How can you be financially secure and do what you love?
I was actually inspired to ask this question by a recent article on a blog I enjoy reading:
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/01/11/ask-the-readers-how-to-find-work-that-you-love/
So let's hear it - base it on your own experience...do you think it's possible to get paid AND do what you love to do? How?
Best Answer
356 points
SharonMR answered 11 months ago …
I had to think a bit about how I would answer this question, as have answered it in some form or another over at The Tycoon Report. Yes, it is definately possible to work at what you love and get paid well for doing it.
Most of us, if not all, know that the best road to Financial Independence and Security is to own your own business. If you are going to own your own business, then it should be something you love to do so you will be more inclined to make it a success through thick and thin. All you have to do is be willing to pay the price.
The questions to ask yourself would be, "What is it I love to do?" "What is it that gives me joy?" What is it that I am absolutely passionate about?"
Once you have made your decision, it is time to plan your steps to get there. What must you do to get where you want to go?
1. Do your homework, ask questions of people you know that do the same thing you want to do, and if they are willing to give you the answers, then make them your mentors if they are willing to teach you what you want and need to know.
2. If you need to go back to school to learn your business, then find a school or course you need to take in order to learn the skill it takes to do what you want to do. Find the school or course teacher that best suits your needs.
3. Once you have attended the school or taken the course, then learn it, understand it, and master it.
4. Your next decision is where do you want to start your business. Do you want to work from home or do you want a brick and mortar office or store front?
5. Once you have set up business, then it is time to advertise, advertise, advertise. Let everyone know that you are a master at what you do. Shout it from the mountain tops.
A hint to jump start your profitabililty, find other business owners that have businesses that are related to the work you do. Talk to them and if they are willing, then network with them. You help them, they help you. That's a win/win situation.
In essence, find what you love, learn it, understand it, master it and then profit from it.
This is exactly what I had to do when I found myself a single mom with 3 young children and needing a profession that would get me where I needed to be in order to support my family. I asked a lot of questions, visited different offices to make sure this is what I wanted to do. I was fortunate enough to ask the right people and the doors were opened for me. I loved the profession I chose and did it for over 30 years.
Today I am retired from that profession, and have decided on a business that I can work from home, am taking the courses I need to take, and am on track for starting another career.
See All of You at the TOP !
Sharon
Answers
1786 points
ChaosNantuko answered 11 months ago …
Yea, its possible. Although doing them at the same time can be slightly more difficult. The key is to have more passive income then expenses. At that point, how much you get paid for doing what you love becomes irrelevant. Examples of good sources of passive income would be renting out real estate, covered calls/dividends on long term stock holdings, or even creating a website that is more or less self-sufficient (requiring minimal input on your part after its setup. An example of where you can do this would be www.cafepress.com. Creating a site with good content will allow you to make money with google adwords and affiliate programs as well).
In short, I suggest you work where you can get paid well until you have the passive income to quit and do what you want, whether that be starting a business, writing a book or just playing golf all day.
3127 points
EthanR answered 11 months ago …
If you do the work you love, you will become rich in two ways. The first way is financially. People who love their work are much more motivated to work hard, persevere through hard times, and find a way to build the better mouse trap. These things will pay off, especially if it is your own business. Also if you love your work, you are less inclined to bounce around from job to job, which is a financial disaster, as it disrupts your ability to fund a 401k or achieve promotions at a particular company.
The second way you become rich is in the spiritual sense. You will be happier on a daily basis. Your relationships with family, spouse, and friends will be better. Even your health is greatly enhanced when you love or enjoy your work.
I have been a Real Estate investor and Realtor who specializes in foreclosures and other distress sales, for the past 11 years. Many people can not stand to be a landlord, and you will hear them tell all of the horror stories about tenants who trashed their home, didn't pay the rent, how they lost money trying to flip a home, etc.
However, I love what I do. I love helping a young couple find and fix up a foreclosure with $25,000 of start up equity. They are willing to do the small repairs and cosmetic enhancements necessary, and it is great to see the fruits of their labor a few months after the closing. I love buying homes for myself that are the blight of a good neighborhood, and then fixing them up so they become the palace of the block! I rent them out, and sometimes sell them a few years later. Although they are "investments", one can grow emotionally attached to properties that one has changed from ugly duckling to beautiful swans!
And yes, Real Estate has been lucrative over that time, and will provide my family a financial security in retirement. So is it possible to make money doing what you love? Absolutely!
Recommended reading: Dan Miller, "48 Days to the Work you Love"
http://www.amazon.com/48-Days-Work-You-Love/dp/0805444793
508 points
John answered 11 months ago …
It depends on what you view as financially secure!. In reference to normal people, those with-out a trust fund, non-athletes, or actors/musicians. For those of us that have to strive to be something, I believe the best way to do what you love is to go to college. Going to college gives you more options as far as employment. Then it's just deciding what you want to do and then go do it the best way for you. Not to say if you don't go to college you can not do what you love. But having the degree gives you more opportunities and the ability to change direction if what your doing becomes something you dislike.
For those of us with careers already we might use that as a stepping stone to further your eduction and make a change into something you love.
Some industries just don't pay a lot so if you love it you have to become management or a small business owner to be comfortable. Other sectors like business offer many opportunities to make money with out being management or owner.
Identify what you love to do and what kind of money you need to be comfortable, then find the best path towards your goal.
Hard work, dedication and becoming as good as you can at what you do as possible is the way to prosper. If you truly love doing it then you should be the first one in and the last one out. Their is nothing easy worth having, paying dues and hard work are part of the journey.
We can do whatever we love to do for a living, its putting ourselves in the best position to prosper at what we love which is key.
I could never imagine working in a career i hated and my degrees give me the flexibility to move on to something else if what I love now becomes something I hate.
236 points
Steph answered 11 months ago …
I think many people give up what they love for financial security. I know I did at one time in my life. I was young and had no idea that there were things more valuable than financial security. I was a bird in a gilded cage. When I came to the realization that my life was empty of everything of value, I had to make a huge change. I had to face my fears and take some really big risks.
Today I do what I love. My husband and I started from zero, actually less than zero, and bit by bit we built a terrific business. We do things by our own rules, in ways that are often contrary to the ways of others. My husband has tought me to ease up on my worries about money and see that we have to spend money to make money. Keep the flow going, so to say, and it has worked so far.
We contribute a lot to our community in time, advice and donations. At first, I thought that if I gave stuff away, I was sacrificing my own finances, but exactly the opposite is true. The more I give away, the more comes back to me. So this brings me back to The Question and for me the only way to keep the circle of giving and taking going is if I do what I love as it's the only way that I have anything to share.
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