We all have a dream, it’s just that some of us are more aware of ours, and others are so used to squashing it deep down in the depths. I believe that life is just too short to not follow your passions and to do work that you find meaningful. I’m not saying that’s an easy decision. One of my favourite Oprah quotes is “Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do”. If you’re in the lucky position now where you can do what you want to do, it’s your time to shine, writes Tina Tower, author of The Million Dollar Micro Business.
These past couple of years has shaken up the way we view the world and our work. If you’ve got to the stage where you are questioning what’s next, it’s time to ask yourself the following questions:
What do you really want to do with your life?
You may have heard the saying “How we spend our days is how we spend our lives”. Identifying what you actually want to do with a typical day is often a lot simpler and achievable than the existential questions of life as a whole. Do you want to be working long hours, or short? Do you want to work in and office or outdoors? Do you want to work in the day or night? Do you want to work in a marathon or sprints and breaks? Do you want to work face to face with people or be completely anonymous? Answering the questions will allow you to define your ideal days and create your business around the ideal life that you want to lead rather than business consuming you and trying to fit in the small pockets of joy around it.
Who do you want to serve?
When I created my business I designed it on purpose so that my days were spent around the people I wanted to be surrounded by. I wanted to work with highly ambitious, smart and experienced women aspiring to lead a life less ordinary. Because of that distinction, I could create the products that would attract my ideal clients.
What makes your work meaningful?
Money just simply isn’t enough. Humans are complex creatures and all of us are different and have various values that govern our decision making and actions but the one thing we know for sure, is money on it’s own isn’t enough of a motivator to have a fulfilling life. What is it for you? Is it connection? Contribution? Impact? Once you define what will make your life feel like one that’s well lived, you can create your business to deliver on that.
What’s the first life step that you can take in the direction of your dreams?
When something is big and overwhelming, we put it off and save it for another time. I have a sneaky suspicion that there’s never a great time for a business overhaul but rather, take that next simple step to inch closer towards the business that is going to serve your values. What’s that next one little thing that you can do? After a while, you’ll wake up and realise that you did it – you actually created a business and life you love.
I am a huge fan of packaging your expertise into an online course. A lot of people have avoided following their passion for fear of lacking profits. I have seen successful online courses in everything from business finances to taming wild eyebrows and every random thing in between. We live in a big wide world and if you’re passionate about it, chances are, others are too. By packaging your expertise into a course, you’re able to share what you know with others and create a massive impact and trickle effect in their lives.
It’s your responsibility to share your knowledge with the world and to help others. As you chase your own passion to build a business and life that you love, you may just find that you’re helping others to find their own joy at the same time.
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