They say to write what you know.

Well, I know about energy, passion, and brainstorming.

I also am one of the few people that recognized what they loved to do at an early age, with my first published literary masterpiece* printed in the 4^th grade.

*By masterpiece, I mean a compilation of my schoolwork that my teacher loved so much that she found a printer to sponsor a beautiful rendition of my compiled essays.

However, there is a double-edged sword in having a profession where you love what you do every single day.

Entrepreneurial spirits tend to have a handful of other inventions or blooming companies you “moonlight” (stay up late working on your own projects) every single night. When you ask this type of person, “So, what’s new?” the answer is almost always a laundry list of projects and sites and books and blog and classes and new organizations and…are you still reading? I would have dozed off by now with my eyes open. You are probably one of these go-getters yourself. Good for you.

In a regular workday, I stare at the computer screen for hours on end, swapping syllables and cutting/pasting sentences so much it looks like a fridge magnet game. Then finally, everything just fits perfectly, and the perfect article or story gleams back at me. I barely have time to pat myself on the back when my momentary satisfaction is stolen by another sales letter or advertisement tapping my shoulder, waiting impatiently for me to write in time for deadline.

I know many creative designers and social media activists feel the same way. While I can’t fathom the notion, I imagine that is also how it works for other people passionate about other occupations (like number-lovers adding up budgets).

The problem with these kinds of people in an office or work environment where they actually love what they do? The moonlighting fades.

Since the passion is lit all day in the office while you are hammering away at your favorite tasks for your company, you can be burnt out by the time you get home. Ready for activities or creative outlets or god forbid, to relax.

Instead of spending time cultivating you big-money, game-changing idea, time goes by and you get comfortable working for “the man.” For some people, security and benefits are more important. For others, getting in this rut is dangerous and will ultimately make them unhappy if they don’t at least ATTEMPT to move forward with their lifelong goals.

• Take time out for yourself and soul search.
• Stay involved with activities outside of work that make you happy – whether it’s sports, or a more obvious form of networking. You never know who can help you take your dreams to a reality.
• Don’t make the office your new home, if you don’t plan on being there forever. Offer to take on a wider variety of projects. Take advantage of lunch breaks and office hours/holidays. Leave work at home when you can. Make one night a week a day for your projects only, and hole up to cross items of your to-do list.
• Timing is key. Bad economy is a bad time to start some businesses, while others are finding a niche market and finding it the perfect launch time. Perfect your business plan to incorporate timelines and profit margin comparisons.
• Dive in, don’t just dip your toes. If it’s worth doing, and you feel that strongly, starting out will always give you anxiety and make you nervous. Whenever you decide to move forward, as scary as it may be, don’t. look. back.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 18th, 2009 at 9:46 am and is filed under Inspiration, Uncategorized, Writing, the "Creative corporate ladder". You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.