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Friday, May 23, 2014

Do what you love, and you'll do what you love



It's said that if you do what you love, the money will follow.
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Anyone else think that a bunch of BS? Granted, there are some people who get paid doing something they'd do just for the joy of it. Unfortunately most things people love to do does not pay, or at least doesn't pay very well.

I've had some great jobs in my past. (Okay . . . distant past). However, that doesn't mean I loved them above all else. Given a choice between going to work and taking the canoe out on the river, the job would have always come in second. Take away the alarm clock and throw in a fishing pole and it gets even better. As much as I loved to take the canoe out, the money never followed.

Sure, I could have taken my love for canoing and started a guide business where I was paid to take people fishing in a canoe. There are worse jobs. However, I would no longer love it. There's all the stuff that goes with running a business: licenses, forms, insurance, taxes, all that crap. Since the guy paid me money, he probably expects me to show him a good time -like I want to be responsible for someone else's happiness.

In this economy, it's even harder to find something that is both the love of your life and makes a lot of money. Most of us are lucky if our monetary efforts are less than horrible.

However, we can plan our lives in such a way as to spend enough time doing what we love -money be damned. Following one's joy is its own reward. Just don't expect that reward to be in the coin that pays the rent.

-Sixbears

17 comments:

  1. Sad but true. Still beats doing what you hate, though.

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  2. Sixbear as a BBQ Pitmaster and a master disiller i love what i do.I consider myself lucky.
    ps. As i write this i have 16 pork butts smoking and 9 slabs of ribs.My distiller is cooling down.This week end will be 50+ butts and 36 ribs sold and 8 gallons of prime shine. life is good .

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    1. Count yourself among the few lucky ones. . . but I bet luck had little to do with it.

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    2. Why did I not go visit Gary when I was in Alabama last week? :)

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  3. I agree - only the lucky few do what they love and make good money doing it. I enjoy my job but it pretty much is a works for peanuts, about half as much as my wife who is a school teacher. The good thing is I can continue doing it as I get older, working with my mind mainly so physical toll isn't bad at all. I don't want to retire - there is so much to learn.

    Gorges Smythe comment above is so true - spending half your life doing a job you HATE - what a waste of time!

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    1. Glad you are enjoying what you are doing and can still get enough cheese sandwiches to get by.

      I've had jobs that I like turn to jobs that I hate and I didn't stick around much after that.

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  4. I, too, enjoy my job, and each day is different from any other. But I'll be ready when the time comes to walk away, either due to Hubby's health or just deciding it's time, hopefully the latter. Until then, I'll appreciate the fact that something I enjoy brings insurance and a few dollars, and interaction with new folks ever day...

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    1. Glad you enjoy it and don't just need it for the cheese sandwiches.

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  5. I stopped working for one company and went into business for myself. Didn't make a fortune but loved what I was doing and I could work from my home 99.9 percent of the time. My commute was a short walk from the bedroom, with a stop off at the kitchen, and then into my home office.

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    1. I myself am no longer cut out for the normal working world. Once you get that taste of freedom, it's impossible to let go.

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  6. Do what you love with love and God will provide you with enough love to share.

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    1. The wonderful thing about love is that it's one thing that can be given over and over again without losing any. In fact, the only way to have it is to give it.

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  7. I reckon it's like the old saying goes...do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life!

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  8. It's not total BS, but a better way to state it is "if you love what you do, you'll be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to be successful and make a lot of money." But like with your example of the canoe, you do have to be careful that in trying to make money at something, you turn it into something you no longer love.

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