Ho to Find Your Niche and Profit from Your Passion
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Living as a millennial isn’t easy. Trying to discover your life purpose is even harder. I would know because I’m a millennial. People born in Generation X were raised before cell phones and social media became mainstays in everyday life. While Generation Z doesn’t even know what life was like before you could Google everything, or contact anyone around the world through Facebook Messenger. Gen X was raised by their parents to value a 9-5 work-life and full-time benefits from employers.
“It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.” ―Winston S. Churchill
While Gen Z believes they can launch their dreams at any moment with the right YouTube video or Instagram feed. Millennials were fortunate enough to be born right in the middle. Old enough to remember the slow as a snail dial-up internet connection that would cause your parents to miss their phone calls. Yet young enough to use earlier versions of today’s social media, such as Myspace in grade school. All transitional times force people to make a choice. Stay with the familiar or go with the new. Do we work for security like the Baby Boomers and Gen X, or do you live to chase your passion like so many Gen Z choose to do?
Pandemic Problems
The Great Depression paved the way for social programs in America. WW2 gave rise to the idea of women in the workplace. Crises have a tendency to shift not just the way people tackle everyday issues, but also the things they prioritize and consider ideal. Nothing demonstrates this more than Covid-19. Working from home isn’t just a few people’s dreams anymore, rather it has become a requirement for the safety of all. Offices closed, schools went remote, and you could only order take-out from your favorite restaurants.
Our entire way of life was upended, but in that turmoil came the potential for you to discover your life purpose.
The rat race was brought to a grinding halt for the first time in such a drastic manner.
People were forced to stay at home and spend time with their families, roommates, and by themselves for an unrelenting amount of time.
Zoom meetings weren’t just a novelty anymore. They became the norm. Everyone downloaded DoorDash and UberEats just to enjoy the foods they use to get from indoor dining. Online content became our only means of staying sane. Netflix subscriptions shot through the roof as binge-watching tv and movies kept our minds at ease.
Life is shifting once again, and people are adapting along with it.
“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.” – Bishop T.D. Jakes.
Change Is Difficult
Some people hated the lockdown, others didn’t mind it. Why is that the case? I believe the people dealing with the pandemic the hardest (outside of those who have been sick or lost a loved one as a result of Covid) are the people who dislike changing the most. They are the ones stuck in their routines.
The pandemic revealed something that ordinary life and a 9-5 job might have distracted many of us from. Such as how important the people in our lives are. How there are no guarantees in life, regardless of how much savings you have, or if your job came with a great benefits package. Not to mention that sometimes people do certain things one way, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done another way (long commutes to the office and being forced into a cubicle I’m looking at you).
One of life’s greatest lessons is that in order to survive you must be willing to adapt. Deciding to follow your passion is a great way to deal with the amount of time and isolation the pandemic has created in our lives.
Say Goodbye to the 9-5
Thanks to the pandemic I have said goodbye to the 9-5. I have said goodbye to commutes every day to work. I have said goodbye to pretending that security is the only way to build a foundation to launch your dreams. I decided that it was time to make my dreams become the foundation of my life.
Dreams can be scary. I get that. What do you do if you fail? What happens when that commission or royalty check never comes? What happens if you realize that maybe you aren’t that great at something you like to do? I’m here to remind you that life doesn’t have any guarantees. Winter is coming and right now offices are shutting down again, schools are going remote again, and indoor dining is too dangerous again. Millions of Americans are on unemployment waiting for the government to send them a stimulus check or two.
All of them hoping that Congress increases the amount for unemployment checks because nobody planned for an entire year of life to go on pause. So why are you putting your dreams on pause?
Do you want to know who isn’t struggling right now? The 1% aren’t struggling. Successful musicians still get paid, whether you are listening at a concert or on Spotify. Artists and writers don’t need to step one foot outside their homes to make money. Even social media influencers, photographers, and bloggers are taking advantage of people’s need for online content to make a living right now. So why aren’t you?
Life Is What You Make It
It’s in the midst of these perilous times that we figure out who we really are. You can choose to sink or choose to swim. If you are out of work, then now is the time to follow your passion. If you are fortunate enough to still be working during these times as an essential worker, then we are all grateful for all you do to keep our society functional, but this pandemic has also created the opportunity for everyone including you to live out their dreams. Vacations are on hold, cruises are anchored at shore, concerts are stuck on your screens, and the bars are closed.
Figure out what new hobbies you can take up. If you have always wondered how you can turn that hobby into your dream career, then find a way to do so now.
The future isn’t guaranteed. If you won’t create a path for yourself, then who will? You have been given all this free time and if you can’t figure out what to do with it, then you need to change your perspective. Don’t sit there waiting for life to return to normal, whether you’re a Boomer, Gen X, Y, or Z. Don’t hope that your job will be waiting for you once it is safe again. These are extraordinary times, and extraordinary times make extraordinary people.
Think big, dream big, and make your deepest aspirations your reality!
Discover your life purpose now!