Comments on: How to Make a Living doing what you Love

By: Phil

Phil — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:45:55 +0000

Barb – thanks for the thoughtful and insightful comment. Please enjoy the list – there is so much out in the world when we just take simple actions to get started. One resource I recommend is “How to be an Artist” by Michael Atavar – a wise and practical guide to building an artistic practice (whether for profit or pleasure). Keep pursuing your passions and living them large!

Phil

By: Barb Hartsook

Barb Hartsook — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:32:12 +0000

Hi Phil. I love lists. I skim over them and think, I can do that. It’s a place to start. It works for (the author) so why not at least read it and see if any of it is applicable to me?

My passions are painting and writing. I see story in most of life and love the feel of a pen or brush in my hand to talk about that story. I have a philosophy for life that’s stated simply: I want to live everyday of it. Die young at a very old age. And show to my kids by example that there’s an adventure at any age! I also love to share what I’m learning with anyone who wants to learn it.

That is my starting point. I actually love your list and will print it out and post it up. Like Lisette, I’m doing a lot of it now, so I must be on the right track. Tracy Todd has an incredible outlook. One that works. Patty makes such a good point — so many subscribe to the economics of scarcity idea, including in themselves. My sister is the piano player, so therefore I must choose another talent. Silly really, but there it is. (I quit taking lessons after 3 yrs because she was so good at it.) I know better today…

Great post!
Barb Hartsook´s last blog ..Learning Changes Us… or Does It?

By: Phil

Phil — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:48:49 +0000

Marianne – it is a compulsive show. I hope you’re right and the contestants are doing this as part of bigger plan for world domination. Sadly some of their cooking lets them down if that is the case. Thanks for the post!
Phil

By: Marianne Cantwell

Marianne Cantwell — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:46:25 +0000

Phil! I thought it was just me. I have a love/hate relationship with Masterchef: the foodie in me watches eagerly, the ass-kicking career coach says “if it’s your dream, why are you relying on a TV show to give it to you???”. Then I cook something angrily.

The shining light might be that these people are just all personal-branding-savvy, have food careers in the making, and are just making up a sob story for the judges. Is that too optimistic?

Great post.
Marianne Cantwell´s last blog ..The three ‘secret’ habits holding you back from getting a career you love

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:57:37 +0000

Patty – you are so perceptive and I love this comment. Sometimes I ask my client what they would do if I could wave my coaching magic wand and make anything happen. Sadly I have to admit that it doesn’t exist. I’ve seen people make astounding transformations in their lives. The two things they always do are 1) take action, one step at a time 2) get their head in a space to accept whatever results come along and keep on going. Often the destination can vary from the original plan, as the world gives feedback, yet with this approach change comes along. I can tell that you are an extremely talented and perceptive coach and truly thank you for your perspective. Thank you.

Phil

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:52:59 +0000

Marc – I love that you blogged about food without making it the central way that you made a living. Sometimes our passion isn’t our vocation – its an outlet for our creativity, a way to enjoy life, stay in the moment and explore ourselves. I’m sure you’re a black-belt chef when you put your mind to it! Thanks for the comment.

Phil

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:51:08 +0000

Belinda – I know you are following you passion every day through the great writing you share with the world. I love your analogy of the path getting hard and narrow and it taking longer than we have patience for. It happens to everyone and the toughest thing is to just keep going at that point. Keep on doing what you’re doing.

Phil

By: Patty - Why Not Start Now?

Patty - Why Not Start Now? — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:45:10 +0000

But Phil, don’t you know if I did all those things you suggest to explore my passion it would mean I’d actually have to work at it? No, no, Phil, I want magic! Okay I’ll be serious now. I love this post. I’m sure you’ve encountered this with clients too, where they yearn for the big, magic, “opportunity” like Masterchef that will make them a star. It’s similar to wanting to win the lottery. Or alternately, they renounce taking even the smallest steps towards their dreams and passions because it might not work out and they are afraid of the disappointment that will follow. I hear a little of that in Leroy’s comments. And I do understand. That story of scarcity looms large. The one where we believe we can keep ourselves safe by not trying, or where we believe that we’ve gotten the short end of the stick in life compared to everyone else. That’s a shadowy story that is bigger than all of us, and yet, we all have the potential to tell another story too. Thanks for letting me get that out, Phil!
Patty – Why Not Start Now?´s last blog ..Meaning Mondays: The Big Rabbit Edition

By: Marc Winitz

Marc Winitz — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:07:05 +0000

Hi Phil,

My passion (one of them at least) happens to be cooking. However, given where I am in life I didn’t want to give all that up to start at the bottom and cook (although if you are younger, like 20 or so, go for it). So instead, I started a cooking blog which I did for 18 months. A lot of fun and I really enjoyed cooking, writing and talking about it (you can see it at http://www.chefectomy.blogspot.com but I no longer post to it). Lots of ways to pursue a passion with it making it the central way one derives income.

I live in the US and am not familiar with this show although so many successful UK shows make it over here and we redo them (The Office and Gordan Ramsay Kitchen Nightmare, for example). We have one here called “Top Chef” and perhaps we stole that one also. I’ll have to watch out for MasterChef on my next trip to the UK).

By: Belinda Munoz

Belinda Munoz — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:11:32 +0000

Hi Phil, you offer wonderful guidance here for those who want to sustain a living from a passion. I love how you’ve made the dream a lot less overwhelming by gently outlining some very workable steps to make it real knowing that screaming “just do it” doesn’t cut it. I think what trips us up when we’re on this path is when things get hard, when the path gets narrow, when it takes longer than we have patience for and when the passion sometimes doesn’t feel like a passion anymore. We forget that Rome wasn’t built in a day, that there will be curve balls regardless of how well we plan, there will be excuses that will poison our determination and there will be times when we don’t see the progress we make. Thanks for the wonderful encouragement you’ve given us!