What the heck am I doing with my life?

So you wake up one day and say, “what the heck am I doing with my life?  Do I really want to be doing this for the rest of my life?”   Not only are you questioning what your doing with your life, you don’t even know how you ended up where you are.  That’s the funny thing about life…you get out of high school, you may go to college, or get a job and the next thing you know you have bills and responsibilities and your trying to make ends meet.  You get so busy with the day-to-day grind; you never take the time to plan where you are going, much less enjoy the journey.

Most people never take the time to really pursue what they really want to do with their life.  The never find their PASSION.  A few lucky people find their passion early in life; some discover it later; and some (sadly) will never find out.  It doesn’t have to be that way.  You can find your PASSION and follow your DREAM.

So now were back to where we started.  “What the hell am I doing?”  This is how I woke up one morning, a few weeks before my 40^th birthday. (It’s amazing how birthdays can have that affect on you).  By all measures of society I am living a great life.  And I am.  I don’t begrudge anything I have in life; on the contrary, I am very grateful.  I have a good paying job, a wife, four kids, a nice house, two cars, and three cats.  Most would say I have the all American dream.  Some of you may be asking right now “so what’s the problem?”  Well, the interesting thing about looking at your life in retrospect is that it’s easier to see where you’ve been instead of where you are going.  That’s how most of us live…looking back. 

The only thing I knew was that my job was not fulfilling me, it was actually draining me to the point of total burnout.  I couldn’t really put my finger on it, but I new I was missing something.  The thing I came to realize is that I have spent the majority of my working life following someone else’s plan.  I didn't have my own dream.  I allowed others needs, as well as my own insecurities and fears keep me from living my own life.  Then on October 5^th, I came across YouTube video that put my mind on the path to discovery.  You see October 5^th is the day Steve Jobs died, and the Internet was swimming in articles about his life.  I always thought of him as an amazing mind of our lifetime.  But it wasn’t really about him personally; it was what he said that gave me focus.  I came across his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University.  If you haven’t seen it, check it out below.  Two quotes that stood out to me was when he said “if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” and “... Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

So began my journey.  I know I’m not the only one that has woken up one morning uttering those words, and began questioning where I am in life.  And if you are reading this and are feeling the same way, or have felt the same way at one time or another, just know that you are not alone either.  I’ll be posting bits and pieces of my journey and hopefully it can help someone else along the way. 

Just remember, finding your passion is not a quick and easy task.  It takes time, patience, and a lot of self-reflection.  But it is worth it.

Stay tuned….

Suggested reading to begin your search:

The Element, by Ken Robinson
The Truth About You: Your Secret to Success, by Marcus Buckingham