By Leo Babauta
When I wake up in the morning, I can’t wait to start writing.
It’s not that I’m productivity-driven, or a workaholic … it’s that I love what I do.
And I’ll tell you a secret to loving what I do: if I think my work will help someone, there’s no better motivator.
I see lots of people, every day, who don’t like the work they’re doing. If I could help a few of them find work they love, it would make my year.
So this is a mini-guide to finding the work you love. Because it’s waiting for you — you just need to find it and go get it.
We’re going to do this in 3 simple steps.
Ready? Let’s go!
Step 1: Believe in yourself. The main reason people don’t try to do work they love, don’t even look for it, is because they don’t think they’re good enough. That’s hogwash. We’ve been bamboozled and hornswoggled into believing we are insufficient, that it’s scary to fail, when neither is remotely true.
You are not only sufficient, you are perfect. And failure is inevitable, but it’s how you succeed. Failure is how we learn to get better. It’s a step towards success.
I highly recommend you watch this TEDx talk from Scott Dinsmore for some inspiration … it’s the best 18 minutes you could invest in your life right now:
Step 2: Find the work you love. This is probably the most difficult step for many people, because they don’t know what they want to do. Luckily, I’ve written a guide for you.
Actually, this step is the fun part. You get to try different things. Fail often. Explore yourself. Learn about what you’re good at. Help people.
Step 3: Take the leap. It’s the scariest, most exciting thing ever to take the leap and do work you love. I call it JoyFear. It’s totally worth it.
Luckily, I’ve written a guide for this too.
Making a living doing what you want isn’t exactly easy, but it’s not as hard as you might think. Create something that will help people. Do it the best you can, and keep getting better. Make it uniquely you, and tell your story. Don’t be a marketer or push yourself on people, but really help them and they’ll come to you.
Two more things to read when you have the time:
- The Five Things You Need to Know About Finding the Work You Love
- Crazy Talk: The Do-What-You-Love Guide
What are you waiting for? I’ve given you three steps, so you should be taking the first step already. If not, get moving!
The work you love is out there. Waiting for you. But it won’t find you — you have to go looking for it.