3 Unhelpful Beliefs That Are Keeping You From Your Dream Job
How “doing what you love” could be a helpful piece of advice
Who doesn’t want to spend their life doing what they love? It would appear that this is the secret dream of all people — that they would be able to wake up every day, sit down at their desk or arrive at their job, and proceed to do what they want to do. And, of course, get paid for it.
This may seem virtually impossible to you for several reasons. Perhaps you were pigeonholed into a career by your family.
Maybe you were told that only a few particular jobs would be respectable and earn you a nice living, or you simply never realized that your passions had a way of making money if you were willing to go and fight to find it.
“Do what you love, love what you do.”
I, as a fairly young kid, felt anxious anytime I thought about my future career. I simply couldn’t find one thing that I wanted to do. I wanted to do it all. I mentioned this to a few teachers and, unsurprisingly, received a few “Wow, that’s great that you have so many interests — but you know what they say…jack of all trades, master of none” responses.
Apparently, it’s not kosher to do anything and everything. You’re supposed to settle into a career or something like that…
All of those responses from teachers, mentors, and my parents didn’t help my general nervousness about the future. However, I decided to keep pursuing my many interests and do what I could with them in the time I had outside of school.
“There is only one success- to be able to spend your life in your own way.” — Christopher Morley
It was through this process of rebelling against the idea of a traditional career and 9-to-5 that I discovered books like The 4-Hour Work Week, How To Be Everything, Do Hard Things, Kisses From Katie, and more books that implored me to follow my passions.
In all of my research and tinkering around with the idea of having a nontraditional work life, I’ve encountered several things that people said to me in my search for what I wanted to do.
Consequently, I’ve learned some of the lies people share when they’re trying to discourage you. I want to tell you what they are and encourage you to blatantly ignore them.
Lie #1: You can’t make money doing what you love
First of all, I want to clarify: Making money doing what you love doesn’t automatically mean that you have to be a freelancer or start your own business. Sometimes you can create your own thing or follow in the path of others.
A mentor and family friend of mine, who is now my boss, started a school while also being a doctor. She did something fulfilling and beneficial to many people in our community, without any sort of official qualification or license to do so.
She was simply a homeschooling mom looking to start a better school for her children and her children’s friends.
“If you do what you love, you never work a day in your life”
She’s also a mother of four kids, a wife, and so much more. She does what she loves and doesn’t make a cent from the amazing leadership academy she started. She makes her money as a doctor and uses her spare time to be a mother, a leader, and an inspiration to many.
She does what she loves and has enough money to fund it all.
There are also countless other examples of people doing what they love and having the money to do it, either from that project or another hobby.
Lie #2: There isn’t a job doing what you love
One of the biggest lies that we believe when trying to get paid to do what we want to do is that there isn’t a job out there that we’ll love.
While every job involves hard work and effort, and no workplace, job, or employer is ideal or perfect, I believe there are jobs out there that you are more predisposed to enjoy and excel at in a more natural way.
Recently, I’ve realized how many beautiful opportunities there are doing all sorts of jobs that are right up my alley. And it all comes down to finding a job that you love — whether that means applying for it or creating it yourself.
“Do what you love and the money will follow.” — Marsha Sinetar
Even if you can’t find a job that fits your passions or can’t create a successful business and be an entrepreneur, if you are living “on mission”, as Jess Connolly likes to say, then you can curb anything you’re doing in your current job to push you towards your goals.
It might take some stretching, wiggling around, and negotiating ways that you work in and for your company, but it’s doable — and you can make the most out of your career.
“Creating demand is hard. Filling demand is easier. Don’t create a product, then seek someone to sell it to. Find a market — define your customers — then find or develop a product for them.” — Tim Ferriss
Just because there isn’t a job right now that doesn’t fit your criteria for “doing what you love”, it doesn’t mean that the job won’t exist soon, or that you can’t create it yourself. Just a few years ago, things like social media managers, life coaches, and personal trainers didn’t exist.
Now, these are prevalent career paths and positions at businesses all over the world. Don’t give up so fast on finding your dream job.
Lie #3: What you love will get old if it’s work
My answer to this is simple — “not if you do it right.” Working in children’s ministry this past summer, I’ve learned that with the right attitude, enough variety, and a vibrant personal life, a job you enjoy for the right reasons doesn’t get old.
Sure, you can develop unhealthy relations with co-workers and outgrow a position, but for the most part, your talents and your interests won’t be depleted just because you do it every day.
“I’m doing things that feel good to my soul. […] And if it feels like work, then it’s work. But if you have that opportunity to do what you love, and you can make a living out of it, then that’s a blessing and I never take that for granted.” — Xzibit
I’ve also found, in many situations, that my love for things grows as I do them more and find ways to get more and more effectively invested. It becomes as Mihaly Csikszentmihaly describes in his book, “a flow experience”.
For example, I’ve taught writing camps for the past couple of years, and every time I host them, I love them a little bit more. What makes you money will 99% of the time still be work, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be work that you enjoy.
My mom runs a wedding planning business with two of her friends, and she loves it. It doesn’t get old for her. Content creators like Matt D’Avella, Nathaniel Drew, and Thomas Frank fall into the same boat, making their money from online content they enjoy creating.
They do this all while preventing burnout and finding meaning. They don’t get tired of doing what they love — and share positive information and personal experience with the world along the way.
I think it all comes out to a simple calculus: Find out how to provide what you love to the world — and the market, if it exists, will flock right to you.
In today’s economy with today’s resources, you can make money doing just about anything if you market yourself right and find the right audience.
You’ve got this. Don’t give up. Good luck discovering what you love and pursuing it wholeheartedly.
