While some are lucky enough to combine their passion with a well paying job, it is not always an option that is available to everyone. Quite frequently, when faced with job dissatisfaction people reach to their interests and passion as a way to fill the missing void of career fulfilment. However, upon their due diligence, they often discover that pursing this passion often comes with a hefty price tag in the form a significant salary decrease. This can be incredibly disheartening as you run the numbers and realise that it may not be financially practical. However, all is not lost, there is more than one way to pursue your passion and experience the career fulfilment that you are striving for.
Here are five ways to pursue your passion without leaving your day job.
Don’t lose sight of purpose.
First up, it’s important to remind yourself what you’re striving for which is that career fulfilment you’re lacking in your current career. Often, people can move too quickly to try and make money from this passion and in doing so, end up spending their time pursing their passion in a way that does not evoke the fulfilment they desire. During my Career Clarity Workshop I guide people through the process of figuring out what aspect of their passion brings them joy and in what form. For example do they like writing about their passion or speaking about it. Exploring questions like this will help to steer you towards career satisfaction as you pursue your passion.
If opportunity doesn’t find you, find it.
Now that you have figured out how you want to work with your passion it’s time to start exploring opportunities to do so. There are so many avenues open to you, it just takes a little digging around to find the right ones for you. Identify who you admire in this space and check out what they are doing to pursue their passion. Have a think about what isn’t being utilised that you could adopt in your approach. Don’t be afraid to ask for help along the way, most of us don’t leverage our network as much as we could or should yet we can save so much time and stress by doing so. This is something I’m always encouraging clients to pay more attention to.
Act now and build for later.
In order to get your passion off the ground, a number of skills will be needed. The good news is, most of us have many more skills than we realise, developed through our upbringing, career and general life experiences. I’m always amazed at how many additional skills people realise they have during my Career Workshops. Take some time to do a stocktake on yours and identify areas that you may need to develop further. This will not only serve your passion project right now but will also future proof your ability to transition your career should you wish. When it comes to skill development, I would suggest a combination of self teaching through online resources, leveraging the experiences of your network and learning as you go as practice really does make perfect. You might find that you’re lacking confidence in some areas as you haven’t utilised certain skills in a while which is completely normal. One of the exercises we work through during my Career Confidence Workshop is figuring out what we feel confident doing, taking learning from how we approach those tasks and perhaps seeing if we can apply similar tactics to the areas we’re a little less confident with.
Prepare for a marathon, not a sprint.
If you’re hoping that this passion project will sustain you for some time, it’s best to treat the journey as a marathon, not a sprint. Allocate regular time to your passion project but be conscious of all of the other life categories you want to be able to nourish along the way such as relationships, your home environment, work, health, etc. If your passion project starts to really build momentum and becomes profitable, you could outsource certain tasks to give yourself back the time to spend on the areas you enjoy most. Remember, no one can be an expert in everything so sometimes it’s worth letting the experts do what they do best while you focus on what you do and enjoy best.
Differentiate between chore and passion.
For many people, the fulfilment and enjoyment that comes from spending their personal time pursuing their passion will give them everything they’ve been missing from their day job. Some may even find that their passion project starts to generate income organically. When it comes to monetising your passion, it’s worth remembering the ways you enjoy working on this project. It can be tempting to turn to the easiest and most obvious ways of generating income, however, that may take away from the satisfaction you’re seeking and make it feel like more of a chore than an passion.