Making a Living Doing What you Love
Thu, February 23, 2012 at 14:00 Tweet
The other day I read an inspiring story about one woman’s career strategy ~ making a living doing what she loves; she now has a fulfilling career as a freelance journalist. A few years ago was a period of immense change for Janine, but as you’ll notice in my highlights, she knew in her heart and realised in her head she had to make a change, in order to stop surviving and start living life with energy, zest and enthusiasm. As I write this blog, I’ve reflected on my own experience and share some of the challenges Janine considered and surmounted, in relation to making changes with her career.
Janine, a usually energetic and positive person, noticed a few years ago she was feeling drained. She suffered daily backaches, headaches and developed hypertension. The culprit? Janine’s demanding role as an immigrant counsellor. While the job was secure and the role rewarding, the stress that came along with it was taking a toll on Janine’s health and well being.
Janine had always been in love with writing. She discovered how to turn her passion for writing into a career. After quitting her job and starting fresh, Janine encountered significant challenges. One of the biggest challenges was the financial hit. Janine considered and managed expectations around her cash flow requirements. Janine saved money prior to leaving her former role which created a buffer and access to funds when necessary. Janine believed wholeheartedly in networking and engaged with business associates, friends and acquaintances prior to leaving her former role. She explained why, what and how she was pursuing her outcome ‘of working as a writer’. Janine made progress and even though not all of the feedback from her network was positive, she planned her work and worked her plan and she confirms, she has absolutely no regrets.
Janine took a chance and listened to her heart which proved to be the right decision. Janine has a fulfilling career as a freelance journalist. She reflected that she talks to interesting people, writes about them and then gets paid for it. It doesn’t even feel like work, it is what I love doing ~ it’s my dream come true. Janine’s story is a brilliant example of a person discovering their passion and talent, following their heart and connecting their knowledge, skills, experience and passion to the marketplace.
I enjoyed reading Janine’s story. I can relate to it on many levels to my own experience. The main theme that I can relate to is the feeling of ‘tapping into doing work you love’; in essence, being in a productive relationship with work. The fundamental platform is aligning who you are with what you can do and then connecting that package to the marketplace. As you can see it has been done before, it is happening right now and it will be done in the future. Contact Position Ignition for a free consultation about your needs, either as an individual or organization and identify how Position Ignition can assist.
About the Author:
Stephanie Mount is a Position Ignition Guide. She is profoundly interested in people and their potential. Stephanie engages with individuals to discover their most authentic self (the positive energy, their passions and strengths). Stephanie’s diverse career in the helping profession spans two continents. She uses her international experience, professional knowledge and living as an expatriate to enable others to create a fulfilling and balanced life. Stephanie is an adventurer, passionate about the ‘great outdoors’ and travelling to far flung places on this beautiful planet.
