What Would You Do?

I hope this blog attracts some comments because a group discussion on this subject is far more interesting! If you could make your dream job clash with reality (i.e. able to pay bills), WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Up until this point in my career, everything has been relatively smooth. After college I was stuck in retail stores and coffee shops trying to figure out how to get out and eventually I did. The light went off one day, no one cared about my 4-year degree, it was no longer enough; I needed a specific skill, but what in the world would that skill be? I struggled with this question for months.

I started reading self-help books and finally found one that stuck, "A Cure for the Common Life" by Max Lucado, that sounded about right! He suggested that we look for careers that are a cross between dreams and reality. Ding ding ding! It makes perfect sense. At the time, my dream job was (and still is) to be a writer. If I could get paid to sit in front of a fireplace with a full pot of coffee in a cozy cabin and write about my thoughts, views, and experiences....I would have found my Utopia. BUT, that kind of thing doesn't exist; at least not immediately. My reality was a desire to work for non-profits, I wanted a meaningful career, one that made a difference. I was on the phone with my mom one night when she said, what about being a Grant Writer? Hmm, I'd heard of them, but had no idea what they really did. A quick Google later and there I was, the answer. Needless to say, I hit the ground running. I took an online course, volunteered at a local non-profit and was eventually offered a job. I said goodbye to making coffee and hello to my new found career. 

That was 3.5 years ago, before I discovered crochet. Life is all about evolving. You discover new things, learn new skills, have new experiences and your life evolves from these things. Your perspective changes, your goals change; you evolve. When I learned how to crochet in October 2012 I almost immediately knew I wanted to make a small business out of it. My full-time job was in the office, but my heart was with my crochet dreams. I started waking up earlier and staying up later to pursue this small business dream. I'm nearing two years in now and I'm every bit as motivated, if not more, than ever before. When I'm not sitting behind a desk, I'm perfecting this skill, learning new techniques, and trying to master the art of marketing. I had an epiphany early on that maybe this was my new specific skill and just maybe it could become a full-time job one day. I'd love to end this blog with, "it happened!" but I can't. I'm still working toward my goal, I'm learning something new every day and I'm perfectly okay with that. The day will come, but in due time. I've still got a lot of learning to do.

So when I hear people talk about pursuing their dream jobs I'm always curious what that is. I love that we're all so different; we all have different interests, different goals, different dreams. I've told you mine. Now what's yours? 

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