What are you passionate about in life?
I would love to know what you are truly passionate about. Have you settled for something that pays the bills or gave you the biggest salary or the most toys?
Has that satisfied you? Do you ever stop and think about what your life would look like if you pursued your passion?
Why not now?
Why not take a few minutes, hours or even days and think about your passion and how you can pursue it today?
Have you given up?
Do you think it’s too late to change course?
Why?
Will you allow me to share my passion with you?
It won’t take long.
My Passions
- Living in the Mountains
- Flying
- Financial Independence
- Owning a Ranch
Have I pursued any of these? Yes
Am I pursuing any of these now? Yes
Am I living out my passion today? No, well maybe a little.
Does this jog your memory about your passions?
What am I Doing Today About My Passions?
I am a 57-year old civil engineer and I make a really nice salary, but the money alone will not get me to what I am passionate about. I have to make some incredible life changes in order for me to follow my passions, dreams, vision and goals. So, how am I going to make these changes and am I to old? To answer the age question first…no, I am never too old to make a change!
Now, to answer the big question…
How am I going to make these life changes?
I have already started making some life changes. I spent the last 25 years keeping a stable home in Oklahoma with a desire to allow my two kids to stay in one home and one school system, instead of moving more then 30 times when I was a child. My kids are now in college and making decisions of their own and I keep stressing to them to follow your passion. As long as you can make some money and pay your bills, forget the big income careers and follow what you are truly passionate about.
- Living in the Mountains – I started looking far a new position with a company some place between Colorado and the Northwest, in the area around Oregon and Washington, and anyplace in between. Everyone kept asking me why I started looking 8 months before I wanted to make the move. My answer, I needed to give myself every opportunity to make my dream come true. There were many obstacles and distractions along the way, but today, I live between Denver and Colorado Springs, in what is known as the Front Range. My mountain life dream is not complete yet as I want to live farther away from the city but I have taken the first step to make living in the mountains a reality.
- Flying – I started flying as a private pilot in 1988, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I have been passionate about being a pilot since I was a young child and I finally found the opportunity to make it happen. I now have my private pilots license, over 200 hours of flight time and I have nearly finished my instrument rating…and then we had children. Having children is incredible and has been a wonderful time in our lives but it takes, time, money and sacrifice. I can’t tell you all the things that my wife and I have sacrificed but one of them was flying. Flying takes, time, money and continual study. Today, things are settling down, with my kids in college and doing their own thing, so I have begun talking to flight schools again about getting back into the air, finishing my fixed wing instrument training and potentially even pursuing my rotary pilots license.
- Financial Independence – I have always wanted to be financially independent. I would love to work and live in the mountains and be free of the 8 to 5 jobs, and the rush hour traffic. I’m still working on the financial independence and will elaborate more on that later.
- Owning a Ranch – This one is a big dream and will need to be pursued in stages. First, I have made it to Colorado, where I would like for my ranch to be. Second, I plan on buying a log home or a mountain style home with at least 5 acres followed by a ranch in the future. Land is not cheap here in the Front Range of Colorado, so I need to find ways to make more money then a civil engineer can make to pursue flying, owning a plane and owning a ranch.
How am I Going to Make More Money?
Sometimes, things we want in life and the life changes we want, require us to have additional income. So, how am I going to make more money?
I have found that a fifth passion of mine is building my own websites, specifically about hiking in the mountains of Colorado.
I have crated at least 10 websites in the last 2 years but am only actively working on 3 of them today. They are:
HikingEmergencyBeacon
MikenRickOutdoors
FreedfromWork
I am listing them here for you to see some examples of how you can create financial independence by building an on-line business. These websites are in different stages of development but the one thing I’m doing is creating content and not worrying about them being perfect before I publish the sites.
My focus these days in on the HikingEmergencyBeacon and MikenRickOutdoors. These sites are getting more attention then any other site I have built, plus it has become another passion of mine, to hike and then write and video about these incredible adventures here in Colorado.
How am I Learning to Make More Money Online and Pursue my Dreams?
This is a question that each one of us needs to answer independently but I have found a great place to learn and work with others to help me build my dream of Financial Freedom and Financial Independence. It’s called Wealthy Affiliate and it’s an incredible place to learn how to build websites and YouTube channels.
Feel free to leave a Comment Below or send my and Email, and check out the YouTube video below about finding your passion.
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I found your article very interesting and useful.
I am passionate about having my own business and promoting my own brand . Currently I am doing logo designing and t shirt designing ,etc.I am promoting my designs on spreadshirt . I have other hobbies which is my passion like writing ebooks on different topics like shopping , travelling eye.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks for sharing this great article!
Thank you for the compliments and sharing what you’re doing to pursue your passion.
I love hearing what other people are doing and planning to make changes in their lives.
Rick
Hi Rick – I enjoyed reading your post. It sets forth a real example of one pursuing their dream(s). It sheds light on the fact that it doesn’t happen all at once, but in stages. I think that often we get discouraged when it doesn’t happen fast enough. But persistence pays off eventually. Ten websites! Wow! That’s Great!
Much continued success with your dreams!
Hey Nathaniel. Well, about five or six of those websites are place holders for what I eventually want to build.
Thank you for the comments and how you picked up on that changes need to be done in stages. I don’t know of anyone who had an incredible life change dumped in their lap and had it all happen in one day.
Part of this journey is thinking, planning and creating a plan to make something great happen.
Rick
I really like this article. The first step to achieving your life goals is actually setting goals. Discovering what we love, what motivates us, and what gives us the strength to persevere.
I have fulfilled some of my life goals. Some are not yet ready for fulfillment (I’m waiting for the kids to grow up).
Like you, I started making money online. For now, I have 2 pages that earn me money. As for Wealthy Affiliate training, this is a really great way for anyone unfamiliar with online earnings to learn how they can build their own site and start making extra income or start their own online business.
Thank you for sharing you experience and what you’re doing to make a change in your life. Wealthy Affiliate really is an incredible resource for people to begin their online business journey.
Rick
A lot of people are really making money from what they love doing. You see passion is something that people really need to put their heart into and that is why it breeds more success. You are a case in study and it’s a good thing to see how your websites have come since guys started it off. I am also a member of wealthy affiliate where a whole lot is thought. Nice work here!
Thank you so much for the compliments and for your thoughts on Wealthy Affiliate.
I couldn’t sleep last night and these thoughts kept coming into my head so I started writing them down. This article is really meant to make people think about what their doing with their lives and can they do more or make a change.
I’m glad I found a great training platform to help me build my business.
Rick
Hey thank you for the inspirational post and story! I really like how you are living out your passions! That is so freaking cool in my opinion! I agree with you on Wealthy Affiliate as well! They offer so much and they have taught me how to make two amazing websites as well! I highly recommend it to you readers!
Thank you Jessie for the nice comments. This is an incredible journey and having hope in the future makes each day easier to manage.
Rick