The number one reason that people do not follow their heart when it comes to the work they would most love to do is money. There are mortgages and educations to pay for and practical wins out over ideal most of the time. What if that conventional wisdom was false? What if the pull of what you really wanted to do was so strong, that the force of your desire creates a vacuum that brings money into the fold as well?
What most people forget is that doing something new may very well mean a financial set back, but it does not have be permanent. You will grow and advance in the new thing. Money will grow.
I can think of two clients in particular who despite gaining sharp clarity about what was next for them professionally, did not move in their new directions because of money concerns. I’ll have you know that within a handful of years, each of them were in the profession they had yearned for and money was working out just fine. Their ‘sure thing’ had become less sure and suddenly, they had nothing to lose by following their ideal, heart-based professional path.
One of these folks was a man who despite having a fledgling headhunter business, chose not to move into teaching. Today, he is a happy, popular teacher with a Facebook Fan Page created by his students. The other was a woman who had a strong philanthropic bent but worked in banking. One meant little money and one meant plenty. She eventually found her way to the non-profit world and is happy and satisfied, making it work financially.
Sometimes, it takes having no other choice to really follow what you are meant to be doing, but life would be easier if we made the choice while it was still a CHOICE. The money does work itself out. A spouse might start doing better or you ‘luck’ into a break in your housing costs through refinance or an inheritance or perhaps you change locations and the money and lifestyle come together in a harmonious blend.
The hard truth is that there is no certainty. You may think you are choosing the ‘safe’ way by staying put, but for how long will it stay safe?
Stepping out into the abyss of the unknown in the name of what feels right even if you are also fearful, allows the floor to come up to meet you.
It can’t always be terra firma that you leap to.
Can you change the way you think about money to allow your new direction to come to be? Think about that. Write about that. See what new possibilities emerge.
LOOK for more on this topic in Laura’s upcoming book “The Prosperity Plan” (January 2011) or check out Chapter Eight of “Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction” (Tarcher-Penguin) Available on Amazon.
