Look to your right.
Now look to your left.
Look up above you.
Now look under your desk.
Look all around everywhere you can see.
That is where you’ll find opportunity.
-Peter James
I guess I am feeling a bit poetic this Friday. My company just finished another great commercial yesterday. For all of those relatively new to YinvsYang, I will fill you in. A little over 6 months ago (wow, time flies), my partner and I started this blog to mark a big change in our lives. We had just started a New Media production company Reimagine, and soon after began writing.
The concept for Yin vs Yang was simple. We were going to completely give up all the stuff in our lives that we did not want to do. We were going to fight all the fear, obstacles, limits, and setbacks that life could throw at us will the sole desire to build the dream life we desired. We were going to win the ongoing battle of Mind vs. Body in us all to do what we want, not what we can. That meant only doing the projects we love, and not working just to pay our bills. We were going to do all this and write about it, just to prove one thing:
Doing what you love to do will take you wherever it is you desire.
I’m sure this sounds admirable, as my ego would like you to believe, but in fact, it is quite a war of attrition. Building a dream life &/or business is a huge process requiring patience, persistence, and perseverance. Without these traits, you will probably give up over time. In fact, I learned one simple fact about any challenge:
Success isn’t a possibility. It must be your only option!
Do not take no for an answer. Do not give up, ever. When the going gets tough, you need to dig deep within yourself, find your resolve, and keep going. It can be rough facing tremendously tough challenges. You must understand that win or lose, it does not matter. It is only about the path you take, not the outcome that occurs.
Sure, I am not out of the financial mess that chasing money got me into in the first place, but I am definitely on my way. I am steadily building the life I want to live, as is my partner. Because of this, our work is growing stronger, our reputation is spreading, and we are much better people on a daily basis because of it {well, at least most of the time :)}.
I imagine a lot of you have thought about just doing what you love, only to have reality laugh at you. We are not any different, except we try to laugh right back. It has been quite challenging and at the same time, quite rewarding. I learn more and more about myself everyday, simply by sharing my inner most thoughts with the blogging universe. My partner and I continue to fight each and every day towards this goal of living the life we desire, and sharing our feelings with others on similar paths is a blessing in itself.
We just would like to take moment to say Thank you.
We have had to believe with all our souls in our own success, or we would never get off our feet. Sometimes, believing in yourself can be the toughest challenge of all. It is our reader’s wonderful comments, or emails, that have kept us inspired to keep going. What we have learned is actually quite amusing. I guess the best way to sum it up is like this:
Everyone wants to know how they can make a million dollars. Well why not just ask the only person who knows the answer:
Yourself!
It really is that simple, or at least we believe it is. Do what you love and the rest will follow. It WILL be difficult at first, but all great paths usually are. For us, so far, so good. Till next time, enjoy the weekend, and thanks as always for reading!
For all those interested, here is the local commercial we just finished….
Elite Martial Arts from Reimagine New Media on Vimeo.
6 Comments
As Steve Pavlina would say, if you want to make a million dollars, then just offer one million dollars worth of value.
BTW, your company website looks awesome
Thanks Glen. Glad you like the work.
Very inspirational post. Seamus and I from Rebel Zen have also started a social media company where we focus on what we love to do.
Great Blog
@Steve
Thanks for the compliments. I will have to check out Rebel Zen. It looks like a great site!
It’s been just one year since I left my corporate marketing job to begin a company focused on providing massage therapists continuing education teaching, not just new techniques, but elements of self-care and mindfulness. There have definitely been ups and downs on this path towards doing what we love– not what we have to. I find when I get down, there is always another voice inside that says…”you are making a difference, your potential is unlimited, nothing worth having ever comes easy, never take your foot off the gas and you can do it!”
I enjoyed your article above. It comes at a time when things are not quite going to plan and our next steps seem a little unclear. Thanks for becoming a voice that says “Do what you love and it will all work out.”
Debra
@Debra
Before I went on to do what I love, I took the first step towards freedom, which was stepping out on my own. I was working as a broker and decided to open up my own Mortgage branch. Needless to say, it wound up failing miserable. However, this gave me the courage, experience, and lessons needed to forge my new business now. Without the stuff I learned from my first venture, my latest business would not have gone as well as it has so far.
So whatever the trouble, just understand, this is all part of your journey toward your goal of financial freedom. Be proud you are trying to take control and live the life you dream. That is usually the hardest part.
Finally, the last, most important piece of advice is to listen to a wonderful quote I read by a determined entrepreneur destined for success…
”you are making a difference, your potential is unlimited, nothing worth having ever comes easy, never take your foot off the gas and you can do it!”