Nancy Anderson - Work with Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living

1984,1995, 2004 by Nancy Anderson

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Front cover design by Cathey Flickinger

Text design and typography by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Anderson, Nancy, 1936

Work with passion : how to do what you love for a living / Nancy Anderson. Rev. ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1-57731-444-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Job satisfaction. I. Title.

HF5549.5.J63A53 2004

650.1019dc22 2004008325

First printing, revised edition, July 2004

ISBN 1-57731-444-1

Printed in Canada on partially recycled, acid-free paper

Distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

W hen Work with Passion was published in 1984, reactions to it ran the gamut. Some critics said I was out of touch with reality. Others said the book was a practical and inspirational guide to career success. Many readers called or wrote to thank me for putting their deepest desires into words.

Today the concept of working with passion has entered the mainstream; witness the many books and magazine articles on the subject. There is even a popular Internet site that asks you to begin your job search by first selecting your passion! On television and radio talk shows, when the subject of careers comes up, the hosts invariably ask, What is your passion?

But how do you know what your passion is? How can you tell the difference between a personal interest or hobby and a true passion? Does your passion go out of style? What if you have several passions: Can you follow them all? Do you have to wait until you retire to do what you really want? Does the new global economy make it impossible to make enough money and still do the work you love? Shouldnt you just be glad you have a job?

In this edition of the book, Ive included many more answers to the above questions. Ive also added new client stories, as well as my own thoughts about the changes Ive seen since I began working as a career and life consultant in 1976, such as the tremendous increase in the number of entrepreneurs, the power and influence of women in the workplace, and the impact of the Internet.

In spite of these changes, the reasons that people cannot find, much less follow, their passion remain the same: lack of focus and overextension. In fact, the distractions of modern life and the availability of the Internet make it even harder for many people to concentrate on finding work they really love.

Setting aside time to think may be the last item on your agenda. If youre just sitting and thinking you may believe you are not doing anything. Surely there must be a quick and easy way to find out what you want to do with your life. The truth is, discovering who you are and what you value is neither quick nor easy. But there are steps that lead to mental and emotional clarity. However this edition of Work with Passion helps you to discover your passion and how to express it to serve others while earning a good living, I wish you a pleasurable journey to success.

The world will never be happy until all men [and women] have the souls of artists I mean when they take pleasure in their jobs.

Auguste Rodin

P eople often tell me that they wish they could find their passion, as if passion were somewhere out there hiding behind a tree. Passion is an intense feeling that moves through your body when you encounter yourself, others, and external events. You feel passion when you care deeply about someone or something, when you want to do your best, and when you want others to do their best. Passion is how you know you are alive.

If you are like most people, you shut down your feelings at an early age to protect yourself from real and perceived threats in your environment. This is particularly true if your parents or other early caretakers were verbally or physically abusive or if they did not acknowledge or express their feelings. Later you may have suppressed what you felt to ward off criticism or ridicule from your peers, bosses, or mates. Today you may not know how you feel. Or if you do know, you may not trust or know how to express those feelings. The problem is, if you suppress your feelings long enough they often take revenge on you in the form of illness, mood swings, or prolonged depression.

Awakening from emotional numbness begins with a decision. You finally get tired of living to please imaginary and real critics. You want to be true to yourself, to experience life, with all its trials, tribulations, and joys, rather than resigning yourself to a long wait for death. But just as it took time for you to put your feelings to sleep, it will also take time to bring them back to life.

Like the prince who hacked his way through the brambles surrounding Sleeping Beautys castle, you need to be determined if you want to find the passionate self you lost so long ago. You may want to work with a support group or a counselor to help you identify and express your feelings. You will certainly need to take more risks. You may need to leave an abusive relationship, go to school, find a new job or improve the job you have, start your own business or streamline the business youve already started, or get involved in a creative project that showcases your talent.

As you read the stories of my clients, you will see that the more in touch you are with how you feel, the more honest you can be, with yourself and others. As a result, you make better choices. You avoid people and situations that are not good for you. You eat a balanced diet, you get plenty of rest, and you laugh frequently. You pray or meditate, and exercise regularly. You like and respect the people in your life, and they like and respect you. You do the work you love, and you do it with your whole heart and soul. In time, you make all the money you need.