Do what you love.
Easier to say than do! Finding something you're passionate about and then making the effort to do it takes guts, determination and hard work.
If you've ever wondered what you might love to do and how to go about doing it, check out this great article by Paul Graham, How to do what you love (web article). Here's an excerpt:
"To do something well you have to like it. That idea is not exactly novel. We've got it down to four words: ‘Do what you love.’ But it's not enough just to tell people that. Doing what you love is complicated."
For some, the commitment to follow their passion comes with its own problems. Perhaps what you love doing morphs into work—a job—and the everyday stuff that a job entails, such as business dealings, deadlines, money commitments and the pressure to keep a certain standard. Losing that spark that fires you to keep making work is a real possibility.
And then there's success. Yes, this can be an issue! Writer Elizabeth Gilbert talks humorously about how the success of her Eat, Pray, Love became a challenge to doing further work, and led her on a journey to find her muse. Check out her TED talk on “creative genius” here.
The flip side of success is failure. For J. K. Rowling, failure became the motivator to follow her love of writing and to create Harry Potter. In her wonderful commencement speech to Harvard graduates (and yes, there is a whiff of irony here, discussing failure to graduates from one of the most elite universities in the US!), she speaks of personal failures, life experience and how hitting a low point all became fuel to pursue her passion.
Do what you love.
It might not be straightforward or easy, but you'll never know where the ride will take you until you try.