#4 Getting Your First Paycheck Doing What You Love

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Epic Moment #4

You’ve probably heard the quote “Do what you love and the money will follow”.  It was created with good intentions but it’s not quite true.  “Do what you love and fulfilment will follow” is more accurate but fulfilment is not going to put food on the table.  

So we all share the same struggle — how to make a living off our passion and avoid getting trapped in a numbing existence of uninspiring, unremarkable work.  It’s the ultimate challenge and I think that’s a good thing, if it were easy then achieving it wouldn’t be an epic moment. 

Just to be clear, I don’t think the 9-5 is all bad.  Sometimes it serves as a nice break from the anxiety that constantly pushing yourself can bring.  But it’s a lifestyle that is often used as a hiding place from the responsibility of pursuing our true calling.  

It’s not easy to settle for less when you know you’re capable of more.  To be bored out of your mind waiting for the weekend to come.  To say to yourself, “that’s life” and carry on.

With time, the comfort that a secure paycheck brings begins to wear away. As its role in inhibiting our development becomes more and more apparent, staying put becomes increasingly difficult. Some are lucky enough to hit a point where leaving becomes easier than staying and that’s when the adventure begins.  

If you choose to accept the ultimate challenge then you’ll have to make sacrifices, you’ll fail often and you’ll miss the security of that guaranteed paycheck.  Oh ya and everytime you go outside it will be cold and raining.  

Yes, it’s a struggle but it’s a beautiful struggle.  

One where you wake up excited, motivated and content knowing that you’re giving this life everything you have. One where you often stop and think, “Wait, this is seriously my job?!”  You can barely tell the difference between work and play. And no matter how hard your day was, you go to sleep with the undying belief that there is a way and you will find it.

Until one day the rain suddenly stops and you walk outside on a beautiful sunny day. You open your mailbox to find your first paycheck doing the work that you love.  In that moment you realize how crucial cold winters are. Without them you can’t fully appreciate the blissful summers.

Inspired by Amber Rae.

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But still terrifying.

Take A Moon Shot

Everyday I wake up early and dedicate the first hour of the day to inspiration, discovery and creativity.  I allow the unpredictable pull of my imagination to take me wherever it pleases.  I often end up developing some far-fetched ideas, or as google’s founder Larry Page calls them “moon shots”.  My mind naturally steers in this direction because I believe the world is full of possibilities and moon shots are within reach.  

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A couple years ago I woke up feeling an urge to create something unlike anything else, something that would inspire like-minded adventurers.  Not knowing quite what it was or where to start, I decided that everything would fall together after thinking of the perfect name.  After thinking up several terrible names like “Pretty Much Amazing” and “Goosebumps”, I thought of the name “Live Unbound”.  I started by drawing a little picture to represent what the word meant to me.  

Then I began writing what later became the LiveUnbound Manifesto and decided to create a series of videos to illustrate it. For me this was a moon shot because I was never a good writer, I had no funding and little time to devote to creative ventures.

Two years later the LiveUnbound message has reached millions of people and has given me the chance to live my dream.  The dream of making a living through my creativity, traveling the world and creating positive impact.  

Extraordinary things happen when you give yourself the opportunity to live in accordance with the boundless nature of our existence.  

The Guiding Light

We all have a treasure that awaits us.  When we’re young, our heart constantly gives us clues on how to find it.  We start our search and quickly face obstacles which test our ability, determination and courage.  As we struggle in these challenges we become distracted by an easier, safer path.  We often take it because avoiding pain is our priority, not seeking pleasure.

Our heart tells us we’re off course but we ignore it.  We settle into a life of mediocrity, convincing ourselves that our search was a far fetched dream and now we must face reality.

We go to the movies, read books, visit museums and marvel at the incredible work that others have created.  Completely unaware of our capacity to create the same beauty.  

As the years pass our guiding light becomes dimer, as if our heart knows that we suffer when reminded that our search is over.  But as dim as the light may be, it never disappears completely because in some far off place still lies our greatest treasure.  

Inspired by “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho.

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Photograph by © Ben Canales

The Live Unbound Manifesto

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