The Perpetual Dreamer

I have both heard and read on so many occasions that in order to be truly happy in your career, you must have a passion for it. It being your job, your day to day activities, the product you are selling, etc.



So, what if you have a lot of passions? So many that it is hard to settle on just one. And how do you distinguish between a passion and a hobby? Because maybe that passion can not be turned into an actual career. Maybe if you turned it into a career, it would not longer become a passion. I guess I am questioning the true meaning of a "passion." For me, I think of it as something that I enjoy doing, something that I often day dream about.



So taking a back step for a minute. I think that you can seperate "passion" into two different components. If you want to follow your passion and turn it into a career, you can either 1) Find a company/organization that has a job that would allow you to be one with your passion, or 2) start your own business that will keep you alligned with your passion.



My passion...

the next question is can "my" passion realistically be turned into an actual job, (one that pays real money)? Will it continue to be my passion when I am doing it every day? Is my passion more of a dream or a hobby than a realistic occupation?



More than one passion, finding it tough to single one out? Already went through a deep analysis on whether or not this all makes sense?



I have started reading "What color is your parachute?" by Richard Bolles. He also mentions that when going through the what is my next career move...think about what your true passions are...when you are doing something that you truly enjoy, you will be successful. Hmm..that sounds easy!!



COMMENTS? ADVICE?

The Perfect Online Business

I always like to keep my options open.
Had a bit of extra time and decided to doing a little investigating into some unique online business ideas. Who wouldn't want to sit in their living room, comfy slippers on and make money...

I found this list of ideas that hopefully will inspire you!

How to get rich the smart way? Read what some creative people did:
1. Million Dollar Homepage
1000000 pixels, charge a dollar per pixel – that’s perhaps the dumbest idea for online business anyone could have possible come up with. Still, Alex Tew, a 21-year-old who came up with the idea, is now a millionaire.
2. SantaMail
Ok, how’s that for a brilliant idea. Get a postal address at North Pole, Alaska, pretend you are Santa Claus and charge parents 10 bucks for every letter you send to their kids? Well, Byron Reese sent over 200000 letters since the start of the business in 2001, which makes him a couple million dollars richer. Full Story
3. Doggles
Create goggles for dogs and sell them online? Boy, this IS the dumbest idea for a business. How in the world did they manage to become millionaires and have shops all over the world with that one? Beyond me.
4. LaserMonks
LaserMonks.com is a for-profit subsidiary of the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank, an eight-monk monastery in the hills of Monroe County, 90 miles northwest of Madison. Yeah, real monks refilling your cartridges. Hallelujah! Their 2005 sales were $2.5 million! Praise the Lord. Full Story
5. AntennaBalls
You can’t sell antenna ball online. There is no way. And surely it wouldn’t make you rich. But this is exactly what Jason Wall did, and now he is now a millionaire. Full Story
6. FitDeck
Create a deck of cards featuring exercise routines, and sell it online for $18.95. Sounds like a disaster idea to me. But former Navy SEAL and fitness instructor Phil Black reported last year sales of $4.7 million. Surely beats what military pays.
7. PositivesDating.Com
How would you like to go on a date with an HIV positive person? Paul Graves and Brandon Koechlin thought that someone would, so they created a dating site for HIV positive folks last year. Projected 2006 sales are $110,000, and the two hope to have 50,000 members by their two-year mark.
8. Designer Diaper Bags
Christie Rein was tired of carrying diapers around in a freezer bag. The 34-year-old mother of three found herself constantly stuffing diapers for her infant son into freezer bags to keep them from getting scrunched up in her purse. Rein wanted something that was compact, sleek and stylish, so in November 2004, she sat down with her husband, Marcus, who helped her design a custom diaper bag that's big enough to hold a travel pack of wipes and two to four diapers. With more than $180,000 in sales for 2005, Christie's company, Diapees & Wipees, has bags in 22 different styles, available online and in 120 boutiques across the globe for $14.99.
9. PickyDomains
Hire another person to think of a cool domain name for you? No way people would pay for this. Actually, naming domain names for others turned out a thriving business, especially, when you make the entire process risk free. PickyDomains currently has a waiting list of people who want to PAY the service to come up with a snappy memorable domain name. PickyDomains is expected to hit six figures this year. Full Story
10. Lucky Wishbone Co.
Fake wishbones. Now, this stupid idea is just destined to flop. Who in the world needs FAKE PLASTIC wishbones? A lot of people, it turns out. Now producing 30,000 wishbones daily (they retail for 3 bucks a pop) Ken Ahroni, the company founder, expects 2006 sales to reach $1 million

May all your business dreams come true!

Slippers and a Comfrotable Couch

I sit here on my couch, computer on my lap, IPod music in the background, sun coming in, cup of tea...is this the NEW workspace?
Now that I am not in a salary paying job, I find that I have less time available! I can't even remember how I was able to do a full time job and get all of this "other" stuff done!

I really know why this is happening to me. I do not like to sit still. I need work, excitement, challenges around me. SO I just go out there and find it. My philosphy has always been that you just never know. You just never know who you are going to run into while you are involved in different activities.
What I mean by this is that I run into people all the time who say they are unhappy with their jobs. Wish they could do what they love to do, (though many of them are not exactly sure what that really is). Just wish they could be doing something else.

SO, if you are like me and in a "nonpaying" current job situation, this is the time to discover what is out there! It is best to put yourself in situations that are maybe not as familiar. If you have always had a passion for drawing start hanging out with artists, frequent gallaries, sign up for classes. This can be an informal way to network.

For me, I would like to find a career in Marketing and Development, so I have associated myself with different community nonprofit programs, small businesses and those already in a marketing job. As long as I keep these relationships, I am sure that I will find a job that is right for me.

Please share any advice or comments that you have.
Thank you!

Tips on Staying Active in your Job Search

I keep on reminding myself that I am not alone. There are lots of other people like me now "working" from home.
I find myself furiously searching on the internet for ideas, information, etc. There is sooo much out there!

My philosophy is even though I do currently have a paying job, I am still working...even though it may be in my slippers...in my living room...with my hair in a just "out of bed" look. I still wake up and get out of bed when my husband does. I "work" typically until he comes home. When I am networking, those are considered my meetings.
This is my way of keeping busy and allowing myself to stay in the WORK mode. If not, I could end up on the couch with a bag of chips or something!! (Though most people who know me well know that I have trouble sitting still for like 5 mintues)!!

I find that going through some of the job search sites can be quite helpful. They give you an opportunity to see what is out there and the ability to stay on top of the job market.
Here is a list of my favorite:
www.indeed.com
www.highedjobs.com
www.simplyhired.com
www.juju.com

These sites aside from higher jobs seem to pull from other sites, (careerbuilder.com, yahoo.com, etc...)

Next I network like a madwoman. I try to meet with at least one new person a week. Most of the time I try to focus in on people that are in the industry that I am trying to get into, but sometimes I venture out. Hey, you never know who knows who!!

I realize that not everyone is comfortable finding someone on the internet, calling them and asking to meet. So here are some tips:

1. Remember to do a little research on the person that you are meeting and the job that they have.
2. When you call, make sure to clearly state why you would like to sit down with them. Maybe you have something to offer them as well. Remember this:
would you want to sit down with someone who only talked about themselves?
Listen to what they have to say, see if they offer any advice, thank them for their time and then follow up with either an email or a handwritten card.
3. If they say they are quite busy right now, ask if they have time for just a quick coffee/tea, or offer to meet them close to their office or work location, or just let them know that you realize that they are busy and would be happy to meet with them some time in the future. Keep in touch with them and hopefully soon their schedule will open up.
4. If they offer you any referrals, people you should get in contact with,etc. make sure to follow through right away. We don't want them thinking that you one, are not greatful for their help and two, you have a genuine interest in moving foward with whatever your idea, career, plan is.

I hope this helps!!

Keep the Schedule!!

So as I have slowed down my real estate business, I have made sure to keep my schedule busy. I still get up early in the morning, never turn the tv on, and well now I get to put my ipod on full blast!

Focus, focus, focus. It is key. My new job is to keep my mind focused on my next career move. And if you read my early blog entry, you know that my mind is constantly swirling with ideas.

I try my best to one, network with as many people as I can, never know who they know...two keep myself attuned with any potential leads on the web boards, (ie, indeed.com, monster.com, etc) and three allow myself the time to spend time thinking about how I can find a career that stays within my criteria, (passion, purpose, and of course money).

Frustration # 1:
I recognize that I may have more time than others as the present moment, but 3 weeks before we can get an appointment to network??

Frustration #2: Do people really ever get jobs from these web boards? How come I don't know anyone. Corporate America taught me that you have to know someone who knows someone to get a job!!

Frustration #3: The economy...OBAMA do your thing!!

Passive Income

So to clarify...I do not have the typical 9-5 job, (does anyone really?).
I own some investment properties, I manage some investment properties, and I do some real estate. I have been through enough career changes to know that I have to have some "passive" income.

I found a pretty good blog that offers some ways of learning more about passive income:
http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2008/02/18/free-passive-income-resources/

I enjoyed Five Ways to Create Passive Income With Little or No Money

I am open to suggestions. If you type in"ways to make passive income" into any search engine, you are most likely to come up with tons of opportunities.

Please share. We all want to learn ways to earn money!!

Passion vs. Purpose vs. Money

I know that I am not alone. There must be others out there like me who are career jumpers. Passions swirling, Mind is buzzing, the perfect job must be out there somewhere right?

Right now I am in the middle of a "job transition." It's my two year itch. I have always been a worker, thrive on chaos, live for continual challenges. Bottom line definition: I get bored easily if not constantly stimulated. And I am not afraid to admit it. To me it is better than settling, better than comfortable with the current situation at hand. I enjoy opportunities. I enjoy challenges. I enjoy change.

Realization:
Lets call it an unstable, slightly volatile, walk on egg shells economy. Not such a great time to be (soul) job searching/career changing.

But wait, last night on the news, I know you saw it too...the advice was to focus on improving the skills that you have, or work on skills that you think you need. This is the time...this is the time to work on YOU. I knew I was always 6 months ahead of the curve. :)

SO as I sit on my comfy couch, slippers on and my shedding pottery barn blanket on my lap, I ponder...

PASSION vs. PURPOSE vs. MONEY

(Thanks to my dear friend Pete for our talk about passion vs. purpose...just thought for me I needed to throw in the money piece)

What does this mean?
I want to do what I love, I want to do something that gives me a purpose, and of course I want to make money doing it!!

Please tell me that I am not alone....Thoughts? Comments?