I have been trying to figure out a side hustle to do or a part time job, but it has been difficult to come up with things because I keep gravitating towards other people’s dreams and goals and seeing how I can add value there. I don’t know if it is because it is easier to pursue things that already have paths laid out or if they are me procrastinating from coming up with something myself. What would often happen though would be I would start off strong and fizzle out afterwards because I realized that I was not built for it or didn’t get the same energy from it as the other person did.
Understanding the difference between helping someone achieve their dreams and pursuing a dream can be tricky because sometimes that could be the true goal. There are hundreds of self-help authors and life coaches whose purpose is to help others achieve their goals. But when you are searching for your purpose, dream, or goal; try to really understand why you really want to pursue the goal because sometimes when you peel the onion back, you find out that someone else’s reasons are at the core.
When you take time to find out what you want and write it down, that also helps to internalize your reasons and motivations. They may seem obvious at first and easy to remember but when you hit obstacles and have times of crisis or doubt, they can be your guidepost or help you re-evaluate whether they still ring true for you. As a counterpoint, don’t let it stop you from seizing new opportunities that could take you in different directions. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know, and it is good to not completely rule out opportunities just because you didn’t have part of your original plan.
Just like our money has a budget, our time should too so make sure not to pursue too many paths simultaneously or you won’t have time to truly evaluate it and grow it. But the rewarding thing is that once you do find your purpose or start pursuing a dream, it can become like a car that re-charges/refuels itself to keep going.
If you don’t know what you want to do or have no clue where to start, then find a person who you know has a clear and strong dream/pursuit/calling. Before you jump in and try to adopt that dream, be sure to ask them and try and understand what their “why” is to see if that aligns with your why too. If it does, you have a good starting point, if not you have a good reference point to what your dreams could look like in the future.
For me initially, I thought that when I found out about all the books, blogs and podcasts about financial independence I was extremely excited and passionate about learning everything I could and thought that because it was so transformational, that meant I needed to do the same thing and start creating a course on getting from Zero to Hero. But as I pulled back the onion back from my own experiences and motivations, I realized that getting on the path to financial independence was an essential tool, but not a purpose for me. Investing will help me get to the goal, but I still need to find what the end goal is. Right now, I have decided to focus my free time efforts on helping family and friends improve their existing businesses. Their dreams are also my dreams and if they succeed, we all succeed. The skills needed to fill in the gaps of where that are needed right now may be ones, I may need for something else in the future. So I am hoping my transition from dream chasing to assisting with dream enhancing will lead to more dream fulfilment.