Are you living your PASSION.....are ya?

[Cat Man Du]

Is your PASSION your day j o b?

Is it your after hours j o b?

Do you know your PASSION?

Has your PASSION changed to something else from your original thought?

Do you know your PASSION today?

Is your PASSION something you’re going to do ....and if so WHY aren’t you doing it NOW?

Ok.....I’m going to start:

As some of you know ..’legs’ and I came out of the gym/spa world...we both thought that it was our passion and it was for a while.
Truth be told......I loved that world while I was single, BUT after we were married...NO. It seems that TOO many guys were chasing her tail........I couldn’t take it and decided WE needed a CHANGE!

While it was a FUN life for us ...it was 10 to 12 hour days.

‘Legs’ suggested that we move to south Fla. as her parents were there having moved down from NY and she would like to be by them.

Well we did and ending up taking our real estate exams...passed and were sitting in a restaurant and two guys came over to our table and asked us ( legs ) if we would like to go to work for their company. A land development company ...our job would be to host some of their affairs which consisted of hosting a marine exhibit...hosting a South Pacific get together at some of the hotels at the beach. This was great...we got paid to be on the beach attend the tiki bars happy hours .

I dressed ‘legs’ in a really coooooool outfit .... we were a hit. Maybe I need to explain.. the dress part. ‘Legs’ nickname in high school & college was......Barbie doll. Yeah....I’m one of those guys that liked to play with dolls...ones that could breathe that is. She is my Barbie and I choose her clothes and dress her. NOW this was our PASSION, but then we had another CHANGE. There’s more to the story, but that’s enough for now.

So....what’s your PASSION? Did it change as mine did?

Getting out of bed when you WANT to.................PASSION.
Getting out of bed when you HAVE to......................JOB.

Which are you?? :Welcome:

 

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[lightweight99]

For a number of years, bodybuilding was my passion, but the day to day of eating 7 times a day and the relentless pursuit of perfection has taken it's toll on me. I am still an active weight lifter, but not to the professional extent.

My passion would be a professional race car driver in cars such as GT2 cars and so on. I have done some research into it and it seems a bit hard to get involved in unless you start go karting at a young age. There is room to get involved in it, but at my age it requires some decent funding. This is something I am still looking into. I autocross on the weekends when I can, but hopefully true time attack racing will happen soon.

 

[hakrjak]

"In high school when the guidance counselor asked what you would do if you had a million dollars and didn't have to work.... I never had an answer."

- Peter from "Office Space"

 

[Cat Man Du]

ANY takers.................What's yours?

 

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[exon]

I'm living my PASSION through my short and log term goals. Setting a goal is a good way to feel passion every day in business and private.

When you see passionate people I can tell you that they have a goal. No matter what that goal is.

Just year or two ago I had an indescribable problems with getting out of bed... I had a goal, but only "long-term" goal.
Only one day in week was different. Once a week I went to tennis with my friends, and that day I had no problem to get out of bed - so there I found out where problem lies As more activities I had there were less trouble to get out of bed Implementing that in business solved everyday problems.

 

[GlobalWealth]

I am a 3rd generation entrepreneur. My grandfather owned a chain of restaurants. My father owned several businesses but during my lifetime he owned a fairly large commercial construction company and RE development company. When your family dinners involve discussions about the benefits of s-corp vs c-corp and family vacations involve tours of job sites, business becomes who you are. When I was a kid, my father's company built nearly all of the Bojangles restaurants along the east coast. I ate more fried chicken as a kid than anyone should. Believe it or not, I still love Bojangles.

My passion has always been business. At 14 I had several yards I mowed, a couple of offices I cleaned, and my own stock trading account. I probably made $15-$20k/yr in my teen years. And considering this was in the 80s-early 90s, not too bad. But to me, it was all about independence.

I have a strong passion for entrepreneurship. I love the game. And to me, its a game. I love to see the emails from customers and the increase in the bank balance. I am one of the most frugal guys you could ever meet, so it isn't about the money for the sake of consumption, but really just for the sake of seeing the numbers get bigger.

In 2007, I came to the realization that I hated my company. I didn't like my customers or my employees. This is why I sold the company. I was no longer passionate about my work. I will highlight this statement here because I think it is critical;

If you want to be successful, you must be passionate about your work. If you aren't passionate, you are destined to failure.

In 2007, I decided I was selling the company or closing it. I didn't care. the money was not the issue, my happiness was and I wasn't going to live my life being unhappy at work. As an entrepreneur, your business consumes your life and if you aren't happy at work, you aren't happy.

One of my requirements for my new company was to regain the passion. I had been informally advising friends and business associates on asset protection strategies for years so I chose this route. The reason?

I get to work with the kind of people I like. I don't like working with those people with an entitlement mentality and entrepreneurs, by and large, are producers. You are the ones that make the world go 'round. I have a strong philosophical belief in the power of free market capitalism and if I can help entrepreneurs protect and keep more of their wealth through proper planning, then I am making the world a better place. One entrepreneur at a time.

 

[Cat Man Du]

I am a 3rd generation entrepreneur.

When I was a kid, my father's company built nearly all of the Bojangles restaurants along the east coast. I ate more fried chicken as a kid than anyone should. Believe it or not, I still love Bojangles.

My passion has always been business. At 14 I had several yards I mowed, a couple of offices I cleaned, and my own stock trading account. I probably made $15-$20k/yr in my teen years. And considering this was in the 80s-early 90s, not too bad. But to me, it was all about independence.

If you want to be successful, you must be passionate about your work. If you aren't passionate, you are destined to failure.

I get to work with the kind of people I like. I don't like working with those people with an entitlement mentality and entrepreneurs, by and large, are producers. You are the ones that make the world go 'round. I have a strong philosophical belief in the power of free market capitalism and if I can help entrepreneurs protect and keep more of their wealth through proper planning, then I am making the world a better place. One entrepreneur at a time.

Thanks for this!!

Here I've BOLDED some of Globes statements.............as these are CRUCIAL to the MIND-SET of successful business people. Here Globe has a "daddy warbucks"...DO you think that he had to mow/clean for spending money??? Nooooooooooooo.

Every successful person I've met............did the same......they worked as children/teens ......that's the kind of thinking ....that gets you AHEAD!!

 

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[Cat Man Du]

Copyright © 2010 Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Here's an unusual piece of business advice: Set yourself on fire every day. The life of an entrepreneur is full of ups and downs. One day things are exciting; the next we have to face a new hassle. On a movie set, the actors would say "It let the air out of our day." In other words, the fire is out and the passion is gone.
But as entrepreneurs, our passion is our responsibility.
Some of us know our passion; others have yet to discover it. Just make sure it's your passion and purpose, not what your parents and teachers said you should (or shouldn't) do. Two owners of nearly identical pizza franchises may have two totally different reasons for being in business. One may be living a dream of growing a family and giving local kids jobs, and another loves seeing families enjoying good food together. The key is to discover what motivates you--what sets you on fire.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm !

 

[LagunaLauren]

My hubby decided to quit a lucrative medical sales rep job to pursue a mid-life career change to be a dentist. At 42, he just finished his 3rd year and will graduate next year. He sacrificed a lot for this big change, taking more classes, taking the DAT, 4 years of dental school, etc. He truly loves evolving, learning medical stuff, challenging himself and helping lower-income patients. Was a bold move and a big change, but he loves it!

 

[Bobo]

My hubby decided to quit a lucrative medical sales rep job to pursue a mid-life career change to be a dentist. At 42, he just finished his 3rd year and will graduate next year. He sacrificed a lot for this big change, taking more classes, taking the DAT, 4 years of dental school, etc. He truly loves evolving, learning medical stuff, challenging himself and helping lower-income patients. Was a bold move and a big change, but he loves it!

Good thing he has a loving, supportive wife.... Just like Jill does!

 

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[Jill]

This is something I've struggled with for a long time. For years, I defended my career choice, despite my lack of passion for it (quite possibly the understatement of the year), because I viewed it as a means to an end. I.e. "I'll do something I hate for a while in order that I may have the freedom to live my passion later.... AND live comfortably along the way."

But the older I get, the more I realize the futility of this plan, cuz my life is half over :smxE: and I'm not much closer to that freedom! The main problem I have is that I cant imagine any of my passions providing the lifestyle to which I've grown accustomed. But I'm working on my imagination!!

The secondary issue is that I've noticed that more often than not, once someone tries to make their avocation their vocation, the fun is not so fun anymore. I think part of the key here - and one I'm seriously taking another shot at right now - is outsourcing the parts of the business that bring me stress. This way, I can continue to enjoy the things that I'm passionate about, without getting mired down in the administrative minutiae that I detest. (TKU for indulging me the opportunity to work thru this on a public forum!!!! Sometimes you just have to talk it out.)

 

[AroundTheWorld]

Jill,

What are your passions?

 

[Jill]

Jill, What are your passions?

You mean besides Bobo, of course!? :smxB:

Luxury travel, luxury menswear, fine dining...and wining. Hmmmmm. Now that i write it out, it would appear that all i have a passion for is living the good life!!!

In addition, ( trying to think what I get on the edge of my seat about, and would do for free, even it were inconvenient . . . )

So, with those parameters in mind, I also LOVE spending quality time with people I respect & admire, even tho I'm a tad shy, and somewhat of a loner when it comes to socializing in general. I also LOVE teaching youngsters about entrepreneurship. I'm passionate about politics, Sonic Diet cokes and good wine. Oh, I already mentioned that. :smug2:

Thanks for asking.

 

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[Phil]

I have something to share with you fellow fast laners that I think will fit in quite well with this topic. A very valuable question that helped me determine how I was going to live my life.
I was asked this when I was completely sick and bored of my 9-5 that I had spent 8 years (since leaving school) training up to do. I wanted to quit, but didn't know where to turn.

I was asked:

If you had £100,000,000.00 in the bank and you did not need to work at all, How exactly would you spend your days?

My answer was: "I'd set up businesses for fun and see which ones succeed and which crashed and burned."

This pretty much meant Entrepreneurship to me. I think my answer was reflective of my mindset having just read RDPD for the first time and setting up a clothing company with one of my friends. I knew I had to get out of the E quadrant. So after some consideration I decided to quit my job, and go to business school to study a degree in Business Management and Entrepreneurship to gain the knowledge I would need to make it on my own.

That was 18months ago (They let me start at level2). I have now (just last week) completed this degree and I'm in the process of launching a true fastlane business. For the first time in my life I don't have a day job, I'm not enrolled in formal education and I work all day, everyday for myself taking action on developing my business idea and everyday getting a step closer to success. I wake up every morning excited and passionate about what I'm going to do and what I want to achieve, I manage my time how I want to - and If I want to take a break and go for a bike ride or a run I just go!
I have literally never been happier.
I should also mention that I wouldn't be in the position if I didn't have an amazingly supportive girlfriend, who believes in me and my ideas and wants me to be happy.
If it wasnt for her and being asked that question I may not be here now.

 

[Jill]

Thanks for sharing that, Phil. If you don't mind my asking, what do you do for living expenses? You said you've been in school for 18 months, and you're just now getting a business set up. Those can both be expensive things in themselves, before we even start talking about rent. Just curious.

 

[andviv]

Luxury travel, luxury menswear, fine dining...and wining. Hmmmmm. Now that i write it out, it would appear that all i have a passion for is living the good life!!!

yeah, I don't see any of those here listed...

How to Turn Your Hobby Into a Business - AOL Small Business

So, with those parameters in mind, I also LOVE spending quality time with people I respect & admire, even tho I'm a tad shy, and somewhat of a loner when it comes to socializing in general. I also LOVE teaching youngsters about entrepreneurship. I'm passionate about politics, Sonic Diet cokes and good wine. Oh, I already mentioned that. :smug2:

Create an entrepreneurship academy, make sure part of the syllabus is to travel to multiple locations to see how things are done over there. Make one of the classes "How to turn an art into a profitable business" and make sure it focuses on the wine industry, studying how the great labels and brands came about, and having wine tastings while at it.

 

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[Phil]

With some budgeting we were able to get by on my partners income alone during the time I was studying. As I mentioned my GF is super supportive and wants to give me the opportunity to make a real go of my business. I also do a lot of selling on ebay and earn a.m revenue through my blog. If I need to get a job in the mean time I'm fully prepared to.
She sees this point in time as an investment in me - And figures She wont have a problem living in a great house, going shopping and spending money in the future so doesn't mind living relatively frugally now.
FYI her name is Jill too
Business start up money comes in the form of government and European grants which I'm applying for now left right and centre.

 

[Runum]

I think I am. I quit teaching for a year and really missed working with the kids. Went back to work at a district that needs help. Just had the best teaching year of my life.:cheers:

 

[GlobalWealth]

This is something I've struggled with for a long time. For years, I defended my career choice, despite my lack of passion for it (quite possibly the understatement of the year), because I viewed it as a means to an end. I.e. "I'll do something I hate for a while in order that I may have the freedom to live my passion later.... AND live comfortably along the way."

But the older I get, the more I realize the futility of this plan, cuz my life is half over :smxE: and I'm not much closer to that freedom! The main problem I have is that I cant imagine any of my passions providing the lifestyle to which I've grown accustomed. But I'm working on my imagination!!

The secondary issue is that I've noticed that more often than not, once someone tries to make their avocation their vocation, the fun is not so fun anymore. I think part of the key here - and one I'm seriously taking another shot at right now - is outsourcing the parts of the business that bring me stress. This way, I can continue to enjoy the things that I'm passionate about, without getting mired down in the administrative minutiae that I detest. (TKU for indulging me the opportunity to work thru this on a public forum!!!! Sometimes you just have to talk it out.)

Several years ago in my mid twenties, I made an offer to buy a motorcycle shop. It was a large franchise store with Honda/Yamaha/KTM. I was (and still am) and huge motocycle fanatic. To this day I have nearly 20 bikes in my garage and this is after I trimmed it down before moving abroad. I raced motocross, hare scrambles and supermoto for several years and adrenaline is my drug of choice. So I thought what better business to be in than own a store.

Luckily I was outbid at the last minute by another buyer and lost the deal. I was very pissed for a long time the way I was undermined in getting outbid. Today, I couldn't be more happy the deal went sour. Most likely I would have lost a lot of money, potentially went bankrupt in the current crisis and ended up hating motorcycles.

I am passionate about business and I am passionate about my hobbies. But they need not be the same passion.

 

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[Cat Man Du]

My hubby decided to quit a lucrative medical sales rep job to pursue a mid-life career change to be a dentist. At 42, he just finished his 3rd year and will graduate next year. He sacrificed a lot for this big change, taking more classes, taking the DAT, 4 years of dental school, etc. He truly loves evolving, learning medical stuff, challenging himself and helping lower-income patients. Was a bold move and a big change, but he loves it!

Thanks LL... Question....Where did the denist thought come from?? I had a friend that left stocks to become a denist at 49....He loved it! He needed a good amount of dental work done and met the most wonderful...happy denist that did the work. He was so happy that my friend said " the hell with stocks" and went back to school like your hubby...but where did your hubby get the idea??? As sales rep ..did he call on denists offices? And what about YOU ....what was your PASSION???:chatter:

 

[Cat Man Du]

You mean besides Bobo, of course!? :smxB:

Luxury travel, luxury menswear, fine dining...and wining. Hmmmmm. Now that i write it out, it would appear that all i have a passion for is living the good life!!!

In addition, ( trying to think what I get on the edge of my seat about, and would do for free, even it were inconvenient . . . )

So, with those parameters in mind, I also LOVE spending quality time with people I respect & admire, even tho I'm a tad shy, and somewhat of a loner when it comes to socializing in general. :smug2:

Thanks for asking.

As I age................the above always WAS and always WILL be the most memorable
times of My life ...NOTHING equals it...NOTHING!
Outside of family !

 

[LagunaLauren]

Thanks LL... Question....Where did the denist thought come from?? I had a friend that left stocks to become a denist at 49....He loved it! He needed a good amount of dental work done and met the most wonderful...happy denist that did the work. He was so happy that my friend said " the hell with stocks" and went back to school like your hubby...but where did your hubby get the idea??? As sales rep ..did he call on denists offices? And what about YOU ....what was your PASSION???:chatter:

My hubby wanted always wanted to be a dentist, but got into medical sales after college. He loved the medical/surgical aspect of it and was really successful with it, but the sales aspect of it and the doctor egos, etc got a little old. He's so happy he made the decision to go back to school. He genuinely loves helping people, learning new stuff, and the medical/surgical aspect of dentistry.

My passion was design. I knew what I wanted to do even when I was young. I had my own ad agency with clients like Porsche, Warner Bros. and Mattel. Then I joined a huge int'l ad agency as a VP Creative Director. Retired when I was 35.

I buy apartment buildings now. It's lucrative, but not my passion. I was in Texas a few weeks ago and stumbled onto a bunch of properties done by a developer that totally inspired me creatively! I'm fired up about doing more creative development-unique apartment buildings, luxury boutique resorts and luxurious multi-million dollar homes (when the market improves for homes in Orange County again).

 

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[lexingtonjames]

Great stories and nice to see everybody going after their dreams.

 

[Cat Man Du]

I think I am. I quit teaching for a year and really missed working with the kids. Went back to work at a district that needs help. Just had the best teaching year of my life.:cheers:

Laugna said:

I love opportunities to give and appreciate it when specific causes are important to others. I donated quite a bit to curing autism for years when I met a Mom who was passionate and driven about this cause. That enthusiasm and genuine sincere compassion is infectious and motivating.


Scripture says:

“the only worship acceptable to God is to look after the widow and orphan“....i.e. children, animals ...those who cannot look after themselves and who will not be able to reciprocate.

So when you practice the above.......... you are actually....worshipping God !


Speeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed +++++++++++++ to you both. I’m impressed .

 

[buckwild]

Great thread that reminds me I don't look forward to retirement at an early age. That's right if you read the 4-Hour Work-Week Tim Ferris describes somebody truly passionate about their business doesn't want to retire. They keep working at it because they love the business! How do they avoid burnout? They take mini-retirements throughout their career.

Great read, I highly recommend it!

 

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[Rickson9]

To answer the title of the OP: yes.

 

[Cat Man Du]

To answer the title of the OP: yes.

Good ...................... Tell us about it !!!

 

[David]

At the moment, short and long term goals are being implemented but patience is the key. My passion would be helping those who are in need by giving them opportunities that were given to me when I was a young gun. I'd also hope to be a great father and be able to care of my kids, even though I'm only 22. hahaha

 

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[archon]

Living my passion? Laws no, but I am trying to make a start at it. Doing a little analysis into what I do well, and how to couple that with what I also enjoy doing (obviously those things do not have to be inclusive)

A stupid question- what if you are at a ripe old age (*cough* 37), and you are not sure where your passions lie? I am very much a jack of all trades versus a master of any. I have my passions (ie advising/selling), but I am smart enough to realize that I know just enough to be dangerous with my advice? I am pondering becoming a CFA, knowing I need to spend some time beefing up my education. But I know I would be much happier helping people going through bankruptcy/difficult times versus helping those with money preserve their cash.
Just putting that out there. Sorry for fishing, but y'all have a world more experience than I do ATM.