On Finding Purpose: Turning Passion Into Prosperity
I have had more than my fair share of failures. What do you expect? I was a kid with no college degree, no training, and no real direction. I knew I had a love for writing in its different variations, but no way of knowing what to do with it. I tried various jobs throughout my career - Copywriting, Ad, Recruiting, and sales, but something always made me feel empty.
Have you had that feeling? You know the one - dreading getting up in the morning. Not excited about your job, career, or direction?
It was starting to affect my emotions, my reactions, and my home. I had no idea what I was doing (and possibly still don't), but the fact remains that I needed a drastic change before things got worse. I chose to write in a different way - putting out columns, guest posts, and finally a novel. Suddenly, my world started to feel less like I was trapped in a self-made box from hell, and more like it used to when the world held possibilities beyond measure. The brief glimpse back into a life of ambition and love for the craft.
If you've heard the names James Altucher, Victoria (V.E.) Schwab, Seth Godin, and (I'm sure) Stephen King - then you know that nothing in this life worth having is easy. It needs to be chased, loved, developed, and nourished.
One of my favorite writers and personalities is James Altucher. Look him up. He started off writing tons of stories, acquiring rejection letter after rejection letter. He did something drastic. He picked up and moved his life to NYC and found a world of possibilities. He became a phenomenal writer, investor, and entrepreneur, but it was not an easy road. In one of his interviews, he said something that is imperative to success no matter what industry or vertical your passion resides in:
"Only build something you really want to use yourself. There’s got to be one thing you are completely desperate for and no matter where you look you can’t find it. Nobody has invented it yet. So there you go – you invent it. If there’s other people like you, you have a business. Else. You fail. Then do it again. Until it works. One day it will."
For writers: Write the book you would want to read (do it for yourself and not for the fame, first). For inventors, invent something you desperately need. But, you need determination, drive, and will to pull it off.
Check out his podcast and blog - THE TEN MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF REINVENTING YOUR LIFE
Victoria (V.E.) SchwabI did not know much about when I first set out to be an author (sue me), but not her name is quite easy to come across. She wrote A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC (which is insanely unique and a great read). But, like most of us, she had a humble start that took years to get her feet underneath her. She started writing poetry when she was younger, took time off to pursue other avenues, and then found her passion itching away at her. She started writing again, getting a novel published that didn't quite take off like the publisher hoped (it was a debut with little press), but she never gave up that hope. Finally, she wrote a book all for herself called VICIOUS - one intended to be different and be, and i quote, "Louder than her fear".
"It was a book for me. A book to restore my joy, to remind me why I did this masochistic thing. And it was a secret, a sheltering of the creative process so that that no publisher could take away what the writing of it gave me."
She continued the chase for something deeper. Her passion was one that literally would not let her go. It wasn't until her eighth novel A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC that truly launched her ship, rendering her an 'overnight' success. In reality, that 'overnight' was nearly a decade of being a true hunter of purpose, and it paid off.
Check out her blog - VICTORIA (V.E.) SCHWAB and go buy A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC
Seth Godin is in a realm all of his own. He's a marketing genus with 18 best selling books under his belt and was inducted into Direct Marketing Hall of Fame. He speaks about purpose and passion in a different way. His response is you truly have to love what you are doing, not necessarily do what you love. You have to find meaning and purpose in the direction you are currently taking. It has to mean something TO YOU, or it won't mean anything to anyone else:
"Instead of, "do what you love," perhaps the more effective mantra for the entrepreneur, the linchpin and maker of change might be, "love what you do."
If we can fall in love with serving people, creating value, solving problems, building valuable connections and doing work that matters, it makes it far more likely we're going to do important work.
Art isn't only a painting. Art is anything that's creative, passionate, and personal. And great art resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator.
What makes someone an artist? I don't think is has anything to do with a paintbrush. There are painters who follow the numbers, or paint billboards, or work in a small village in China, painting reproductions. These folks, while swell people, aren't artists. On the other hand, Charlie Chaplin was an artist, beyond a doubt. So is Jonathan Ive, who designed the iPod. You can be an artists who works with oil paints or marble, sure. But there are artists who work with numbers, business models, and customer conversations. Art is about intent and communication, not substances.An artists is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo. And an artists takes it personally.That's why Bob Dylan is an artist, but an anonymous corporate hack who dreams up Pop 40 hits on the other side of the glass is merely a marketer. That's why Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos, is an artists, while a boiler room of telemarketers is simply a scam.
Tom Peters, corporate gadfly and writer, is an artists, even though his readers are business-people. He's an artists because he takes a stand, he takes the work personally, and he doesn't care if someone disagrees. His art is part of him, and he feels compelled to share it with you because it's important, not because he expects you to pay him for it.
Art is a personal gift that changes the recipient. The medium doesn't matter. The intent does. Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.”"
READ MORE FROM SETH GODIN: DOING WHAT YOU LOVE (But maybe you can't get paid for it)
And finally, Stephen King. If you don't know him, then I don't know what to tell you aside from maybe spend ten minutes on twitter (@stephenking) and go to any bookstore in the country with even a minuscule 'horror' section and you'll find him. From starting small, sending story after story to publications as a teenager, to selling a novel after a decade of trying, finding a mass amount of difficulties during his years, and then turning his life around. He has been down every avenue that we, as writers/artists/etc. would go through. Even if you are not a novelist, you can glean some prospective from doing some research into Stephen King.
He has stated several times (and highlighted it in ON WRITING), "The scariest moment is just before you start". I don't know how much more accurate you can get when trying to make the changes and pursue passion and purpose.
If you gain nothing else from this, I hope you take Stephen King's words to heart no matter what you are looking for - “Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy.”
Buy Stephen King's ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT
Don't pursue a purpose or a passion just for the sake of prosperity. Pursue it because you have to. Chase it because a piece of your happiness is dependent on it.
Follow it, but do it in a way that can enrich other people's lives in the works you are doing. In the end, that's what it should be about - being happy. Finding happiness.
So whatever your passion is, pursue it. Money might follow, it might not. But, try not to focus on that. Focus on finding yourself by finding the thing that makes you truly, and completely, passionate.
Everything else will take care of itself.
My best, KM Barkley
Author of THE HOLLOWS - Find it HERE
