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Today’s post is brought to you by Monique at MoreLifeMoreEverything.com! I’m over here working on some content from my trip, but definitely wanted to get a few more encouraging words up here on the blog for you all to read in the meantime! She’s another super passionate person, like myself, so I’m sure you’ll like her post today. Enjoy!
“Pursue your passion over your paycheck,” said no one ever!
Not many would understand this nor would they know how to react. Unfortunately, most of us have been brainwashed this whole time because of our training grounds: popular social norms.
Think about your education or the lack thereof. For the majority of us, education received throughout school focused on gaining more knowledge to eventually earn a ‘better living’ at a place of employment. Setting financial gain as the main focus, the exchange given is your precious time away from your family and things you truly enjoy pursuing for a paycheck. “Get a ‘good’ education! After you graduate high school, go to college, and life will be great for you because you’ve completed your education,” they said.
Fast forward through your 16 years of ‘education,’ you find yourself at home with mom and dad working somewhere your degree has little to no value. The system is flawed, yet we line up like toy soldiers generation after generation after generation, repeating bad habits that steer us further away from everything we once valued including our spouse, our children, our hobbies, etc. Slowly but surely, our lives become monotonous routines that leave us excited for major events like birthdays and weekends, instead of every day above ground. How boring!
What happened to filling our minds with encouragement like “Dream big. Fly high” or “Skies the limit” or “Anything is possible!”
Unfortunately, such phrases and inspirations are clouded by the masses leading us along the way whispering sweet nothings in our ears: “find a good salary paying job with great benefits” or “use your degree for your dream job.”
These limited belief systems are always pulling us away from the truth! Our jobs or careers are necessary to a point, but they should not consume us. We miss out on our children’s games, recitals, and family events because we’re too busy chasing our paycheck to ensure these amazing people in our lives are cared for. We are programmed to think inside the box and follow mommy and daddy with jobs, who also followed their mommy and daddy with jobs and so on and so forth!
When will it stop?
This epidemic of mediocrity and ignorance is flooding our nation! If we don’t act now, we, too, will become victims, as well as our children and their children and our legacy beyond. Our entire lives, teachings were structured to benefit business owners and investors. Only about 2 out of 10 individuals were brave enough to push back against the norms as they created businesses that usually employed the remaining 8 out of those 10 individuals.
Nothing was special about these two, they just believed they could do something much greater, and they did! Good success will manifest, but we have to believe in ourselves before we make any strides forward.
When you think outside the box, chances are, you’re all alone — and that’s okay! Don’t sacrifice your big dreams to fit in because, at the end of the day, popularity contests will pay absolutely none of your bills!
Go against the grain and birth out your own path. Be your own boss and expand your vision for yourself and your family. Renew your mind daily and focus on your passions to drive your vision forward. Use your job as a resource and stop viewing it as your only source!
No matter how much weight a paycheck carries, understand its exchange rate is the most valuable time that cannot and will not ever be returned to you. Trading in time for money will never help you grow to your best potential because you’re losing life in that process! Living should not succumb to a daily routine Monday through Friday with ‘free time’ for two days at the end. That’s not living! Sure, it’s normal because everyone else is going along with you, but there are other options available to help you regain control of your own life and actually live. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to connect with amazing people who continue to show me this to be true and now, I, too, can pursue my passions instead of a paycheck!
Frankly, my passions include hanging out with my daughter, spending time with my family, serving in the ministry God placed me and traveling the world! With a paycheck, these things are very limited, so I choose to keep my eyes and mind open for something more! I don’t want to live life ‘just getting by.’ I truly believe God has given us the abundant life, but we have to want it and back up our faith with actions as we pursue it.
Now, these are my passions, so don’t get offended and exit stage left all of a sudden. Instead, find your own passions and keep those as your targets!
Don’t get caught in the rat race like everyone else. Dare to be different and map out your passions and values. Find a vehicle that will help you achieve all that you have planned and be relentless in your pursuit. While I’ve discovered one way of pursuing true happiness, I know there are a ton more out there, but I’m going to stick to what I know. I’ve seen the good fruit from the trees of those connections and I’m fired up to join them. I get more excited about life every day because I know that depending on a paycheck is not the only way to live. My exposure has helped me grow and increase my thinking.
Paychecks are replenished finances that enable bills to be paid and help with living necessities such as food, gas, clothes, etc. When we focus our energy on the paycheck (also known as at least 80 hours of our lives), we fall away from our true purpose as spouses, parents, and people in general!
PS. This number does not accumulate for your traveling time — yikes! That’s a lot of time taken away from the most valuable people or things in your life.
I’m not encouraging you to quit your job today or tomorrow! Don’t be foolish. I’m sharing this because I’ve encountered an amazing opportunity to invest time for a couple of years to obtain the freedom we think only celebrities can enjoy. Nothing good comes easy and there is no shortcut to real hard work, but at least now, I know it’s possible!
It’s not for everyone, but it is for the hungry ones who are tired of lacking. Don’t ever be intimidated by change – change is good! When we change our mindset, we change our life!
Find your passion and chase it over your paycheck. Your paycheck won’t keep you warm at night, so reconsider the continuous exchange of your best years for finances, and think outside of the box! There are different ways to arrive at your destination, but you have to step outside of your comfort zone and believe the unbelievable!
Connect with Monique via:
- Blog – http://morelifemoreeverything.com/
- Instagram – @monique.lausei
- Twitter – @mfuiava
- Facebook – facebook.com/Monique.fuiava
