Do What You Love

 

"Do what you love, and make adjustments in flight." ~Carol Mossa

I bought the book, Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow: Discovering Your Right Livelihood, by Marsha Sinetar, in 1989 and I pored over it. At the time, I believed it contained the blueprint for building a work life around my many passions. Fast forward over thirty years, and Do what you love is still my mantra, but I've switched up the rest of the statement to read: and make adjustments in flight. Because the truth of the matter is: the money may follow; it may not. The money may not follow right away; it may not follow in the amounts you imagine, so the adjustment piece is crucial. You must do what you love if you expect to live a wildly creative life. You may think you don't need to live a wild or creative life, but you do, and I'll tell you why. You were not born here to work and pay taxes. You are cut from the same cloth that created infinite varieties of flowers and trees and snowflakes and insects and stars. You, too, are a creator; creativity is your birthright. Doing what you love is your contribution to the universal creative flow. If you don't heed that call, if you focus only on achieving financial success, you will pay a price spiritually, emotionally, and perhaps even physically. Heed that calling, don't deny it, even if it doesn't pay your bills. Yet. And here's where the second part of that earlier quote/statement comes in.

Make adjustments in flight. Begin to live more simply. Today. Now. Create a budget. Look at your spending habits. Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. Refrain from amassing debt. Where can you trim and/or eliminate the things and services you don't need? Every time you reach for your credit card or cash, ask yourself, How many hours must I work to pay for this purchase? And then decide if the price of your creative freedom is really worth sacrificing.