It’s pretty simple really. If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. Simple, yes…easy…no. It takes a lot of hard work to reach our goals, and not every day of that journey is going to be rainbows and lollipops. But, the key ingredient is to never settle and never lose sight of where you want to end up. Personally, I want to end up happy and successful. Not successful in the “look how huge my bank account is” kind of way. Making a ton of money has never been my main focus in life. Money doesn’t bring happiness, in fact, spending and managing money makes me anxious. I want to be successful in the “my husband and children are happy, my family is proud of me, I am proud of me, my work moves people…and yes, my business that I pour heart and soul into makes a profit” kind of way.
When my youngest wakes up in the morning, he lines up his dinosaurs. He usually asks to wear one of his favorite dino shirts and flips through a few of the dinosaur books we’ve checked out from the library. We watch an episode of Dino Dan while big brother is at school, and he tells me all about Apatosaurus, Euoplocephalus, and Stygimoloch. (My three year old remembers and pronounces these names with much more ease than his 32 year old mother). To say he’s passionate about dinosaurs is a huge understatement. He puts energy and heart into learning all he can about these prehistoric creatures day after day. He doesn’t do it out of obligation. He does it because it makes him truly happy, and he feels proud sharing his knowledge with his family and friends. Sometimes, even random strangers get a lesson on T-Rex while we’re out and about. My greatest hope for him is that his future career choice gives him the same sense of childlike joy.
We spend such a large portion of our lives at work. That might mean punching a clock for your employer, running a business you built, or keeping a household together and raising your little ones. We need to love our work and feel passionate about what we do. If you don’t feel joy going through the motions of your everyday life, it’s up to you to make a change. It might mean a pay cut, and you may have to work really hard for it. But, like I said before, money doesn’t bring happiness. Having enough money in the bank to take care of your family’s needs is important and necessary. However, working your life away doing a job you can’t stand just because you like the paycheck isn’t worth it. Your time and happiness are priceless. Being proud of the mark you leave on the word brings a true sense of success. Whether you are an amazing parent, build things, fix things, manage people, help people, create, protect, or teach – your life’s work is the real legacy you leave.
Raising my children brings me more joy than I could have ever imagined, and my camera is my T-Rex. I don’t know if my talent will ever make me millions, but I do know I love doing it. I’m as excited to pick up my camera every single day as Will is to reenact a T-Rex vs. Triceratops battle. Life is far too short to not love the life you live. If you’re not already doing it, find a way to love your every day.
