Finding A Person’s Passion

Finding what we like to do and being able to do that for a living can and will have an impact on anybody’s life in a good way. There is nothing like getting out of bed and looking forward to the day. However, it can be hard to find our passion but more importantly, it can take courage to follow a certain path. This is because there are pressures from society that defines success, which can be distorted. Also, there are other influences, from family and friends and their view on what our lives should look like. With all these effects around us, it is important to remember no one is being malicious; it is simply that others will have opinions on what we should do and that is all they are - someone else’s viewpoint. On top of that, there are many routes a person can take, which adds to the confusion and increases stress levels. So, in this blog, I just want to highlight what I have learned in regards to careers from some of the interviews that I have done and pass this knowledge on. Also, to encourage people to listen to the interviews as they are insightful and promising.

Paul Rogalski co-owner of the Rouge restaurant knew when he was getting out of high school that he wanted to be a chef which he simply states in his interview https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/a-chef-that-is-continually-re-inventing-himself.  He liked the idea and he just followed through with it.  He makes a strong argument that it is not lucrative and also it can be hard on your social and family life as well. This is because a chef is working when people socialize, this is a profession that is on a different schedule than everyone else.  In addition, it is hard work, but despite all this, he still likes what he does and to him, it does not feel like work because of this. Working with food is his passion, which is why he now can move his career to other interests, the outdoors with his T.V series. So, Paul is a good example of when you find your passion and you like what you do other opportunities will come to you. It is nice to deal with someone who has a passion for what they do and that is why they will attract other prospects. 

Scott Muchowski found his passion later in life as he talks about this during his episode. https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/a-life-change-finance-to-civil-engineering-and-loving-it After several years in finance in the oil and gas sector he became honest with himself and realized he did not like what he was doing. He took time off to think about life, in doing so he did some reflection and realized that when he was very young, he always like to build roads which led him to explore civil engineering as a career. So sometimes looking back to when we were younger and more innocent when we have not been influenced by our society as much can lead us to our passion as in Scott’s case.

Lou Rosenfeld worked in a ski shop shortly after getting out of high school. This was a revelation for him as the industry was going through some major transformations, which intrigued him. Also, he had a mentor (owner of the ski shop) that taught him about ski boots.  He knew at this point that this was his passion not to mention he loved to ski. However, Lou indicates that he wanted a more stable career as working in a ski shop was seasonal. This led him to complete an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering which provided an array of opportunities in various fields with some interesting work.  As time passed and as he meandered, he spent more time looking into what it would take to open a ski shop. As he explains in the interview https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/engineering-for-ski-performance faith and luck, led him to the right people which enabled him to open his ski shop “Lou’s Performance Center”. His engineering background also helped as well. We may know our passion but it takes time to develop the experience and the willingness to pursue it as in Lou’s example.

Amy Stanley spent her life taking care of animals - she loved animals. She wanted to be a veterinarian and everybody encouraged her as it seemed like a perfect career for her. Shortly after completing her undergraduate degree in animal sciences, she started to work with veterinarians and started to realize that she did not like the lifestyle of a vet and other areas of the profession did not seem as appealing as well as she explains this in her interview https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/blog-post-title-two-gtmae.  In doing so she explored the idea of teaching and with her science background, there were opportunities that she has followed through with.  Currently, she is an instructor at Lake Land College and she enjoys the work, lifestyle, students, colleagues, and more importantly the material that she teaches. This took courage though to take a lifelong dream and tell herself that this is not for me and to be able to follow a different path.

These are just some examples of how people have come across their passion and have been able to transform it into a job where they can make a living. It can be hard but it is worth the effort as a person will lead a more fruitful life. It is worth noting that most people find their way later in life as they have other experiences to develop an understanding of what they want out of life and their careers. Another key attribute that is worth pointing out is time.

Bruce Voigt said in his interview https://the-career-guy.simplecast.com/episodes/serving-the-public-radio-broadcasting-to-real-estate-and-still-growing it took five years before he become proficient at being a realtor.  That seems to be a common time frame - four to five years before a person understands something. So, if we have come across something that feels right and it feels good and we would like to pursue it we need to give ourselves time to see how it will fit. Above all, it is all about learning and growing, which is also a key ingredient that has been mentioned by all. Thanks for reading this blog and I hope it helps.