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Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 6:47:45 AM

BonesFromAsh

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"Do what you love...and the money will follow"

I'm curious to here from folks who've chosen to take those words to heart. Tell us your story and share a bit of inspiration.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 6:48:53 AM

Hillwilliam

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60 hour weeks and I damn near starved.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 6:54:01 AM

JstAnotherSub

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I do what I love, but I never expected money to follow. I like the "Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life."

I honestly look forward to going to work almost every day, and I can honestly say that, other than the morning I found out one of our KDG babies has passed away in his sleep, that I have not had a bad day at work in years.

That is worth more than money to me. I figure my happiness and contentment is priceless!

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 6:55:32 AM

GreedyTop

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I used to drive trucks for a living, and then buses.. working in the live concert production biz. LOVED IT.

Then decided I wanted to have a life that didnt involve l;iving out of a suitcase for more months than I lived out of a stationary domicile.

Considering that I think that most humans are a waste of oxygen, it surprised me no end to find that I love my current career working with other travelers (I work in the hotel business).

Money wise..I am making a fraction of what I was back then...and although my money woes are now legion, I wouldnt go back.. (there ARE days when I am tempted, simply for the $$ aspect..but I get over it really fast when I realize what I have now... my own bed each night, coming home to the kittehs, not dealing with the associated 'personalities' one is liekly to have to deal with when working with touring musicians/actors and their crew/staff)

not to mention, I no longer HAVE to have pizza for dinner....

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 7:15:44 AM

BonesFromAsh

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The thought behind this thread all started after a conversation I had with a woman who raises sheep for wool and for their milk (yogurt and cheese...yummmm).

After she divorced a number of years ago, she decided to start living the life she wanted to instead of living the life that was expected of her. She had a small settlement from the divorce and invested it in a partnership with a friend in a few acres and 4 sheep. She told me things have been slow to start, difficult financially and learning hands on about caring for sheep and making cheese hasn't always been a bed of roses, but she's never been more happier...or richer (in a "normal is relative" sense)...in her life.

I know people who work 70+ work weeks, are wealthy moneywise and yet they aren't happy and don't have the chance to appreciate their money....they're too busy working and letting their money sit in some stock or fund appreciating in value as an investment for retirement or when they have the time.

I'm just curious to hear about people who've found a balance...work they love and enough money to enjoy living (again, in a relative sense).

< Message edited by BonesFromAsh -- 6/10/2011 7:17:36 AM >

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 7:18:29 AM

GreedyTop

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ok, the money thing is still uncertain at this point (new job, new home, new expenses)... but I still wouldnt trade doing what I am doing now to go back to what I USED to love doing (and probably still would, if I could have best of both worlds)

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 9:16:26 AM

LaTigresse

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I do both. My regular day job is boring as hell and only requires minimal brain capacity, but 9ish hours a day. It also pays pretty decent and the atmosphere is pleasant. Plus, apparently they feel they neeeeeeeeeeed me.

There are MANY things I love and it seems I am also quite good at most of them. One I am actually beginning to make a few dollars at........

My life requires a lot of work and time. If I didn't need the paycheck from the day job, I would still have crazy busy full days........because that is my choice.

So, I guess I am not totally 'doing what I love and getting paid for it' but I am, part time.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 10:20:40 AM

Lucylastic

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have to admit, Most of the jobs Ive had are because I enjoy them, money sure isnt the lure.
I cant do something for long that I dislike or dont feel happy doing. not even for mighty amounts of moolah
Working in an office nearly killed my soul. so sod that for a game of soldiers too. I so do not do office politics. Id rather have open heart surgery with a spork
Ive done many things as a volunteer because I enjoyed them so much.
For example, How can I hate working with this kind of thing 10 hours a day(im putting together the online catalogue of christmas and new stuff

or even this????

< Message edited by Lucylastic -- 6/10/2011 10:30:58 AM >

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 1:50:58 PM

ricken

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"Do what you love...and the money will follow"

Great.... now if only I can find someone to pay me to drive a fast sports car, drink good wine, eat, and play with necked women all day, I'de be a zillionair....

Thats a nice thought but more realisyic is "Find something you love to do that PAYS WELL"
Or LEARN to enjoy what you do to make money, THEN make enough money so you can do what you truly want.

I had a buisness I (mostly) really did enjoy but after LONG hours I'm now broke, working as a day labourer.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 2:02:22 PM

sexyred1

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I will say that while that seems like a great thing to say, do what you love, I think better advice is to find and then do what you are GOOD at; then you will make money. Normally, if you are good at something then you will enjoy it.

I was always great at communication, even as a child. So I went into sales and became very good at it and made money doing it.

I can sell anything; so I know I will always be able to make money.

< Message edited by sexyred1 -- 6/10/2011 2:03:07 PM >

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 2:03:50 PM

IceDemeter

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I watched my Dad do something he didn't love for many years - working like a demon to have the cars, the boat, the toys, the stuff. He was laid off at the age of 50 during the recession of the '80s, and there wasn't a job to be found. He decided that it was time to do something about his fascination with computers, so he learned to do artwork and ad layout on a Mac, talked himself into the position of Executive Secretary for a couple of associations in the industry he used to work in, and spent the rest of his life creating ads for his friends in the industry. He never worked the crazy hours again, and was doing something he truly loved and was fascinated by.

He and I talked about it many times - about how he found so much more joy in having less stuff and doing what he loved. He never made a huge amount of money with his new vocation, but he made enough to cover the necessities and create an actual lifestyle that was centred around the joy of doing, instead of the pride of having.

Perhaps the phrase "Do what you love...and the money will follow" is not referring to huge amounts of money somehow appearing, but finding so much joy in what you do that the money you do get from it will be enough.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 2:16:31 PM

BonesFromAsh

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quote:

ORIGINAL: IceDemeter

Perhaps the phrase "Do what you love...and the money will follow" is not referring to huge amounts of money somehow appearing, but finding so much joy in what you do that the money you do get from it will be enough.

By jove, I think she's got it!

BTW...your dad sounds like he understood the concept. Enough to make a positive impression on you, I think. Good on him.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 2:21:51 PM

IceDemeter

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Thank you - he was a helluva guy...

And thank you for this thread - it's left me both smiling and crying with good memories...

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 2:25:16 PM

BonesFromAsh

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You're welcome. Now you've made me smile because I can relate....my dad understood the concept and past it on to me. Too bad it took me this long to remember....better late than never, though.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 2:29:51 PM

LinnaeaBorealis

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My Father gave me one piece of career advice when I was a Senior in High School & I've tried to follow this advice for my whole adult life. He said:

"It doesn't matter what you do, just make sure you're having fun. And when it isn't fun anymore, quit & go find something else that is!"

I've never really made a huge surplus of money following that advice, but money doesn't really mean a lot to me either. There are times now when I wish that it had meant more to me, so I wouldn't be in the pickle I'm in right now. I've also had a variety of careers over the years. My 3 most favorite jobs were:

1) Working as a Ward Clerk on the medical floor of a teaching hospital. I loved interacting with the new Doc's & the crazy patients.

2) Scheduling elective surgeries in a couple of different hospitals. It was like playing puzzle all day & I love being able to defuse situations that occur when the Dr Gods would get their panties in a twist.

3) Driving a semi long haul all over the country, except into VT for some reason. I loved the solitude, the lack of micro-managing, the down-to-earth people I would meet along the way.

And I did make a fair amount of money in those last two careers.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 5:25:15 PM

littlewonder

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I'm still trying to figure out what to do that I would love. At this point I don't seem to have a single clue other than I love to sit around on the beach doing absolutely nothing. I don't think anyone is gonna pay me for that though.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 5:46:22 PM

FullCircle

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If you do what you love for a living then you'll end up hating what you love, best to do something you hate such as accountancy or cleaner.

When I was younger I was really careful about what career path I followed, knowing that that'll be it for life. It's almost like a game of musical chairs but the chairs have job titles and the silence between the music lasts a life time. The only way you can change is by falling off your chair which'll (new word combo) cause some short term pain but perhaps the opportunity for a better seat in life. Obviously with the rate at which chairs are being removed these days there are far more people standing up than before.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 5:48:38 PM

littlewonder

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I currently do something I absolutely hate with every fiber of my being.

To be able to do something I love...whatever that is...would be heavenly.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 6:10:29 PM

FullCircle

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You spend too much of your life at work to be hating what you are doing and if you are hating what you are doing you'll end up wishing your life away in terms of focusing on the next time period away from work.

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RE: Do what you love..... - 6/10/2011 6:21:56 PM

LinnaeaBorealis

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quote:

ORIGINAL: FullCircle

If you do what you love for a living then you'll end up hating what you love, best to do something you hate such as accountancy or cleaner.

When I was younger I was really careful about what career path I followed, knowing that that'll be it for life. It's almost like a game of musical chairs but the chairs have job titles and the silence between the music lasts a life time. The only way you can change is by falling off your chair which'll (new word combo) cause some short term pain but perhaps the opportunity for a better seat in life. Obviously with the rate at which chairs are being removed these days there are far more people standing up than before.

I completely disagree with your first statement, FC. I still love doing the things that I had jobs doing & would love to do them some more. The most fun for me is when a job presents a challenge. Once I master it, I am liable to get bored & ready to move on.

I also disagree with a career path needing to be something one will do for life. In the early 80's I was ready to go back to school in order to have a career that would bring more money to me. When I was thinking that whatever decision I made would have to be something that I was going to do for the rest of my life, I went into panic mode & just stalled.

And then I remembered that I'd never done much of anything for very long & that whatever career path I chose, I could choose another one when the first ended up being no fun, just like my Father taught me. I have no regrets about doing so many different things in my life. My life has been interesting & exciting!!

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Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
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