I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the theme of last week’s blog post, which was the importance of being open to new experiences as means of letting inspiration into your life.

I tried to follow one of my own suggestions from the post (I have to practice what I preach!), which was to regularly keep a journal, even if it was just a couple of sentences each day. Doing this reminded me of how much I actually enjoy personal writing, and how I haven’t done enough of it in recent years. As a result, I’ve signed up for a writing workshop in Toronto later this month – let’s see if being open can finally get me over my writer’s block! I’d really love a lightning bolt of inspiration right about now, but something tells me that’s not going to happen without some effort on my part…

I read an article this week from thoughtcatalog.com called “The Difference Between Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do” by Brianna Wiest, which really struck a chord with me. The author argues that striving to make a career out of your passion might not necessarily be the most rewarding or realistic endeavor. She asserts that there is a finite difference between “doing what you love” and “loving what you do”, but that following one or the other doesn’t have to affect your happiness and life satisfaction.

On the one hand, doing what you love could mean following that dream that you’ve had since you were young, and turning it into a money-making career (easier said than done).  “But,” writes Wiest, “loving what you do involves taking something else — plucking from the proverbial sea of somethings that you already enjoy doing — working hard on it, creating a professional pathway, seeing it to a lucrative end and being happy because your love for it grows. This is the kind of career that will grow with you.”

What Wiest is getting at here is openness. Not everybody has a passion, necessarily, but everyone has activities that they enjoy doing to different degrees. It doesn’t have to be a huge, overarching passion; it can be something small. A mini-passion. Do you like to bake when you’re stressed out? Enjoy taking photos when you have the time? Or do you have fun designing websites for friends now and then?

What about taking those little activities you like, and being open to exploring them further? Maybe you never thought of them as a viable career option, but just see where they take you. It’s time to stop thinking, “if only I could do X, I would be happy”. It’s time to start finding positives in what you’re already doing, and building from there. You might be surprised where things take you. What do you think?

The Four As of Awesome: A Change

About a year ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Neil Pasricha speak at a conference.  I  had one burning question:  Why the word awesome?  Why not wonderful, fantastic, magical, whimsical etc.   I never did ask him the question; instead, I found this picture.   

He feeds us a few more As and will provide the theme of the next four posts: attitude, awareness, alignment and authenticity. 

• Attitude – meeting challenges with a positive attitude makes growth possible.
• Awareness – seeing the world as though we’re three years-old reawakens wonder and possibility.
• Authenticity – having the courage to be ourselves so we can follow our hearts and feel fulfilled.
• Alignment – the clarity of knowing your core values and aligning yourself (or your team) with them.

A change in attitude reminded me of this video.  You might remember the Story of Stuff? Well, they have created another video called The Story of Change. 

Where's the money? How to pay for a gap year!

5 ways to pay for your gap year
from skyscanner.net

Thousands of young people got their A Level results recently, but thanks to high tuition fees and few job opportunities, it’s no surprise that so many are opting to taking gap years and have fun while they can.

Common choices for working abroad include teaching English, fruit-picking in Australia and working a ski season as a chalet girl, but why not do something that stands out on your CV, and that you can brag about to your new mates at uni? Skyscanner presents five ways to pay your way round the world.

1. Travel writing and photography

Got a way with words? Write about your adventures and pitch your work to magazines to earn up to £300 per article. Or start a travel blog. Know your ISO from your aperture? Sell your snaps to travel titles or image banks like istock.com. Good with video? Set up a YouTube channel. It may not pay straight away, but you could be a star - like Matt Harding!

2. Sing for your supper

Can you play guitar, violin, or the bagpipes? Then play your way around the world like violinist David Juriz who funded an entire world trip by busking Bach from Berlin to Sydney. Juriz averaged £83 per day, but you can earn up to £2,500 in an hour in London, especially in prime spots like Covent Garden. Do check licensing laws and follow busking etiquette before tuning up.

3. Sail away

Working on a yacht isn’t always glamorous. You could be serving martinis to models off Martinique, but usually it’s hard work with long hours. You’ll certainly get a good tan, maybe travel the world and earn up to £3,000 a month. Check sites like Crewseekers International for vacancies from steward to skipper, with jobs currently on offer in the Med, the Azores and the Caribbean.

4. Plant trees

Prince George in British Colombia, Canada is the world’s ‘tree planters’ capital’, where forestry companies need people to plant seedlings. It’s tough, and you’ll be stationed in the middle of nowhere for weeks, but it pays well. Check Tree Planter for info. Veteran tree planters can bag up to £200 a day (though £75 is a more realistic figure). You’ll need a visa to work in Canada – not a problem if you’re under 35.

5. Just get a visa and go!

You’re young, you’re free, so live a little! It’s possible to get working holiday visas for many countries of the world, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. A visa enables you to take on casual work or longer term employment, as long as you don’t overstay your time limit. Favourite paycations include grape picking, working in youth hostels and bar work.

Original Source: http://www.skyscanner.net/news/articles/2012/08/013358-5-ways-to-pay-for-your-gap-year.html