A piece of advice you often hear when it comes to being successful is to do what you love, or to ‘follow your passion’. But before you can follow your passion, you have to find it. So where do you look for it? And how do you discover what you are really passionate about? Before I give you some pointers to help you find your passion, imagine this: you get up early, jump out of bed, and instead of dreading the idea of going to work, you are excited about the mere thought of it! Once at the office, you put in a few more hours than the average employee, but it doesn’t seem to annoy you. You are often cheerful and always ready to help. What you do ceases to be a ‘job’, it becomes something that is fun, interesting, and exciting. You have found your passion! Most of the people I know who are truly successful are doing something they are incredibly passionate about. So, how do you find your passion? Here are some pointers from the team at Bayt.com:
Do you have a hobby or something you love doing, but never considered it as a career possibility? Whether you’re just starting out in life or are an experienced professional, you should have some skills or talent, or have shown some kind of aptitude that truly sets you apart. Have you always been a good writer, speaker, drawer, organizer, builder, teacher, or friend? Have you been good at ideas, connecting people, gardening, or selling? Give this some thought. Take at least 30 minutes going over this question; often we forget about things we’ve done well. Think back as far as you can to jobs, projects, hobbies. This could be your passion. Or you may have several ones. Start a list of potential passions and rank them based on how good you are at each.
It may be something at work, or it could be something you do outside of work – a hobby, a part-time job, something you do as a volunteer, etc. It could be something you haven’t done in a while. Again, think about this for 30 minutes. Add any answers you come up with to the list you’ve made in step 1.
What do you spend hours reading about online? What books or magazines do you look forward to read? What blogs do you follow? What section of the bookstore do your friends usually find you at? Add them to the list.
You might have some ridiculous dream job you’ve always wanted to do — to be a novelist, an artist, a designer, a personal coach, a vet, an entrepreneur, etc. But some fear, self-doubt or circumstance has held you back and led you to dismiss the idea. Add these to the list too, no matter how unrealistic they may be.
OK, now you have a list. Pick one thing from the list that excites you most. Now read up on it and learn from people who’ve been successful in the same field. Make a list of notes of things you need to learn or work on, skills you need to master, and people you need to talk to. You can join Bayt.com Specialties where every day, thousands of professionals go to share and find insightful answers to questions that are directly related to their careers and areas of interest. According to the Bayt.com ‘Career Advancement in the MENA’ poll, June 2011, 30.5% of the region’s professionals claim that willingness to learn is the most important quality required to succeed in one’s career. Here are 12 ways to be a lifelong learner.
Here’s where the learning really takes place. Apply what you’ve learned and put things into practice. It can be in the privacy of your own home. But as you become better at what you do, make it public. This will motivate you to improve even further. You will start getting feedback, and your reputation will improve as you do. Pay attention to how you feel doing it, i.e. is it something you look forward to? Is it something that gets you excited to wake up to every morning?
This is the biggest obstacle for most people: self-doubt and fear of failure. You’re going to face it and you’re going to banish it. First, acknowledge it rather than ignore or deny it. Second, write it down, to externalize it. Third, feel it, and be OK with having it. Fourth, ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” Usually it’s nothing you can’t deal with. Fifth, prepare yourself for doing it anyway, and then do it. Finally, celebrate your achievements along the way, no matter how small they are.
Making a living doing your passion doesn’t happen overnight. You need to be really good at it and be passionate about it. This could take months or even years, but if you’re having fun then that’s what really matters. When you get to the point where someone would pay you for it then know that you’ve made it! There are many ways to make a living at this point, including doing freelance or consulting work. You don’t have to quit your full-time job. Building a good online professional branding would be ideal in this case. In fact, I strongly recommend you create a Bayt.com Public Profile if you haven’t already done so. A Public Profile will help you build a reputation, be found by people who might be interested in what you do, and demonstrate your knowledge and passion. According to the Bayt.com ‘Personal Branding in the Middle East and North Africa’ poll, September 2013, 92% of MENA professionals believe that a good personal brand can help you grow in your career. Remember, we only live once. So dare to dream, dare to imagine all the possibilities, and dare to actually search for what you are passionate about, and make a living doing it.
