How to find your passion

I talk a lot about doing what you're passionate about, but you might have some concerns about how to find what it is you're passionate about. Maybe these tips will help you.

1. Is there something you already love doing?

A lot of people are already doing what they're passionate about, but they don't realise that it's something they could possibly turn into a money-making venture. I work in IT with computers and software, for example. I got into this field because I love playing with computers and software, so working with them is, as far as I'm concerned, working my hobby. I love what I do, and I do what I love.

If you can list all the things that you love doing, that you're passionate about, then you've just completed the first step in finding out how to make money from something you love doing. If you love reading comic books, for example, then maybe you could think about opening a comic book store. The possibilities are endless - but you have to start by looking at what you already love doing.

2. What do you spend hours reading about?

Whatever it is that you enjoy reading is something that you could possibly turn into careers. It's said that if you read a topic for half an hour a day, within a year you're an expert on that topic. Look at how you can turn your expert knowledge into something that can make you money.

3. Brainstorm.

If you're stuck working out what you're passionate about, then start writing down all the things that you do or have done in the past. Anything that comes to mind, write it down. And then, when you've finished that, write out another list of all the things that you would love to do but never had a chance to do. Look around you for inspirations in what you read, what you do as a hobby or your current career, or even what you enjoy on tv. Write everything down, and evaluate them later.

Once you've written down everything you can think of, go through the list and do the same as in #1. Start exploring how you can turn some of these things you enjoy into passions that you can make money from.

4. Ask around. Get some feedback from other people about what they think you'd enjoy doing. You can get some good ideas from how others perceive you and what they think your passions are.

5. Google is your friend.

Search Google for websites or topics related to your interests, your hobbies, even any of your money-making ideas. Once you start searching, you'll be amazed at the amount of information out there that can help you learn more about ways of turning your passion into your career.

6. Don't quit your job yet.

If you find your passion and you get excited about the possibilities and the opportunities, don't hand in your resignation straight away! It's always a good idea to stay in your job while you research the possibilities available to you. If you can do your passion as a side job and build up the income from it for a few months or a year, then that's what you should do.

7. Give it a try first.

A good plan is to try it for a while until your passion is consistently, month after month, earning you the same amount as your job. When that happens, you can choose to give up your day job and focus on your passion.

You might find that you'll be passionate about it for a few days or a few weeks, but then after a while, you'll find something else to do. This will show you whether or not it's a passion or just an exciting idea. So you can disregard it and continue looking. That's why you shouldn't quit your day job!

8. Do as much research as possible.

You'll need to know as much about your passion as you possibly can. If you've been doing it for a while, you might already know all that you need to. But still, do more research. Work out how you can turn it into a career, and discover everything you need to know to make that happen. Learn about others who already do it. How much do they make? What do they do to succeed at it? How did they get started? What skills have they needed to develop? What tips do they have for you? You'll often find people quite happy to give you information and advice about what they do and how you can do it too.

9. Practice, and practice, and then practice some more.

Don't go into it with an amateur skill level. You want to make sure you're one of the best - if not the best - at what it is you've chosen to do. If you want to maximise the amount of money you want from it, then the more you know and the more experience you have, the better. Practice for hours and hours. Do it every day, as much as you possibly can. If it's something you love, you shouldn't have a problem with this.

10. Never quit.

If you can't find what you're passionate about, just keep trying. You're passionate about something, or you have been - even if you have to remember back to what you used to do at school. Keep searching for your passion, and never give up, even for months if necessary.

If you think you found a passion but it turned out to be a dud, that's fine. Cross it off the list and move on to the next one! Keep trying to turn your passions into careers. The more you love what you do, the more you'll succeed at it, and the more you'll earn from it.

There's going to be more than one passion in your life and throughout your lifetime. Don't give up trying to find it and make something from it. You're possibly going to have to work hard to find your passion, but once you do, the 'hard work' will be over. The rest of it will be a breeze!

Do what you love, and you'll never be 'working' again.

Thanks to Lifehack.org.