My boss during some appraisal cycle mentioned to me that "Purwa, you don't know what you don't know!" That really put me to a thought and started to question myself on "What am I really passionate about?"
These are the questions I asked myself.
1) What are you good at?
Unless you’re just starting out in life, you already have some skills or talent, shown some kind of aptitude. Even if you are just starting out, you might have shown some talent when you were young. Have you been good at ideas, connecting people, gardening, selling? Give this some thought. I took 30 minutes going over this question. Also, there could be a situation that the list is long. Pen it down on paper.
2) What excites you?
Is it something at job? Is it something outside job? Is it something with your family, with your kids? What excites you the most? Check the items listed question 1 against this.
3) What do I read about?
I found question 2 a little difficult to answer. So thought to ask myself, if I am excited about something, I will go out of my way and give time. Is it something that I read about a lot.
4) What have you secretly dreamed about?
You might have some ridiculous dream job you’ve always wanted to do — to be a novelist, an artist, a designer, an architect, a doctor, an entrepreneur, a programmer. But some fear, some self-doubt, has held you back, has led you to dismiss this idea. Maybe there are several. Add them to the list — no matter how unrealistic.
5. Learn, ask, take notes.
From the list obtained, pick one thing from the list that excites you most. This is your first candidate. Now read up on it, talk to people who’ve been successful in the field. Make a list of notes of things you need to learn, need to improve on, skills you want to master, people to talk to. Study up on it, but don’t make yourself wait too long before diving into the next step.
6. Experiment, try and banish your fears
Here’s where the learning really takes place. If you haven’t been already, start to do the thing you’ve chosen. Maybe you already are, in which case you might be able to skip to the next step or choose a second candidate to try out. But if you haven’t been, start now — just do it. This is the biggest obstacle for most people – self-doubt and fear of failure. You’re going to face it and banish it. First, acknowledge it rather than ignoring or denying 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?”
7. Find the time
Don’t have the time to pursue this passion? Make the time, dammit! If this is a priority, you’ll make the time — rearrange your life until you have the time. This might mean waking earlier, or doing it after work or during lunch, or on weekends. It will probably mean canceling some commitments, etc. Do what it take.
8. Make it your living
This doesn’t happen overnight. When you get to the point where someone would pay you for it, then you’re golden — there are many ways to make a living at that point, including doing freelance or consulting work, making information products such as ebooks, writing a blog, selling advertising, etc
All of this made me realize that it needs a lot of self-reflection, then the courage and learning and experimentation, and finally a lot of commitment.
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