The word “passion” is defined as a “strong and barely controllable emotion.”

Can you say that about the job you are currently in? The idea that you can barely contain your excitement and enjoyment from what you are doing every day?

If you don’t have a passion for what you are doing, you will not feel fulfilled in your life. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of money – passion does not always equal “rich.”

Finding a way to pursue your passion full-time, as a career, can mean the difference between living your life to the fullest vs. just living. But how do we connect the passion we have into a career? It starts inward and works its way outward.

Here are 4 ways to connect your passion with your career.

 

  1. Interview Yourself

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before you create any plans on joining your passion and your career, the first thing you must ask yourself is “What am I passionate about?”

This means the answer should not be…

  • What other people think is cool
  • What other people think you should do
  • What other people are doing

It starts with who you are. What are your values? What gets you excited? What makes you feel fulfilled like you achieved something worthwhile?

These are the questions that dig into the core of who you are and how you approach the world. If you value helping others and get excited watching others achieve their goals – then teaching or coaching may be the field for you.

Knowing who you are by questioning who you are provides important information and acts as a compass directing you towards a career you are passionate about.

 

  1. Interview Others

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that you’ve got a foundation of information, the next thing is to compare your perspective with other people’s perspectives of you. The people you ask should be loved ones or close friends that you trust to give you honest answers.

Ask them questions like…

  • What do you feel I’m good at?
  • What things do I get excited about?
  • What do I like to talk about?

The goal here is not to understand where you could improve. The goal is to understand how other people perceive you, which could spark an insight into your personality that you didn’t previously know about. These insights may cause you to think of a career or industry that you’ve never considered but maybe something you would thrive in.

 

  1. Figure Out What You’re Trying to Do

 

 

 

 

 

 

The information you get from the above two steps gives you a great foundation on what you could do. The next step is to understand what you *should* do based on what you now know.

  • Do you want to help a certain group of people (kids, adults, athletes, etc.)?
  • Do you want to try and solve a problem (“Why hasn’t anybody ever tried _______?”)

Your interviews (with yourself and others) will guide you on what type of problem you can solve based on what your interests and skills are.

 

  1. Act on It Every Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

The information you’ve gained from the first three steps should give you a foundation of what you are working towards. You need to start working on your craft and developing it every day.

  • If you want to be a writer: Write 500 words every day
  • If you want to be an artist: Draw a picture of something every day
  • If you want to be an athletic coach: Try to get an assistant coaching job or volunteer as an assistant at a local athletic association (like youth sports)

If you’re passionate about something, you’ll be willing to work on it constantly so you can develop yourself and eventually turn your passion into a full-time career.

Acting on your passion every day also helps you understand what you enjoy and what you don’t enjoy so you can adapt as needed. For example, maybe you love coaching other people, but you find sports to be too stressful, so you may want to be a teacher (both help people reach their goals).

 

If you followed the above steps and found out you wanted to teach kids about how to use their imagination and be more creative because the world needs more creativity, then you could launch a YouTube video series about it. You wouldn’t need a fancy set up or special editing skills – you could create lots of diagrams and techniques with just a pen and paper.

Connecting your passion with your career is not an overnight project, but over time, you will see and feel a huge difference in yourself when you work on something you are passionate about. In the beginning, you may have to keep your “day job” and dedicate any free time to your passion, but that could be something you look forward to every day. Working on your passion and sharing it with the world is one of the most powerful things you can do.