How To Find & Do The WORK You LOVE... Even When Your Life Changes

The challenge of finding a career you love can be especially difficult when you're unable to continue doing the things you once enjoyed. I used to love making movies in high school. I had access to a video camera and computers that allowed me to shoot and animate films with my friends, and I just loved doing that. After moving to Atlanta in 2005, I started a marketing company and found myself getting further removed from the filmmaking world, which saddened me.

However, while working at the marketing company, I discovered that I could identify what it was about filmmaking that I loved so much. If I could figure out what those core movie-making elements were, I could then find other ways to live out that same passion.

What I Loved About Filmmaking

Problem-Solving

One of the things I love about making movies is problem-solving. For example, I had scenes where I needed to show people flying. We had to come up with ways to hook people up to ropes and hang them from roofs or trees to accomplish outrageous actions that weren't possible for a normal person. We did all this wild experimentation to solve the problem of how to accomplish something we wanted to achieve. Problem-solving is something I can do in business, as a freelancer, and even as a friend or a business coach. I can live out that passion in a variety of ways.

Connecting People

I also loved connecting people and connecting them to resources. That was a natural part of the filmmaking process. I can do this in the business world by sharing an article, a podcast, or a resource. I can connect two people who have similar values, a shared vision, or who are moving in the same direction. This was an exciting realization because it’s something I can do even when I'm not making movies.

Building Community

Another thing I loved was bringing different types of people together—different ages, points of view, and walks of life—to work toward a common mission or goal. I can do this in business with a team or with clients by bringing everyone together to work toward a common goal.

Storytelling

Storytelling was another facet of filmmaking that I loved. How do you tell a story, convey emotion, communicate a message, and balance the tension? I can explore storytelling as a YouTuber or as a freelancer when I need to communicate a message to a client to help them understand a concept and move their business forward. Oftentimes, that's done with a real or fictional story.

Finding Your Core Passions

I realized that I loved filmmaking because of these four things, but I could also do these four things in other parts of my life. If my job only gives me two of those things, I can pursue the other two in my family life, at church, in my community, or through a hobby. They don't all have to be in the same place.

My encouragement to you is to think about what you've done in the past that brought you joy, meaning, and a sense of achievement. Figure out what it was about those activities that gave you that feeling. Then, think about where you are now. What do you like about your current situation? What's not working? How can you apply these core concepts to your work today?

For the things your work can't fulfill, what can you do outside of work to pursue those passions? By doing this, your life as a whole will give you what you need to feel excited and motivated. This is an exercise that helped me become content with life's changes because, while we sometimes can't do the things we used to love, we can still pursue what we love at a core level. It just might look a little different.

What you might discover is that there are many other outlets, some of which are even more interesting and exciting than past ones. Sometimes, things come back around, allowing you to integrate new experiences into the things you once loved.