Make Money Doing What You Love

One of the biggest challenges on the journey to career clarity and career fulfillment is to keep your mind open while you explore your innate strengths and values. For most people the question ‘How to make money doing what I love?’ shuts down their creative exploration. It’s like putting blinders on a horse. However there is a way to explore this important question with curiosity and break through the limiting beliefs you may carry.

Contemplate ‘What did I enjoy most when I was a little kid?’ before you attempt to figure out how to make money doing what you love.

Before we tackle the money question, let’s explore your passions. Take a moment to reconnect with the joyful, energizing experiences in your life before you needed to make money. What did you enjoy most when you were a little kid? What were the kinds of activities you could loose yourself in? What were the highlights of your days during your childhood? Your true nature is beautifully revealed by your childhood preferences. You may wonder how your memories of loving to play Lego will inform you about the career path you love. Strange but true, it does!

One of my childhood joys was listening to bed time stories. When I explored this, I had no idea how my joy of listening would translate into a career path. As it turns out listening is one of the essential elements of my daily work as a career clarity coach.

Until you are crystal clear on the activities that energize and inspire you, the ones that are fully aligned with who you are, it’s best to put the question ‘How to make money doing what I love?’ on hold.

Until you are crystal clear on the activities that energize and inspire you, the ones that are fully aligned with who you are, it’s best to put the question ‘How can I make money doing what I love?’ on hold.

If you are not sure, what your true passions are, take some quality time aside for the exploration. You may want to reach out for support from a coach on your courageous journey to career clarity.

Once you are connected with the activities that energize and inspire you, you are ready to address the question ‘How can I make money doing what I love?’ Unfortunately, far too many people shy away from the exploration and focus instead on all the reasons as to why they can’t make money with their passions. People say: “I love to paint / write / sing, but I just can’t make enough money doing that.” Others say: “I hate my job, but it pays the bills. I dread going to work, but I don’t see an alternative.” How can you get out of these limiting thought patterns and explore the possibilities?

The first step to answer the question ‘How to make money doing what I love?’ is to get off your BUT!

Ask ‘How can I make money doing what I love?’ with an open mind…

By this I mean stop using the word ‘but’. This three-letter word kills creative exploration and keeps you stuck in hopeless, helpless mode. So get off your ‘but’, literally and figuratively. Shifting your body posture always helps generate more creative ideas just as much as changing the way you talk to yourself. Then ask yourself with curiosity: ‘How can I make money doing what I love?’ Challenge yourself to come up with at least 10 different ways of how you could turn your passion into profit. At this stage of the game all ideas are welcome. Just keep writing them down without worrying about the details of how you can implement them.

The second step to answer the question ‘How to make money doing what I love?’ is to connect with gratitude.

Gratitude is the antidote to scarcity thinking, worries and anxiety. When you take a moment to connect with things you are grateful for, your mind naturally expands and relaxes as you become aware of the abundance that surrounds you at all times. There are so many things to be grateful for, including the ones we often take for granted, such as the air we breathe, the water we drink, the shelter that keeps us warm and dry, and the sun that rises every morning. Write down at least three things you are grateful for right now and dwell in gratitude for a moment. When you feel grateful for all the things you have, you dwell in a state of abundance. Make it a daily habit to dwell in gratitude and abundance, it will change your career and your life in positive ways. Creative ideas on how to make money from your passion will naturally come to you when you feel grateful, relaxed, abundant and expansive.

The third step to answer the question ‘How to make money doing what I love?’ is to ask ‘How can my passion be of service?’

The third step to answer the question ‘How can I make money doing what I love?’ is to ask ‘How can my passion be of service?’

How can doing what you love solve a challenge people face or help improve a situation? Challenge yourself to come up with at least 10 ways in which your offering can make a positive difference. Welcome all ideas and simply jot them down.

The famous painter, Georgia O’Keefe, wanted to help busy New Yorkers see the beauty around them and so she painted very big flowers, so they would stop and notice. A local artist, Suzanne Heron documents and shares special local places to help people feel a sense of belonging.

What are the challenges that touch your heart? How can your passion help resolve these challenges?

Now that you have shifted your thinking in three significant ways, ask yourself once again with curiosity and openness: ‘How can I make money doing what I love?’ Keep asking ‘How else might I turn my passion into profit?’ You may surprise yourself as you find a myriad of interesting answers. It’s also helpful to brainstorm possibilities with your coach or a few open-minded, trustworthy people in your circle. Often-times we are too close to our passion to see the bigger picture.

Once you have an extensive list of ideas, review it and flag the ideas you would like to further explore. Select the one you want to delve into first and identify one small action step you want to take right now to begin turning your dream career into a financially viable reality.