"Living in your passion makes it easier to live."
The words came out of her mouth as if it was a truth she had always known. Yet she was saying it in reference to something I had shared with her only five minutes before. During part of the weekend intensive with my coach, each of the participants got five minutes to share "what's up" with them. And well, a LOT is going on with me right now that's pretty freaking awesome.
I just re-launched this website with a kick-ass new design, I've re-launched The PEACE System, and I've got several songs ready for the new album, plus I'm involved in writing/directing/performing a Christmas musical, and I'm doing some other performing as Fall rolls around.
And... my new book is almost done! I'm hard pressed to call it a labor of love. I didn't really labor over it much. The hard part for me was the waiting - the inbetween times when someone else was reviewing/editing/commenting, etc.
Patience may be a virtue, but I don't feel very virtuous exercising it.
So now that the book is nearing completion, I have advanced copies out to folks to get feedback and generally start the buzz going 'round. And the feedback has been incredibly positive thus far.
My enthusiasm in sharing that seemed to reverberate off the walls in the room. Thus, another participant made this comment to me.
"Living in your passion makes it easier to live."
I paused. Truly speechless for a nanosecond or two.
"YES!" I thought to myself. "That's exactly it!"
And I'm bringing that thought home with me to meditate and marinate on for a while. Because there's nothing inherently easy about giving up on your "backup plan" or letting go of the work-life balance dilemma you can face as a creative entrepreneur. It actually takes a lot of effort to clear the decks. Sometimes you have to create a clean slate and re-start from scratch.
Plus, no one said that living your passion would be an instant road to fame and fortune. There can be incredible stretches of financial chaos. There can be feast or famine roller coasters on the demand for your work. Heck. Sometimes your efforts can fall completely out of favor with what you thought was your right audience. And there's no rule that says you have to make a living off your passion. You may do something else entirely that allows you to more fully pursue your passion.
But it's decidedly easier to live your life when you are in complete alignment with what moves you and what serves the greater good of the world (however you finance it). Not because there's less work, but because the work doesn't look or feel much like work anymore.
You can't NOT do this stuff. It's your passion. You live it, breathe it, eat, sleep, and drink it. You can't imagine your life without it.
So instead of trying to build your life without it, step fully into it. Be proud of your passion and how it serves the world.
It makes living a whole heckuva lot easier.
What are you doing today to step more fully and completely into living in your passion?