Mar 16 2008
Why Finding the Work You Love May Not Be Enough or Why Doesn’t the Money Always Follow?
Published by Tom Volkar under Career Guidance | 
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Repeatedly, I see talented, dedicated, self-employed professionals who are sure they have identified their true calling. Yet especially within the helping professions and the spiritual community, that discovery does not lead to enough money or fulfillment to make them happy.
What’s missing? Why doesn’t the money always follow doing what we love to do?
Here’s how we make the process of discovering our true calling so difficult.
Often folks will declare themselves to be missing a key element of their makeup. They judge themselves harshly. They plant the seed that concludes that they must be lacking in some way. Once planted, this seed of doubt grows into a tree that’s so big that it blocks their vision.
Know anyone like this? They are often slow to respond to their own call? They hesitate when presented with opportunities. What’s behind this lack of responsiveness? Essentially, it’s a lack of commitment. They think they’ve found their calling but they repeatedly stop short of full engagement. I was once this guy. How about you?
Once planted, the seed of doubt sprouts insecurities and self-judgments. “What’s wrong with me? Is it the work or is it me? No I love the work; it must be me. It feels right, maybe I just can’t earn enough in this work? No others do, so it must be me. What am I not seeing? Why can’t I just stick with something and follow through? What’s missing in my makeup? There must be something wrong with me? What’s wrong with me?”
If you’ve had a similar self-dialogue, then you know the futility of it. Allow me to point you in the right direction. It’s not you - it’s the choices you’ve made.
There’s nothing wrong with you; you have what it takes - rather it’s the way you’ve chosen the work you’re doing. Your process was faulty, so your results can only follow.
Here’s the complete process. There are five essential elements that harmoniously work to bring forth your greatness. In this case, here’s my definition of greatness: as much fulfillment, freedom of choice, prosperity and happiness as you desire.
Doing work that you love is only one of five, and if that’s the only one you align with, then you have only a 20% chance of reaching your greatness. Some of you are much closer so you only need to bring a couple of the elements into alignment. Wherever you are use this true target.
From the inside out, are you harmoniously aligning all five essential elements?
Work that feeds your soul
Work that’s aligned with your values
Work that you love to do
Work that engages your strengths
Work that encourages your unique traits
Some folks are so far off the mark that it requires a major life calamity to get their attention. Their target may look more like this.
And some folks really confuse the issue by mixing elements from both targets, so they end up hitting neither.
Just in case you aren’t clear, here’s the way you’re supposed to feel. You fly out of bed in the morning and can’t wait to get to your work. Your work completes you.
Once more, from the inside out, here’s the only test you need. Line up these elements and the money does follow, as does fulfillment, freedom and all things good.
- Does your work fulfill you by feeding your soul?
- Are you attracted to your work? Is it aligned with your values?
- Is it work that fuels your passion? Do you actually love the doing of it?
- Is it work that comes easily to you? Does it engage your strengths?
- Does your work allow you to showcase your uniqueness? Does it encourage the expression of your peculiarities?
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Hmmm, Tom. I would definitely say that work that “feeds our Soul” also has all the other characteristics. Who we are at Soul-level actually defines many of our unique gifts and talents, as well as our values …
I would like to add that, in order to be successfully self-employed, not only does our work have to align with our Soul-level gifts and values, but so does our marketing, and our business practices, and every other business aspect. And that’s where a lot of people fall down, I think. They love the work - but do they love their business? For example, does their marketing strategy fill their Soul?
Being self-employed, we’re in a unique position to align all the elements of our businesses, and allow it ALL to be an expression of our core Self.
Blessings,
Andrea
I have to agree with Andrea. I am all about life purpose and actualizing it in business, but there is also practical considerations. We must make sales — in a way integral to our being.
Hi Tom
Love this article. I would add that I think the 5 areas can be in alignment, but often the journey to doing well at what you love can be rocky because of FEAR.
It’s hard to put your soul on the line and really go after something you want, especially if your background or society says it’s an impossible dream. To fully commit you have to believe you can be successful at what you want to do, and sometimes it is terrifying to even contemplate trying for something we couldn’t bear to fail at. So, we stay on the treadmill of wondering what our ideal career is, even though deep inside we know.
I think anyone who wants to pursue their creative aspirations or wants a career that is extremely competitive wrestles with this. Why will I make it when so many others won’t? I may as well not even try.
Love your site
Kelly
@Andrea you’ve made some solid points. I agree soul is the primary influence and if it’s aligned you’ve upped your odds of success considerably. That said, It’s possible to be fulfilled and aligned with your soul and still not be aligned with such powerful active forces such as your values and your strengths. Your belief in soul is strong and thus it does carry through. Others have found the process much more challenging. Indeed that was my motivation for this article; to make it easier for those who struggle to commit to their true path.
Yes, of course there are lots of necessary points of practicality like marketing, sales and other business building activities. But first I believe strongly in the alignment of these components from the inside out. Then we find the other activities become easier.
I absolutely endorse your point about loving our businesses and allowing every aspect of them to be a reflection of our core. Bravo!
@Akemi yes I agree. This is not an either or consideration. We need to engage both internal and external alignment in order to create success.
@Kelly I can empathize with being fearful. But I must share this. When we become consciously aware of each of these components the fear dissipates. If the fear persists then one is still listening to the opinions of others and that’s an external influence.
For example, it’s essential to identify your core values in order to use them as a basis for business decision-making. I’m not talking about moral or character values but activities, leanings and preferences we have always been naturally drawn to. My four core values are: to pioneer, to encourage, to inspire and to rally. It’s no wonder that I’m a life and career coach given those values. Core values describe who we are on the deepest of levels and knowing what they are guides us surely to our true north.
Hey Tom!
I like this post (as all your posts!).
I agree with kelly, and I have experienced some exciting things last week after our coaching call.
I decided to work on some emotional issues (using EFT), and somehow it opened up the gates: I wrote 5 articles for a newspaper, I got asked to appear in a national talkshow, and I am feeling better and better about the “Core Desires” we pinpointed in our coaching call. I get help for the various parts of it from people I never thought of, and it really seems I’m in the flow now..
So, maybe it is the other way around:
When we have a purposeful and aligned life, the rest takes care of itself?
Love,
Char
As always, your words resonate. Thanks
This makes me think of a lifelong friend with talents too numerous to mention and a whopping confidence problem. She chose a difficult yet prestigious (albeit dry and boring) career path over her love of science. The world likely lost a great forensic pathologist–which actually sounds like a cool, prestigious, vital career to me.
Her stated reason? She wanted to do something especially difficult, that did not especially spark her passion, ON PURPOSE. Because it would present a challenge beyond what any enjoyable job could provide. It’s been 20 years, and she’s still getting up every morning and meeting that challenge, but I must wonder if she ever wants to just check that one off of her list and try not to think about what could have been.
@Char wow I loved reading about all the glorious movement in your life. A lot can come form simply getting clear and taking action. Fr more than less courageous souls will ever know. Your comment reminded me of Joseph Campbell’s famous quote, something like. “Follow your bliss and doors will open where you couldn’t see them before.”
@Viviana you don’t have to wonder about your friend. My guess is that she regrets it most days of her life. It would be interesting to ask her what this challenge has given her for meeting it so long? I mean in addition to the obvious reasons people sell out. What’s the emotional payback? If you talk to her, have her give me a call. It’s never too late to be what you could have been.
I’ve been self-employed for years, and I usually love my job. But I don’t always wake up flying out of bed looking forward to work.
Perhaps I need to be more selective about the projects and clients I work on, and pick the ones that truly ignite my excitement.
Thank you for the in-depth info and great visual aids.
@Sterling welcome it’s always grand to meet another member of the self-employed nation. You hit the nail right on the head. I too have been self-employed for years and yet there are degrees of fulfillment aren’t there?
Some projects actually give us energy and some drain that energy. It’s all good because we get top feel it to determine how aligned we actually are.
I’ve always struggled working for someone else and giving my all because I don’t feel like there is enough reward. That’s why I continue to pursue my own business. It starts with my blog then branching out from there. So far it’s been great. Hard, but great. Working a full time job then coming home and writing, networking, and marketing is not easy, but in the long run I know I’ll be happier so I do it. I can tell when I’m heading in the right direction when I get all excited about a certain topic or even writing a press release. The same feeling never comes form my 9 to 5.
Great post!
@Karl my hats off to those of you who still maintain the “JOB” and work in your other hours to free yourself from it. I applaud your courage and persistence and at the same time I encourage you to fully live your greatness sooner rather than later! Go for it man! Have you listen to the Courage audio on my coaching website?
http://coreu.com/
I echo your stressing the Power of Alignment Tom
It’s so easy to look at purely strategizing and miss the connection between aligning with who we are. It’s like looking at life through a black and white lens. Once you bring yourself into the equation, you’ve got technicolor! The outside world is a reflection of who we are and a great indicator of where we are misaligned. Thanks for an insightful read!
Cheers,
Lorraine
www.powerfull-living.biz
Lorraine, thank you, that’s a very colorful and unique analogy. The Business books that tell us to find what people are buying and sell that are obviously looking through a black and white lens. I’d much rather bring myself in as you say and offer services from who I am.
I just recently gave notice that I will be leaving my position that I have held for 7 years. I’m phasing out gradually through the beginning of June. After that, I have short-term, part-time project and then…nothing.
I deliberately left without another job in order to give myself time to consider what it is that I want to do and what will make me leap out of bed in the morning.
HOWEVER. When I begin to contemplate what that might be, I invariably come back to “not working at all.” I would fly out of bed every single morning if what was on my calendar for the day was: gardening, tending to my chickens (and goats and sheep), sewing, baking, canning tomatoes, creating art.
So how do I begin to realize that vision in a way that will provide some income? We’ve never had an abundance of money (read: we’re permanently broke) because we have chosen careers that just don’t pay well (teaching and non-profit work).
KBassler it sounds to me like what you really want is work life freedom. What work would feel as though you weren’t working at all? That kind of joyous light-hearted work exists for all of us. The first step is to believe that. Then you must go about your exploration with vigor. Make mistakes, take action, and get a feel for things. Get out of your mind and into doing. Go to http://www.CoreU.com and sign up for my newsletter then you’ll know about free call opportunities when they arise.
Thanks for this helpful post. In the “busyness” that comes with life, alignment seems to easily become undone. I find I need to schedule frequent times to step back and check out my alignment. In a society that values money and image, I need a lot of reminders to check my alignment! I was certainly not taught to value alignment as a child!
Bonnie I agree, I was not taught alignment either. In fact I was in my forties before I even considered such a concept. Stepping back is always good. You made me smile because that’s exactly what I’m doing this fine morning. I’m stepping back to see the bigger picture of who I am and where I’m headed.
Tom,
I posted something not long ago at http://40-nowwhat.blogspot.com/2008/02/whats-my-passion.html that discussed how to align your passion with your work and with money, based on some advice I was given. I don’t know if there’s a simple route to finding the passionate work that pays well for each person, but the idea of doing not just what you love but that at which you are the best, does seem to hold the promises of riches.
Carla
http://40-nowwhat.blogspot.com/
Carla, I agree and I shared what I thought about that point on your blog. What could I be the best in the world at? That is a huge question that isn’t as difficult to answer as one would think. Because the question doesn’t ask what do we want to be best in the world at? There is a big difference between could and want. Answer the could question and you’ll find the passion question more easily.