There are a ton of people out there who completely live for the weekend. They spend the first half of their week talking about last weekend and the rest of the week talking about next weekend… and that’s because most people don’t love what they’re doing.
They are working in jobs that they aren’t passionate about or are studying programs at school that they have no interest in whatsoever.
One of the things that every person I have interviewed has in common is that they all love what they do. It’s hard work, a lot of hard work but they don’t mind working their butts off because it’s doing stuff that they love.
Find what you love and then find a way to do THAT.
I am not trying to make it sound easy. It’s not. It takes hard work, heart break, setbacks, failure and more hard work but the payoff is better than you can imagine.
This week I hung out with one of Canada’s fastest rising photographers Jaime Hogge. He is completely passionate about his work and shared some insight into how he became a photographer and what he thinks about doing something you love.
“That’s how you know when you are really doing something you should be doing… when you want to do it all of the time.” – Jaime Hogge
So you’ve seen the presentation. You’ve heard the stories. You’ve laughed at my travels and mishaps. It’s now time for you to Make Your Own Lunch!
“But Ryan, I don’t know where to start!”
Well looky here, I just might have some help!
GET HUNGRY
The hungrier you are, the more likely it is that you will want to eat. The more you see what you want to have, what you want to do, where you want to go, and the person you want to become, the more your mouth starts to water.
Look at the menu! Start exploring the possibilities for you and your future. Anything goes! Remember you decide what’s realistic for you. Is it travelling? Is it going to school? Is it volunteering near your hometown or another country?
Start by cutting pictures out of magazines, bookmarking websites, “Photoshop-ing” your face on Brad Pitt’s body (or Angelina’s, or both * weird *) or create a collage or video with music that represents the vision you have for your future.
Start creating your personal menu! The things you want to choose from. Just like a menu include some appetizers, or smaller things you want, like a picture of a fishing rod because you want to enjoy the outdoors more. Also, put some of the bigger things on there, like a picture of the Eiffel tower to represent the trip to Paris you want to take.
It’s your personal menu. You can add to it and take away from it whenever you want.
Start looking at it everyday. Every time you look at it, feel what it would be like being in that place, living that life, being that person or having those things.
Get ready to actually start having those things.
BITE-SIZED PIECES
“OK Ryan. I have been looking at my menu everyday and nothing is happening! This thing doesn’t work! You suck!”
Whoa! Take it easy junior!
It doesn’t work? Or you haven’t been working?
Sitting there daydreaming doesn’t work at all! There’s no magic to this stuff. It will require you to actually logout of Facebook and sign-out of Windows Messenger and remove your butt from the chair you have been sitting in.
Start deciding what needs to be done. Then tackle those things one-by-one.
If it’s a trip to Paris you want, what are some things you could do today to bring you closer to being there? It may help you to take your picture of the Eiffel tower and draw dots around the outline of it. Have each dot represent something you can do to get you on your way.
The dots could be things like, “start saving $20/week in a separate savings account” or “go to a bookstore for an afternoon, read about Paris and find some places that interest me.” Or it could be, “learn how to say, ‘Ryan Porter’s jokes are lame’ in French” You could even have “talk to someone who has been there before and get their experience and advice”.
List everything and anything you could do to help you get to Paris, then step by step, piece by piece, dot by dot, start putting it together!
Things will happen a lot quicker than you think because you will constantly be crossing things off of the “to-do” list!
ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT
The best part of Make Your Own Lunch is that you aren’t actually dealing with a lunchbox!
You have just stepped into an all-you-can-eat buffet. And I am not even talking about one of those dark and dodgy “everything-kind-of-tastes-like-chicken-even-the-vegetables” buffets. I am talking about one of those Las Vegas, award-winning all-you-can-eat buffets and you just showed up with an empty plate and an empty stomach.
You get to fill your plate sky-high of the things you like. You get to try all types of new things. You get to stay away from the things that you don’t like and best of all, you get to go back for seconds, thirds, fourths and as many times as it takes for you to get stuffed!
Make Your Own Lunch is about creating your own experiences. It’s not about trying to duplicate things I have done or doing exactly what people are telling you to do. It’s about jumping in the driver’s seat and controlling where you go. It’s about saying “I can’t take this peanut butter anymore” and making something you actually like!
There are so many experiences waiting for you. You don’t have to hold on to firecrackers or move to Japan either, you can start having the experiences you want today.
Make Your Own Lunch is not about me, it’s not about your parents, it’s not about your teachers, it’s about you and what you want.
Bon appetit
So you’ve seen the presentation. You’ve heard the stories. You’ve laughed at my travels and mishaps. It’s now time for you to Make Your Own Lunch!
“But Ryan, I don’t know where to start!”
or
“But Ryan, I could hardly understand you with that strange Canadian accent.”
Well looky here, I just might have some help!
GET HUNGRY
The hungrier you are, the more likely it is that you will want to eat. The more you see what you want to have, what you want to do, where you want to go, and the person you want to become, the more your mouth starts to water.
Look at the menu! Start exploring the possibilities for you and your future. Anything goes! Remember you decide what’s realistic for you. Is it travelling? Is it going to school? Is it volunteering near your hometown or another country?
Are you serious Yoda? This morning I couldn’t find my left sock or my right pant leg.
Ok, some people know what their passion is, others, have no idea. Some have found it and some never will. You are one of those people who have found it or who will find it. Trust me.
Here’s a shocker, it’s possible to have more than one passion.
Here’s the advice, don’t try to shove it all in one box or choose just one.
People feel the need to either; package all of their passions together or choose between them. “I like working with people BUT I also really like bottle-feeding Sea Elephants so I don’t know what to do.” (more…)
