Is there something that could change your life once and for all? Could it be a new love, a lottery win, or a unique work opportunity? Perhaps. However, those things are circumstantial. Is there anything you can actively do to transform your life? Yes. Finding your passion and making it a profession.

Imagine having a passion that pays your bills!

Finding your passion and a purpose is not easy. However, by practicing mindfulness, challenging your comfort zone, and utilizing your free time, you can find your passion and lead a more fulfilling life.

You might continually lose motivation for your work or feel that your job tasks are tedious. If you’re always thinking about ways to escape reality and regain inspiration, you’ve come to the right place to seek guidance.

If you have realized by now that your work isn’t fulfilling but still haven’t quit, then what you haven’t realized is this;

The more you stay at the wrong job, the more you’ll hinder your true creative potential.

 

Once you move on to new things you get up at your own pace, excited for what’s about to come next. You don’t look at the watch, waiting for the time to end your shift. Your work hours make your day beautiful. And you don’t even notice how time goes by.

That, my friends, is called “flow.” Flow is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of that activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does and a resulting transformation in one’s sense of time.

A job is not a job anymore. It’s a passion, your passion, that pays your bills.

But..what is my passion?

If you’ve never tried to search for what you’re passionate about, it will probably keep being what it sounds like; a dream.

What is that one thing in life that inspires you the most? If you can think of many things to be passionate about, choose the one, you want to master. If you still don’t know, you should start by learning to find your passion.

So, where do you start?

Start by making your personal vision statement (an action plan) which allows you to pen down your ambitions and goals. Gathering resources that will help you explore different paths and invest in yourself would allow you to implement this plan.

Get my free personalized action plan here.

How to find your passion:

Follow this simple list of actions to access your true feelings that lead to true passions and many other amazing things.

As human beings, we share many passions, and it is nearly impossible not to find one; thus, I urge you to try going through these actions several times, if not once!

Create opportunities for trying something new

There are many ways to do this, such as taking classes, attending workshops, volunteering, or engaging in hobbies. Be on the lookout for such opportunities, even if you may have to leave your comfort zone for it.

Find at least one activity during the day that makes you happy. 

Engage in this activity for a minimum of 1-2 hours per day. Find out what it is that you enjoy and invest time in it—be it painting, writing, or anything else. This will help you discover your true potential and passions, leading to a fulfilling life.

Make a list of the things that you love reading about

In order to discover yourself, read about things that you find interesting. The more you read and think about the topics that attract your attention, the closer you will come to finding what truly drives you in life.

Reading allows you to engage with a new idea, feel excitement/joy, and also affects your well-being positively as it occupies your free time. A lot of people have found reading to be the agent to drive personal growth within them!

Embrace anything that sparks your interest

Push aside any feelings of doubt or fear and embrace anything that you find interesting. Intriguing hobbies, topics, conversations, and activities should be explored as much as possible in order to gain knowledge and experience. Over time, a new hobby or conversation can help you narrow down your passions even further!

Brainstorm with people that share your interests

Reach out to like-minded people (with the same passion as you) in order to discuss ideas, interests, and passions! It can be helpful to have someone else’s opinion or advice. Their stories may even open up a new chapter of your own story. You can find these new people at conventions, parties, on LinkedIn, and even from your old job and career paths.

Research on related things and prospects

prudently doing research will help you understand different aspects of a particular subject/topic more deeply and help you uncover your hidden curiosities. Try to find out what it takes to be successful in this new job (or side job) since that could directly or indirectly apply to a new passion. Additionally, look into the prospects of such a career path and how they can benefit you.

Practice, and then keep practicing

gnikooL into something new may seem daunting, but practice will make you a pro. Spend time and energy trying out different things until you find something that really resonates with you. Mindfulness practice helps you identify your passions; it helps bring clarity and insight into the mind, allowing for new discoveries about yourself.

Leave space for constructive feedback and improvement

If you’re stuck in a loop of exploration, it can help to get feedback from someone who is knowledgeable on the matter. Getting constructive criticism and input will allow you to take a step back and reflect on your journey so far. Ask as many questions as possible that could give insight into what makes a career or hobby successful and enjoyable.

If you think you’ve failed, don’t quit.

Trusting the process of exploring your passions in life can be scary, but it is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling journeys you will ever take. There’s no right or wrong way to explore; just keep trying new things until something sparks your curiosity and invest time into it!

Try again

If you already know what you love, you’re one step ahead of the game; however, if you don’t know and are trying to discover it, don’t just stop at one thing, keep trying till you are dead set on knowing that this passion can be monetized.

There are examples of passion that can make money and others that can’t. If you know your passion, how can you tell if it will make you feel fulfilled or leave you with ample cash?

How To Monetize Your Passion

Figure out if there’s demand for your creativity

I knew I enjoyed traveling, reading, and writing. I was writing fiction stories, poems, and my feelings. And then I kept asking myself, what else am I passionate about? How can I make money out of those things? I knew that those passions wouldn’t discover a career themselves. I had to determine the demand – specific people who need my skills.

 

The world needs art, and art is infinite.

Now, I’m not saying that you can’t make cash by pursuing your artistic passion entirely. You can. Most of us think that the world doesn’t need more bloggers, painters, poets, writers, actors, dancers, and singers. But the world needs art, and art is infinite. There is space to find your passion and act on it.

However, suppose you want to be strategic and methodic about turning your passion into a full-time career. In that case, you need to be open-minded, go over all the options, figure out alternatives, and have a business plan. To know your muse’s potential – how far you can go with your passion – you have to examine the size of the market that’ll ask for your services.

What else are you good at? How can you match your skills, passions, and market needs?

I knew I was good at digital marketing. I learned how to work with affiliates and online brands during my first job. I just needed to find a way to combine my creative writing, wellness obsession, travel passion, and digital marketing skills.

Can you think of similar ways you can market your hobbies?

Create a business plan

A business plan for your passion is the compass to success. It is the bigger picture of your passions. A plan can help you determine your mission, vision, target audience, service, competition, and monetization tactics. Every time you’ll feel lost, you’ll turn to it for help.

You can write down short-term and long-term steps, or whether you want to pursue a freelancing career or build a business from scratch.

Whether you want to build a business or not, remember, you’re monetizing your passion. And that probably means you’ll have to follow a business leader’s mindset anyway.

Don’t panic. Creating a business plan is easier than you think. The simpler, the better.

Beat the competition

After creating your business plan, you’ve probably determined the competition in your niche. Is there anything that your competitors have neglected? What is your competitive advantage?

Beating the competition requires specific steps. You first have to follow the steps of your competitors and make a competition analysis. Then you have to ensure you know your market broadly, as well as your target audience. Finally, think of ways you can differentiate your business, either by narrowing down your niche or including additional offers.

Remember, you always have to make your services better than the existing ones. Many passionate people like you are actively working every day towards their businesses to improve them. Finding ways to differentiate and include services that your competitors have neglected is crucial for you to succeed.

Enrich your knowledge and become qualified

People will be more willing to pay for your services if they see your expertise.

You could find your passion, but can you be consistent with the knowledge and professionalism required to make it a career? Having a skill or talent may not be enough to deem you a professional, so you must acquire the necessary training by getting a formal education.

Take a day or a weekend while you’re in your current job for an online class or course. You can find online courses and credits for almost any interest or passion you want to pursue. Acquiring a certificate will make a difference to your customers, and your confidence will rise as you gain knowledge and expertise in a subject.

Remember, never stop learning. Ensure you’re aligned with all the updates in your field, and keep reading related books, news, and articles. There’s always space for improvement, and if you’re committed to dominating that space, chances are you’ll stand out.

Try the lean approach, and be open to suggestions.

In the book Lean Startup, Eric Ries teaches us something we always have to keep in mind; ” The fundamental activity of a startup is to turn ideas into products, measure how customers respond, and then learn to pivot or persevere.”

Don’t get stuck in an endless pursuit of improving your service, product, or business at the very early stages. You’ll most likely lose time and money.

Instead, begin by launching a viable version, testing the customer’s reaction, and improving it if it’s working or changing it if it isn’t.

It’s impossible not to adjust a new product to customers’ feedback and suggestions.

The feedback loop you’ll find yourself in when you try the lean approach will look something like this;

 

 

The lean approach loop: Testing a limited product, measuring the feedback, learning from mistakes, inspiring new ideas, and building an updated version.

Find your passion and then market an idea around it, one that will accelerate a startup’s feedback loop.

Adopt this mindset for every process you’re following for your business. Whether you want to add services, change the business model, or even test a new approach. That mindset will inevitably bring us to the next step, which is…

Stay flexible, learn from mistakes, and pivot.

If you’re testing something new and it isn’t working, you need to learn how to be flexible. Analyze what has worked and what hasn’t.

Your road to success is not going to be precise. You need to mentally prepare for mistakes that will inevitably happen and allow adjustments along the way.

Advise, judgment and other people’s insights may teach you something. When you bring something new to the world, changes and mistakes are an integral part of the emotional risk. Remember, your success will come from other people’s responses.

What is a pivot?

Are we making sufficient progress to believe that our initial hypothesis about a product, service, or business is correct, or we need to make a significant change? Asks Eric Ries, the writer of the Lean Startup.

A significant change is called a pivot, which is a correction of our previous strategy. That correction is designed to test a new fundamental hypothesis about the product, system, or growth engine.

Don’t give up early.

It is normal to feel that you want to quit at some point. If the uncertainty is high, the results not rewarding, and your social cycle disapproving, you might wonder why did you start in the first place.

One thing here; Don’t give up.

The moment you’re about to give up, get motivated.

Finding your passion and then turning it into a career requires motivation and emotional support.

It’s crucial to surround yourself with talented individuals who share similar struggles and help you make the right decisions. Finding a mentor, joining Facebook groups and communities, or asking for feedback are wise steps, as sometimes your family or friends won’t empathize with your anxiety.

Make proactive steps towards your goal and comfort yourself by acknowledging that your actions are not easy.

Conclusion

To find passion and turn it into a profession takes courage, determination, and the right mindset. It’s important to stay flexible when making decisions about pivoting or persevering with an idea. With mindful practice, investing in yourself both emotionally and financially, as well as seeking out support from mentors and communities online, can help you on this journey of finding success in what you’re passionate about. No matter how difficult it may be at times, don’t fear, never give up on yourself – take pride in the progress you make each day towards achieving your goals.