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Thursday, January 04, 2007

What's your passion?

This morning was yet another where I had to force myself to get out of bed and go into work; not because I was sick, but because I was BORED. Before I left the house, though, I took a minute to read email (of course *g*) and look at a bit of online news. I read this article and sat just staring at the computer screen for several minutes after. It was this line that really got to me:

"If you are this good at something you don't love, how good can you be at something you love?"

I have had a number of jobs over the last several years, some of which I absolutely hated, but all of which I did really well. Some of the jobs at which I excelled were ones where I didn't even know how to do it when I started; I had on-the-job-training or I self-taught. And the kicker is that I didn't like doing them. (Accounting, for example - I was really good at it but Hated it.)

So why, then, am I afraid I'll fail if I do what I love to do? It was all I could do at that point to keep from calling in my resignation. However, a bit of reality seeped in and I realized I need to plan first - I'll need to keep this job for a little longer, but that doesn't mean I can't start paving the way for following my dreams using my current salary as the base for getting there.

God willing and the creek don't rise, I'll do just that.

6 comments:

  1. My fingers are crossed that you'll have a big sale and you can quit your job soon.

    I love writing, but I learn something new all the time to make me a better writer. This is really on-the-job training. LOL

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  2. Thanks, Edie. Yes, it is on-the-job training, isn't it? :)

    I still have so much to learn, but hey, I've learned how to do plenty of other things. :)

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  3. I went through a similar process. I left school because what I wanted to do wouldn't make any money and everything else didn't appeal to me. But, I had this ridiculous notion that anything that came easy to me (like writing) wasn't worth having. So, I spent ten long years hopping from one trained monkey job to another, tolerating what I did as long as I was learning, but then loathing it the minute I settled into tedium. It wasn't until I moved from the D.C. area and was able devote 100% of my time to writing that this novel happened. Most people aren't as fortunate as I was to have that opportunity (and I'm thankful every day for it).

    Something does happen, though, when you make that change; I found myself smiling more and happier to crawl out of bed in the morning.

    I hope that you'll soon be able to trade desks -- the one you need to have for the one you want.

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  4. Thanks for the kind thoughts/words, Avery. I'm glad you have the chance to follow your dream - it's always good to hear when someone can - it's inspirational. :)

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  5. Rebecca, if you love doing something, you will succeed at it. That's one thing I know for sure.

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  6. Thanks, Michelle. That means we're all on our way! :)

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