Thinking Outside the Box You Built Yourself

Steve Keys on Flickr

“There are people who put their dreams in a little box and say, “Yes, I’ve got dreams, of course I’ve got dreams.” Then they put the box away and bring it out once in awhile to look in it, and yep, they’re still there.” -Emma Bombeck

Since I was a little kid, I was taught that I could not support myself doing something fun that I loved. I would have to find a job that tediously ‘contributed’ to society in order to make enough money so I’d have the resources to spend my free time engaged in enjoyable ‘hobbies’. Life would always be a trade off between doing what you had to, based on what someone else deemed was a valuable use of your time, and doing what you wanted.

Recently, I’ve begun to question the assumption that doing something you enjoy is a poor way to make money. Of course, if you’re really lucky, you’ll end up in a job you love, so money-making will be bearable, but the emphasis was on fitting yourself into a job, rather than the other way around.

Even now, looking for work and trying to make my way in the world, I keep running up against this invisible barrier in my head that says I cannot do what I love to make money. It just isn’t done that way. I didn’t even realize it until this afternoon, when I was trying to figure out what to do with my future (an activity I engage in way more than I should; called daydreaming). I was thinking to myself, “Ok, so these are the things I want to do in the next two years. I will get a job to pay for those things, and work hard until I can do those things.” Then I caught myself and thought, “Why don’t I just find a way to make money doing those things?”

Well-Trained Self-Limitation

I think that one of the biggest problems we have in finding happiness is the mistaken belief that we can’t do what we want and support ourselves. This is an insidious belief that should be ruthlessly weeded out, then mercilessly strangled, stomped on, crushed, and burned. Never let yourself believe that you cannot live doing just what you want to do, that your dream life is not possible!

Check yourself right now and see if you believe that. Maybe you think you need to make money so you can pursue the life you want, instead of entertaining the idea that the life you want doesn’t require much money. Maybe you think the things you love doing simply cannot be made to produce an income that will support you.

Ask yourself if you do things just because you think that’s how they must be done: You must have a normal, well-paying job; Any business you start should provide some useful service, like consulting or giving people things they don’t really need; The idea of making a comfortable living travelling the world and pursuing your passions is blasphemy to the American dream (which is study hard, get good grades, get a safe secure job with benefits, and work until you die crippled with patriotic debt).

Just Play with This Idea

Here’s an idea. You can make a living doing whatever you want. I’m not talking about doing whatever job you want, I mean you can make a living reading fantasy novels if that’s your thing. You can create your own job, your own market, your own idea of useful services. I can make a living as an athlete. I can get paid to write. I can do nothing more with my time than train, write, play guitar, and cook food, and I will be happy, well-fed, insured, and taken care of.

I may not have the biggest house in the world, or the fastest car, but I don’t really want those things. I want to be true to myself. And I can live happily doing that, without following the unspoken rules of stay in your box, don’t color outside the lines, and don’t try to make money/a living doing something you love and dream of.

Don’t try to find a job you love. Make a job you love. Find a way to take whatever it is you do, whoever it is you are, and live off of it. Inspire people, and they will help you out. That’s my plan.

Do you accept the distinction between a hobby and a career? Right now, go look up someone who is making a living doing what you love doing, and see how you can learn from them.

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