Do you have to choose between your passion and money?
Too many people feel like they have to choose between passion and money (between what they love and being ‘responsible providers’ for their families. Let’s explore ways to do both.
Episode #848 September 16, 2022
Hi this is Dan Miller – and yes you’re listening to the 48 Days Radio show – where each week we take 48 minutes to dive into real-life questions about finding your passion, deciding what kind of life you want to live – and then finding or creating work that allows you to show up every day, excited to be able to do something that is meaningful, fulfilling – and profitable. This is where normal, indecision and ambiguity come to die. Welcome to the 48 Days Radio Show.
Thank you for being a listener of this podcast. I love hearing from you and being allowed to think through the questions we all have about finding or creating work that matters, for people who care.
Questions:
I prepared for an event that has now been canceled. Did I just waste my time?
I would say this is a success. You never lose the effort that you put into the development of that course. The growth and understanding you got from doing that can never be taken away.
Earl Nightingale defines success as the progressive realization of a worthwhile goal.
There are a lot of ways you can use the work you’ve done:
- Propose to 10 other conferences coming up
- Market it yourself
- Identify the perfect company to use it – they can have you present it or purchase a license to use it
I would consider this a major success.
Can an individual with a DISC personality type of SI, be a good entrepreneur?
The implication here is that you need to be a high D to be a successful entrepreneur (aggressive, opinionated, strong personality).
You can be extremely successful as an SI (good listener, compassionate, loyal).
Jim Collins describes 5 levels of leadership in his book Good To Great with Level 5 being the absolute ultimate leaders. He says Level 5 leaders display a powerful mixture of personal humility and indomitable will. They tend to be quiet, reserved and even shy. That is exactly the SI personality.
Here are some of the other characteristics of an SI personality style
- show understanding toward other people
- help and support other people in their goals
- adapt to difficult situations
- reduce conflict with others
We have a lot of examples of SI personalities as successful entrepreneurs in the 48 Days Eagles Community.
You can be any personality style and be an effective leader. You just need to choose and build a business that fits your personality style.
Find out more about the DISC Personality Styles here.
My oldest son is Interested in real estate but I’m hesitant to encourage him because of my own experience.
Real estate is definitely part of the wealth path for many successful individuals. There are few things that are going to give you the upside potential of real estate.
However, there are a whole lot of different ways to be involved in real estate:
- You can do flips (buy and deal with subcontractors to do the work and put it back on the market)
- Buy properties that are already in pretty good shape and rent it out to long-term renters
- You can do commercial real estate
- You can just be an investor where someone else is doing all the work
- You can have a property manager that is doing
Go through and identify 15 ways that they can be involved in real estate. Look at ways you can pivot and move away from the elements of real estate that don’t work for you.
Is it wise to go into debt to receive mentoring / coaching on how to better leverage and start your business?
Is it wise to go to dental school so you can make $350,000 a year?
Is it wise to purchase a rental property so you can build your wealth slowly over time?
Is it wise to become a doctor in physical therapy, but come out of school with $180,000 in student loan debt?
You’re talking about making some kind of investment in advance so that you can then have higher levels of success moving forward.
I think investing $5000 in a coaching program to help you leverage the start-up of your business is pretty solid, if you really believe in the business.
Personally, every time I want to grow in an area of my life, I find a coach or a mentor. I’ve hired coaches for blogging, podcasting, speaking, etc.
You can also get access to amazing coaching at very little cost if it shortens your learning curve to success.
Find out more about Rich Allen here.
Find out more about our 48 Days Certified Coaches here.
Or go to your local Small Business Administration Office (Thrive Program, SCORE). You can barter the coaching you need.
You can access Masterclass, something we provide for all of our Eagles Elite Members.
The real question is will you take action on your own? That’s why I get coaching — to keep me accountable.
My day job is soul-crushing but provides 80% of my income. My side job is life-giving but provides 20% of my income.
There are probably other choices. I don’t think you should have to choose between your passion and money. I don’t like the idea of moving away from what you love and hanging on to what you don’t enjoy because it seems to be more responsible and is providing an income for you.
What if you offered to write his next two books? What if you identified 10 other high-profile thought leaders and offered the same services to them? You could develop a course on how to provide the services you are offering.
Be creative with coming up with what you can offer that could provide so much more value than what you’re doing now that they couldn’t say no.
Achievement is not your challenge. Alignment is.
Just because you have the ability to do something is not enough reason to continue doing that.
The central question should shift from how do I achieve more to how do I want to live.
Look at not only your skills and abilities but also your personality tendencies and your values, dreams, and passions.
I’ve been working in the healthcare industry for over 25 years as a physician. Every day I find myself getting more tired of my current work in the medical industry.
This is a very realistic tension between wanting to support your dream and wanting to be able to pay the bills.
I often talk about the three-legged stool: passion, talent, and money. If any of those is missing, the stool will fall over.
If the passion and talent are not creating money, then the work is just a hobby.
If you are making money but there’s no passion there, then you’re simply going to burn out.
I don’t recommend you walk away from your 25 years as a physician. I think you can do both. You can have both your passion and money.
I like to have people start their side business and work on it for 15 hours per week until it generates 50% of their income. Then once it generates 50% of your income, you should be able to easily exceed your income when you put all your time toward it.
Elizabeth Gilbert talks about in Big Magic how so many people move into their passion area too quickly, and they kill it because they are trying to make it their only source of income.
Do I want you to write? Absolutely.
But I don’t want you to sabotage what you’re doing now.
What if my dream isn’t paying the bills?
Quotation:
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Peter Drucker @48daysteam” quote=”“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Peter Drucker”]
Resource:
Find out more about your personality style, strengths and weaknesses
How You Can Help The Show
If you find this podcast helpful, please Subscribe and Review it on iTunes. It’s a great way to support the show and only takes a few seconds.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW
Have a Question for Dan?
Submit your questions at www.48days.com/askdan
If I use your question we’ll send you an autographed copy of 48 Days to the Work and Life You Love
One of the most powerful lines on that subject was from the movie Up in the Air. George Clooney is a professional ‘terminator’. The company he works for is hired by companies downsizing employees who don’t have the resources (or backbone) to do it themselves. He’s firm but compassionate and part of the the plot is a new young gun who thinks the entire process can just be done remotely (foreshadowing..?) He’s letting the new gal try her theory on JK Simmons who has the Crusty Old Jerk role down pat and shuts the idealistic person down at every turn. Clooney smoothly steps in and using information from the employees resume points out he worked in fancy restaurants to get through college. Clooney’s line is, “How much did they pay you to give up on your dreams?”