Older generations went to work to put food on the table. They didn’t have the luxury of feeling passionate about a job.
Now, kids are told they should find a career they feel passionate about. Right now, this month, I’d bet that every commencement speech on every campus in the country will include some aspect of “following your dream.”
Passion. It’s practically a sacrament. Steve Jobs, that prickly genius, said this:
“…The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
If that’s possible, great! Everybody should follow their passion in finding a career, but sometimes that isn’t possible. For me, work was critical for my mental health. It got me out of the house and gave me independence. I loved working, and I learned from everything I did. Here’s a list of my jobs from young age to old:
- Babysitting
- Retail (mostly running a cash register, occasionally stocking shelves.)
- File clerk (I filed all day long, five days a week. They didn’t even give me a desk.)
- Payroll clerk (continuing the grunt work, but at least I had a desk)
- Various jobs within a public bureaucracy, mostly in accounting and human resources (augmented at times by selling cosmetics or tending bar at night)
- Eighteen years later, awarded my baccalaureate degree after attending school at night.
- High level management positions, including one after my first “retirement” in which I did consulting work for a law firm
- Retirement and a pension after thirty years in public service.
Now I’m free to follow my passion. As I sat with six of my writer friends yesterday, working on our chapters together, I felt such joy and gratitude. They’re helping me write a better story. Why? For the love of it.
Through our writing, we’re forming a community of people who are passionate about our work. We’re creating something that didn’t exist before, something that will inspire, enlighten, and entertain readers.
The fact that I had to wait until my late fifties to follow my passion? As the kids say, not a problem. Well worth the wait. BTW, here’s a fine article about life’s “third chapter” as experienced by top CEOs, later in life.
What about you? Did you have to delay your dreams? Are you able to pursue them now, and if so, what are they?
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Honestly I don’t remember ever having dreams as a child. I was in a very controlled and constantly disciplined environment, until I broke free at the age of nineteen. I went straight from high school at the age of 17 into a corporate job, but as long as I lived in the house with my parents I was still living under the strict rules. I broke free at the age of nineteen, and always had to work to pay the bills, so working in the corporate world was all I knew how to do.
Only when living in Ireland did I have free time to dream and was inspired to write. Three things inspired me. First was reading The Neverending Story, and its author Michael Ende. The second was a personal letter from James Michener, Author in response to a long letter I had sent him a couple months before! And then, one day I woke with a story in my head, so I sat down and wrote…all day. It was a very exciting day for me, with all kinds of inspiration running through my mind.
Could I pursue my dreams now? If only I didn’t have to find another job to supplement my senior citizen income I could certainly spend more mental time focusing on writing and volunteer work. But my biggest hurdle is discipline and focus.
Thankfully I am making small strides in that direction.
But, I swear I have ADD!! 🙂
Living the dream, Lynne. You worked hard to earn the right to fulfill your passion. I know that writing doesn’t pay the rent, but it feeds the soul. Hope one day we can sit down and writer together!
At least we have each other via Internet, Pat. Or I would never know about my Switzerland Sis!
My passions include travel…learning…teaching and sharing what I have learned along the way with others.
My “career path” has moved in a spiral pattern:
GUIDE @ Greenfield Village >
RA in a residence hall >
Assistant Hall Director >
middle school English teacher >
middle school GUIDE-ance counselor >
certified tour director (GUIDE) >
Group Leader for Road Scholar tour…”Signature City Detroit: Motors, Motown and Moving Forward” >
Co-Producer-Designer-Creator-Author-Presenter of BASEcamp(s)TREK4WOMEN in cooperation with 4Women4Good >
and the dreams continue to unfold…
Thanks again, Lynne, for giving us the opportunity to realize we HAVE a “third chapter”…and how we “write” that chapter is a “choice” for many of us.
Sue
God willing, Sue. My mom is going to be 90 next month and she’s still working on hers. Thanks for sharing your path and best wishes in the next chapter.
Looking forward to hearing about the “choices” your mom continues to make at 90 and beyond, Lynne!
(My mom died two months shy of her 62nd birthday. She didn’t have the “time” to enJOY her grandchildren…her passion for travel and learning…social security…)
I AM GRATEFUL for every day.
BTW…have you seen this trailer?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F1VbBOTXzfI
Sue, no I hadn’t! OMG, it looks so great. Thanks.
My passion in another two years is to not work. 🙂
It’s so wonderful, Craig! Here’s to a fast two years and then many more on the porch. Or hiking. Or whatever.
I didn’t realize writing was my dream until late in life. We’re lucky to have found our passion, aren’t we? I’m also lucky to have found two wonderful and supportive writing groups. The members write in a variety of genres (sexy police mysteries, historical romance, fantasy, memoir) and each person brings her own perspective and knowledge to her critiques. What a treasure trove of talent!
Sandy, and they tell us we’re supposed to be bummed out about getting older – HA! I spent most of today taking Mom to a doctor appointment and then lunch, and it was really nice, because I have many more “free” days to just putter around. When we were working, taking one of our days off to help was a lot more of a sacrifice.
We are living the dream, my writer-sister!
I began working at age 12. Walking the fields of the bigger farmers with hoe in hand to chop out any weeds or thistles that threatened their crops. Except for a few years where I had too many small kids at home and no family nearby to help out I have basically worked at one job or another since that time. I still do some work for our family business but has been cut back to only a fraction of what it used to be. I am glad to be able to have time now to follow my passion and I am so glad that you can, Lynne, for talent like yours needs to be put out there and shared. Hope all is well, dear friend.
You are truly a North Dakota girl, Judy, formed by hard work. Such character. (No, not such A character, but maybe that, too!) But I admire you.
Thanks for your kind words about my books, my friend.