No doubt, many of you have been glued to your seats over the last couple of weeks watching the 2010 Winter Olympics.  Even though I didn’t get to watch it as much as I would have liked, I was simply amazed by what I did see.  To the average person, all of those twists, turns, and jumps at such high speeds look dangerous and seem impossible.  However, to the Olympic hopeful going for the Olympic Gold Medal, those feats are just a natural part of their lives.  Even so, it did not come easy for them to get there in the first place.  It took hard work, many long hours of training and a strong belief that they could make it.  It’s their dream, plain and simple.

 Many of us have dreams – dreams of business ownership, publishing a book, higher education, or changing careers.  Just as Olympic Gold Medalists love their chosen sports, we often dream of making a living doing what we love.  For someone aspiring to pursue their entrepreneurial, educational or career goals to make a living doing what they love is the Gold Medal of work life.  However, just the same as with those who have achieved their dream of making it to the Olympics, a lot of hard work, time, focus and belief in oneself are required.  The Gold Medal doesn’t come easy, but it is definitely possible as we have seen over the last couple of weeks.  You have to willing to put in the time and hard work needed.  And, most of all, believe in yourself.

Are you going for the Gold in 2010?

Love.  Passion.  Desire.  Those words are normally associated with couples, lovers and Valentine’s Day.  However, those very same words can offer some insight for someone aspiring to make a career change or start a business.  Especially if they are not sure of the kind of career or business they would like to be involved in. We will examine each one of those words and how they can help someone to discover what type of business or career will be right for them.

 Love – There are many definitions for love, most of which are directed toward other people. When you hear the word love, most of the time you think of love for another person.  However one definition, according to Webster, is strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything.  Maybe you love to travel.  Perhaps you love music.  You could translate that love for certain things into a successful business idea or career.  You’ve probably heard the saying ‘do what you love and the money will come’ a million times.  But there is a lot of truth to that.  If you focus on something you love, you will enjoy what you’re doing and you will be happy to share it with others just as you would when you have found your soul-mate.  What are some things you love?  Do you love clothes?   Do you love cats?  Both of those could become successful business ventures.  The clothing/fashion industry is a hot market.  And people everywhere adore their pets.  If you love your cat and items associated with your cat then you can imagine that there are millions of other people who feel the same way.  You can turn any love into a successful business idea.  Starting and running a business is not for everyone.  Therefore, you may want to explore different a career path.  This could also be based upon the types of things you love to do such as your love for helping others or analyzing data.

 Passion – Passion is the little sister to love with a twist.  While passion is also associated with strong feelings of affections toward someone or something, it is also any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling such as love, hate or anger.  So, unlike love you could actually have strong passionate emotions about something that are not even close to love.  Your anger about something could cause you to feel very passionate about a particular cause or subject.  It’s hard to find someone who is not passionate about their feelings against child abuse or any issues associated with children.  Child Identification Programs and Kits have turned into a multi-million dollar industry.  Business owners and parents are passionate about ensuring safety for children.  Many people are just passionate about helping others and can find ways to create a successful business in that area, such as becoming a life coach or providing another service that will make peoples’ life easier. 

 Desire – Desire is defined as a longing or craving for something that brings satisfaction or enjoyment or to wish for something.  We have all wished at some time or another that we could have financial freedom or more time to spend with our children. If your desire is strong enough, then you will do whatever you have to do to make that happen. And that includes starting your own business or choosing a career with flexible hours.  Also, your desire can determine the type of business you start or career that you pursue.  If you have a strong desire to work from the comfort of your own home, then you should focus more on starting a home based business or a career that will allow you to telecommute.  If you have a desire to meet and interact with people, then you may want to pursue a business or career that will allow you to have day to day contact with your customers, such as a retail store or a restaurant. 

 See, I told you that love, passion and desire are not just for couples.  Those words and feelings are can help you make a crucial decision about your future.

Wow! What an exciting game last night!  Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints on winning the 44th Super Bowl Championship.  As I started watching the game last night I was eagerly anticipating the commercials as much as I was the actual game.  Needless to say I wasn’t disappointed in the game or the commercials.  As a matter of fact, to my delight and surprise, one of the commercials (see below) had a hidden message I would like to bring to your attention.  The commercial I am referring to is the one where the guy runs into a little diner and shouts “The bridge is out!” and the people in the diner looked up for a second only to continue with whatever they were doing.  After which he informs them that a beer delivery truck is stuck on the other side.  That gets them out of their seats and going.  They all get up and run out the door, down the street adding more and more people along the way and eventually come together to create a human bridge for the beer truck to cross over to the other side to provide the beer for this small town.  I am not promoting or advocating beer consumption. I just thought this commercial illustrates how we will do whatever it takes to accomplish something when our actions are directed toward something we love or are passionate about. Obviously that crowd of people love their beer enough to come together to get that truck to the other side.  While the commercial is funny and unrealistic, the hidden message is real – you can accomplish great and seemingly impossible things when you are following you passions and doing what you love. 

Often when I am talking to people about their career or business aspirations and they are not sure about what they want to do, one of the first things I ask them is:  What do you love to do? What are you passionate about? And now I will also ask them “What will get you excited and out of your seat to join a group of like minded people running to create a human bridge?”  Once they figure those things out that will get the ball rolling.  I am not saying it will be easy.  Making a living doing what you love will require some hard work.  If you really do love what you are doing or are passionate about it, it won’t seem like work at all.  Even though there are other things to factor in when pursuing your dream career or business, discovering what you love will be a great start.

While I am on the subject of the Super Bowl, the outcome of the game itself was very inspiring.  Even though I enjoy attending sporting events, I am not a big sports fan.  However, I am an excitement junkie!  And the Super Bowl is very exciting.  This one in particular was even more exciting with a lot of the focus on the city of New Orleans and how wonderful it would be for that city to win the Super Bowl.  Even though I didn’t follow the whole football season, over the last few days I watched and listened as many predicted that the Colts would win.  Apparently, the New Orleans Saints didn’t get that memo.  Their performance on the field was a clear indication that they had a plan to accomplish what many thought was impossible.  Even though the example above and the Saints football team is about a group of people coming together to achieve something great, the same applies to individuals who have a dream of becoming or doing something big such as changing careers, starting a business or writing a book.  Even if you think you are the underdog and others think you can’t do it, let the Super Bowl remind you that anything is possible and can be accomplished with passion and a plan.

I was talking to two dear friends of mine yesterday and one of them was telling us about an upcoming career change that will give her more time to concentrate on some other things she is passionate about such as writing and growing her now part-time business.

We congratulated her and told her that this new role will be a stepping stone to what she ultimately wants to do. And out of no where I blurted out “No, it’s a blessing, a blessing stone!”

After we said our goodbyes, I sat and really thought about what I had just said – A Blessing Stone…

I think anyone who has ever been or is unhappy in their work situation can look at it as a Blessing Stone. When I think of a stepping stone, I look at it exactly as the name describes. You are stepping on the experience, forgetting about it and moving on. With a Blessing Stone you embrace the experience and you are thankful for what it has added or is adding to your life, such as a stable income to sustain you while you’re pursuing your dream, valuable training that will help you in your future endeavors or friendships/relationships that will last a lifetime. All of those things are blessings.

So if you are working on a job or in a career that you consider to be a temporary situation while you work on pursuing your true calling, look for the blessings in it. Have you developed a new friendship with someone you work with? Have you learned valuable customer service skills that you can use in your own business? Is it paying your bills while you pursue your dream? Do you have the opportunity to meet people who can help you in starting your business or finding a more fulfilling career? If you can answer yes to those or similar questions, count all of those as blessing and be thankful for the value that’s being added to your life because of it.

I have read books by many experts and spiritual & religious leaders ranging from Dr. Wayne Dyer to Joyce Meyer to Bishop T. D. Jakes and they all say the same thing: One of the first things you should do, when you set out on your journey to getting the job, career, business or life that you want, is to be thankful for and count the blessings currently in your life. This will not only put you in a more positive state of mind, but it will help to draw more blessings to you.

So, thank God for each one of your Blessing Stones as you step into the life you want and deserve.

I just read Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G Allen’s new book, Cash in a Flash. On page 162, the last sentence in the third paragraph say “Make money from what you love.”

I have read many small business, entrepreneurship, self-improvement and inspirational/motivational books over the last few year. I have also read many autobiographies of successful entrepreneurs, such as Lisa Price of Carol’s Daughter. I have also found many successful unique businesses and their success stories here on the Internet. One recurring theme or message that I continue to see in all of my reading and research is “do what you love” and the personal fulfillment and financial success will come.

Although there are other things to consider the one thing that should come first is to follow your passions and do what you love when considering starting a business or making a career change.

What do you love?

One week ago, I held my first Act On Your Calling Workshop & Forum and I must say that it was an awesome feeling. I don’t consider myself to be a speaker or someone who likes to get up in front of a room full of people. As a matter of fact, most of the time, I am content with just being in the background and sitting at my computer working on my websites and books.

However, I felt a strong pull to hold a workshop to share my thoughts and ideas with others, even though it was way out of my comfort zone to do so. But I loved every minute of it! Not just the day of the workshop, but all of the planning and preparation that went into it.

I was excited beyond words that I had the opportunity to encourage and inspire others to act on their calling. I was able to take them through a process that I call the P.U.R.P.O.S.E. Pie to give them clues to their calling. I also provided them with the tools to help them to take focused action toward making a living doing what they love.

I absolutely love to encourage and inspire others to follow their dreams, passions and purpose in life. I also love to open their eyes and mind to the many possibilities. The bottom line is: This is my passion! This is my calling!

What is your calling?

What makes your heart sing?

What would you do (as a job or career) if you could not fail or if money wasn’t an issue?