I always ask every client if they love what they do, and about half say yes while the other half say no. From what I’ve read in other places, only about 30% of people actually like their jobs while everyone else either hates their job or just tolerates it. Now, to be fair, not everyone can do the exact thing they love, especially once you have a family and mortgage, because then the ability to take risks with your career vanishes. Likewise, reaching a certain level in your career means that change is quickly replaced by survival and upholding a lifestyle.
Still, I always had a vision of people taking charge of their working lives and making positive changes as far as their careers are concerned.
Doing What You Want
Why do so many people reach a point where they simply tolerate their jobs? I believe a lot of it has to do with what we’re taught in high school and college as far as working hard, but not necessarily on things we’re interested in. That leads to complacency and a belief that work and passion can’t coexist. I firmly believe that the two can coexist and that you’d probably earn more money doing what you love.
When thinking about work, I fully acknowledge that I have a passion for finance. In acknowledging that, I worked my way through a career that eventually found me advising people on how to manage their money, invest, and make it so that they would be able to build a comprehensive retirement portfolio. While the path to reaching that point was somewhat linear, the result has been the kind of success that, unfortunately, the majority of people out there simply cannot relate to.
I’ve found it to be a natural conclusion that higher earnings follow job enjoyment. When you have a job that you love, you won’t have a hard time working longer hours. It’s similar to a video game that you find good enough that you never want to turn it off. Because you’re interested, you will end up working harder at it. Consequently, in working that job that you’re passionate about, you’ll learn more about related topics that will ultimately help you earn more money because your work will cover a wider range of topics.
So what do you do to get started? It’s something you want to put some real thought into. I wouldn’t recommended quitting your job and fully diving in right away just because you’re passionate about the thing you want to do. The process will be easy when you have a plan and clear process of execution. If you do decide to leave the corporate world in order to work for yourself, you may find that your investments are coming out of stocks and bonds and going into your own business. Following a well thought out plan will help you get your business up and running.
You also want to think about your personal contacts and people in your network. When you go to work for yourself, the people that you know may be able to offer advice at the very least. Even if that advice doesn’t make you money, it can almost certainly save you money. When you want to switch careers, think about people who work in that field and may be able to give you advice on transitioning into it.
Lastly, you don’t want to get discouraged. I certainly faced my fair share of distractions that attempted to lead me away from my vision. Stay committed to your goals and they will be that much more likely to happen. Some people will help you try to realize your dream while others will attempt to bring you down. You want to stay focused on the positive rather than the negative. Early on in my career, I reminded myself that if I stayed focused on what I wanted, I would be able to make money off my passions.
Hopefully, your journey there will be a good one.
If you have any questions about personal finance and what you can do to pursue your dreams, please get in touch with me and let me know what I can do to help.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.