Source: naturalcuriosities.com

The other day, my husband (@micahshrews) tweeted this Confucius quote and commented, “I’m feeling this.” I have always admired him for knowing exactly the career he wanted and never doubting or backing away from following his passion.

I’ll admit I have also been a little jealous. Even in college, he has always had a goal to strive to. Which also meant that every career step he made has brought him closer to that goal.

I think one of the things to his success is the ability to live in the moment.  He truly has enjoyed every job he has had (7 in 13 years). He always appreciates his boss and co-workers and is extremely grateful for every opportunity he is presented. He has never spent time worrying about the next career move or when he will get to his end goal.  And as a result, the next career move has always fallen into place and has been a great situation with amazing people.

For most of us, however, it is not that straightforward.  Even years into our career, we may still have no clue what we truly want to do. Or we may have had a passion in college, but got scared to follow through with it as a major and now it feels too late. Maybe family, finances, or the practicality of career change all seem to get in the way.

If you are one of the lucky ones who does have a passion and there is a possibility of turning it into a career that makes sense– DO IT!! Follow your passion. Put fear aside and go for it.

For many of us, our passion isn’t meant to be a full-time career, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored.

I am always thankful for my Mom’s advice, “do what you love”, when I was deciding on a college major. I have had great jobs over the years in the health field and have been fortunate to be able to work part-time, while also staying at home with our three (soon to be 4) little ones.

However, since I made the decision to stay at home and support my husband’s career, for now my passion won’t be my career. But the Confucius quote also reminded me how important it is to keep your passion a priority, even if it isn’t your career.

With jobs, family, commitments, life, it is easy to put the things we love to do on the back-burner. It is exactly what I have done with this blog (the first trimester sickness and fatigue didn’t help the past few months either!).

I came across this article, How to Actually Create the Time for Something Important to You, by Gretchen Rubin (the author of The Happiness Project) and thought it was a great reminder to make your passion a priority.  Her main tip is to go to bed earlier (forgo the late night Facebook sessions, TV watching, etc.) and get up an hour earlier to spend time doing what you love.

This definitely won’t work for all of us, but I think the point of creating the time for something YOU love is a great one.

I also want to share the websites of a few of my close friends who have turned their passion into a part-time business. A little inspiration for you!

www.capturedphotographybyheidimyers.com

Heidi Myer’s  passion for photography began when she was 9 years old. Almost 25 years later she turned her passion into a business, which is really booming and probably not part-time anymore!  She took our family pictures this summer and we loved the experience and result! I highly recommend Heidi for all your portrait needs. Her personality, calm demeanor and talent make an ideal combination for beautiful pictures!

http://strungbycolor.blogspot.com

      Jenny Boling has always had a passion for creativity and she is amazing at it! A few years ago,  she turned her passion into a part-time business and blog. She makes wonderful hair accessories and jewelry.  She is very “green” and is conscious of using recycled materials for her products and packaging. We love her products! My little girl even has a Miss Cait headband (a favorite of ours!) named after her. Jenny also blogs about her creative ideas, including DIY, gardening, yummy healthy recipes, and lots more. Her blog is temporarily on hold as she continues to work full-time, adjusts to motherhood, and enjoys her sweet little boy.  In the meantime there is great info on there and you can still place orders.

Valerie Campbell plays many roles – mortgage broker, realtor, Mom to 3 boys, just to name a few. In her spare time she turned her passion for sewing into a business.  She sews things for children such as boy’s and girl’s embroidered tooth fairy pillows, burp cloths, art roll-ups and more. My favorite are the tooth fairly pillows! I have one for each of my 3 kids even though 2 are several years away from losing any teeth. Check out her etsy store for great baby and kid’s gifts!

www.etsy.com/shop/cosmicthimble#

I’m so proud of my  husband for always following his passion and my friends for turning their passion into a business.  I would love to hear from others who have turned their passion into a career or made time for something you love. Any tips to share??

Love,

Molly