Doing the things you want to do most...

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On a day to day basis, are you doing the things you want to do most?
Looking at my own life I have to admit, I am coming pretty close to doing just that. And yet I never quite seem to reach the point where I can whole heartedly say: Yes!! I’ve done it!

Another thing I always thought was true is the axiom that if you are doing the things you really want to do and enjoy doing; if you are really good at the things you do ~ then you will be recognized for it.

I find that, apart from actually doing the things I want to do most ~ it is also important to me that I have something to show for it...
It is nice to be successful at doing things you really want to do ~ it would be even better yet, if that success would be reflected in something as mundane as an actual income. If that success would make my life easier from a monetary perspective.

So is that then all there is to it?
You do the things you want to do, and enjoy doing most, to the best of your ability ~ and you will be recognized for it and be able to make a living doing it?

In a perfect world it would be.

For many of us it doesn’t seem to be quite as easy though.
Somewhat depending on the degree of Calvinism we grew up with ~ there are always questions like: Can I really make a living having so much fun? Isn’t what I am doing way too frivolous to actually ask money for in return? This is my God~given gift; shouldn’t I just use it in service to mankind? Should people pay for that service?

And pretty soon we have talked ourselves out of an income.
In the process we have taken ourselves down; devalued the things that matter most to us ~ and in essence convinced ourselves that we deserve to live week to week.

It turns out that if we value what we are doing, others will too. If we do what we want to do most and enjoy ourselves while doing it; that joy ~ as the French say: joie de vivre, the joy of living ~ radiates from us, attracting others to us.
In other words, the way in which we respect ourselves and value the things we are doing dictates our success, the way it can be measured in recognition and monetary return.

After all, if we fail to respect ourselves or to value the things we do ~ why would others respect us or value our work?
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