Follow Your Passion or Play It Safe

I have been very focused on the issue of whether you should follow your passion or play it safe. I spent some time this week with a young man. His in his early 20’s. I have a lot of respect for him, in that he is very dedicated to his girlfriend, and his a very hard working man. He has his head in the right places, and I have no doubt he will be very steady throughout his life. The one thing I can see about him is he is going to play it very safe.

Now I’m certainly not going to say this is wrong. Each to their own. Jobs are hard to come by in this economy. He knows that, and really appreciates the opportunity he has been given through his job. He has responsibilities and by having a wage he can take care of most of them. Does he have long term security. He knows there’s no guarantee, at the moment his boss is happy, and he hopes he will be able to maintain this through his performance.

His prospects for promotion etc don’t seem too plentiful, but he just doesn’t seem to see past his wage. This isn’t unusual, in fact it’s a common way of thinking. It’s probably the norm. When it comes to money, most people want to play it safe and feel secure. Passion does not lead them, fear does. And he has bills to pay you know.

But I know life can be so much more. A guy like him has so much to offer, and he really could make something fantastic out of his life. He can stay secure, he can play it safe. But that’s not a life, that’s just existing.   Alternatively he could re-ignite a  fire within him, and become whatever and whoever he wants to be, by letting his passion direct him.

I just wonder what else is out there for him. What opportunities exist. One day soon, I am going to ask him these questions:

Can you see yourself doing your job for another 35 years or so? Will you be happy, fulfilled? Is this what you’d love to be doing for the rest of your working life?

Now, if he answered no, I’d ask him:

If you had a genie in a bottle, and you were granted one wish, and that was you could do any job you wanted. You get to pick that dream job, that maybe you thought about before but never believed you could have it. So now you can, what would that job be?

And whatever he answered, I’d now ask, how much better would life be, if all that time you spend at work was focused on doing something you love to do?

A great article that lends itself to this one today can be found at Pick The Brain titled “Should You Follow Your Dreams or Get a ‘Normal’ Job? “

Here is my philosophy. You won’t get hurt by setting your sights too high . Its admirable to play it safe and settle for mediocrity, but I beseech you, one day, when you’re ready  give yourself ambitious big time dreams, filled with passion and purpose, then follow your instincts and intuition, and create your brilliance.

As I can’t ask him quite yet, maybe you’d like to answer the above questions for yourself. My comment section awaits you.

Thank you for joining me today.

This is Larry Lewis