I’m Showing – Not Telling

[Photo Credit]

There’s a flurry of conversation blowing around the microsphere of the web I inhabit—a snowstorm initiated by Lisis Blackston at Quest for Balance.

I must say I’m not shocked—that girl tells it like she sees it. (Good for you, Lisis!) I mean, geez, for a woman who has previously compared her ideal post length in words to the length of her skirt? What did you expect?

Lisis called out to us bloggers to respond to her post: Net Worth vs Self Worth: The Passion Paradox, with a post at our sites. Here’s my response to your thought-provoking post, Lisis.

Instead of spouting advice and opinions, I want to show two examples of what I think about this topic. I’ve gratefully turned my passion into my career more than once.

I want to clearly state that you can also keep your day job and put passion into it, while further pursuing other passions outside of work. Do what needs to be done to put food on the table—I certainly have gone this route more than a few times!

I don’t believe there’s one right or wrong way—I respect everyone’s decisions. Each person needs to do what feels right to him or her.

I’ve really enjoyed my jobs. All of them. I infused passion into my jobs as well as my off hours when I had to! Also know I’ve thrown in the “passion towel” many times, too. But, when I’ve set up my booger board (i.e., ideas board), a few things stuck along the way.

And no, I’m not a snake-oil salesperson, I promise. I’ll just tell you my experience and you can take from it what you want. Remember, I’m all about people’s stories, so here’s a bit about mine—to show you there’s possibility in building a successful AND passionate career, if that’s what you’re into.

I’ll focus on two examples of how I managed this. And, remember, my definition of the material aspect of success is me being able to acquire shelter, food, clothing, and the bare necessities. I am not materialistic. I have what my husband calls a, “low burn rate.” I think this made all the difference for my passion pursuits.

Exhibit A:

I want to be a scientist—I’m passionate about the body, how the body functions, and how one goes about setting up experiments to further the understanding of the body.

Step 1:
Join military to help pay for school.

Step 2:
Get good grades.

Step 3:
Volunteer and work at various part-time jobs as much as possible to make sure that’s what I want to do.

Step 4:
Apply for grad school, graduate from university.

Step 5:
Begin advanced training at graduate school.

Step 6:
Continue to eat beans and rice to save money so I can continue my studies as a post-doctoral fellow making ‘peanuts’ for a salary while I honed my skills as a scientist.

Step 7:
After twelve years (undergrad/grad school + post-doc), land my first job as a scientist.

There’s no easy way around it. It just takes that long if one wants to have a lot of employment options as a scientist.

Was it a lot of effort? Hell yeah.
Was it work? I don’t think, to this day, I’d call it work. I felt like a kid in a candy store.

Were there awful days? Yes.
Were there days I only slept one or two hours a day? Yes.

Would I do it over? In a heartbeat.

OK, now you might be cocking your head to one side with an eyebrow raised. “That’s not what we’re talking about, Lori! I want to be self-employed! I want…. [fill in the blank].”

OK, I’ll give you another example. This was a highly successful business I started based purely on passion—literally by my own two hands.

Exhibit B:

I want to work for myself, set my own schedule, and be the master of my time. I’m still passionate about the body, and how the body functions but want to be closer to helping people, first-hand. Massage therapy seems to be a possible match.

Step 1:
Get deep-tissue massage to help me heal from an Achilles tendon tear. Yes, this is perfect!

Step 2:
Get as much information as possible about what is required (time, money, etc.).

Step 3:
Realize and accept there will be a ton of effort ahead, again.

Step 4:
Keep my day job while I start night/weekend school.

Step 5:
Graduate with the most credits one can accrue and the highest level of massage therapist available (HHP  = Holistic Health Practitioner).

Step 6:
Keep my day job while I see clients at night and on weekends to begin building my practice.

Step 7:
I can no longer grow my evening/weekend practice because I’ve run out of hours in the week. Quit my day job after 2+ years of training and practice building!

There’s no easy way around it. It just takes persistence, time, preparation, and planning.

Was it a lot of effort? Hell yeah.
Was it work? I don’t think, to this day, I’d call it work. I felt like a kid in a candy store.

Were there awful days? Yes.
Were there days I only slept one or two hours a day? Yes.

Would I do it over? In a heartbeat.

I think the key is being willing to accept the consequences of your actions and to be realistic. I kept my day job while I trained and built a practice until I knew I could support myself with my new career. I was realistic and kept my expectations aligned with the field. I learned how to build my practice and how handle all aspects of the business.

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Even a well-defined program (HHP) took over two years for me to finish, and with that I needed to develop the confidence and experience to charge people for my service. When did we become such softies? Effort is not the enemy. In fact, work is not the enemy, either.

There will always be snake-oil pushers. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Plan,  educate yourself, and persist. If you love it, do it. But don’t be upset if the first year or three or eleven you’re eating only beans and rice to get where you want to be. What’s it worth to you?

My rant = DONE! (Thanks for reading!)

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