and doing it isn't some frivolous self-absorbed pursuit. It provides clues. It leads you to an understanding of what you value most and within that you can find your true purpose and what your unique contribution to the world is. In short what we love actually leads us to what we are supposed to be doing and who we really are.
Once I clarified my purpose this year it made it a lot easier for me to know what I'm supposed to be doing each day.
How can I inspire today? Who can I inspire/help today? Who did I inspire today?
Doing what we love can feel selfish, but provided it is not hurting anyone else it is a healthy selfishness which gives other people the permission to live too, to embrace their uniqueness and express it. You have a different energy and magnetism when you begin to live like this, your light burns more brightly. People are drawn to you and inspired by your courage.
My parents were of a generation and a mental programming which was about survival, where you did whatever work you had to do to pay the bills and that was that. Self-realisation wasn't on the menu. Times have changed however, the industrial age is dying and we are moving into the entrepreneurial age. Those that are sticking to the old script are finding that old structures are crumbling beneath their feet. Job security is not what it used to be as the "race to the bottom" means companies will continue to find ways to cut costs, downsizing, automating processes and outsourcing work to countries where labour is cheaper. This is a time where people with purpose and initiative, people who are creative, connected and adaptable will be the ones that thrive.
What can you offer the world?
Perhaps "What do you love?" is really another way of asking "Who are you?"
It is a question which I think will grow more and more important as time goes on.
"Work is love made visible."Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
Recommended reading:
Poke the Box by Seth Godin
Be Happy: Follow Your Smile. Stop Living by Default. Start Living by Design by Colin Hiles
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