Double U. Tee. Eff.

The end of last week was kind of mind-blowing for me. My wife and I are trying to start our own li’l tribe, so she broached the topic (lightly — I’m kinda sensitive about this) about securing some additional income for us. Instead of moaning and groaning and trying to justify my solid salary (and bonus potential!), I did the unthinkable:

“OK.”

No fighting. No sad faces. No tantrums. I just agreed and started thinking about things I can do to make some additional bank for the household. Then, all of the sudden, something happened:

The flood gates opened.

First — No, I did not receive some sort of major financial windfall. It was more like a flood of ass-kicks and “WTF?”’s. Messages about loving your job, monetizing your passion, turning something you love into a money stream… I mean, it was non-stop:

Andy Frisella — Quit Tolerating Your Life

Gary Vaynerchuk — Your Shit Is Broken…

Danny Page — Smile At The Obstacle

Sean Whalen — You’ll Have Another Great Idea Tomorrow

And lastly:

Ryan Michler — We can do this the EASY way or the HARD way

(All of those above are links to both what was said and who said them… I highly suggest you read/ listen to/ follow every one of them.)

Now, this last dude, Ryan… he runs the Order Of Man. It’s a podcast, a blog, a website, etc. But it’s also the Iron Council — an elite mastermind for men to help them truly maximize their potential in all aspects of their lives — physically, mentally, professionally, emotionally, spiritually… you name it. If a dude needs to work on some shit, they go DEEP in the IC.

And that’s why I joined.

Now, back to the topic… we have a weekly phone call with the IC and this past week’s call was all about business ; starting your own, monetizing your passion, adding value to yourself… and I couldn’t have been more uncomfortable. Just listening to all of the entrepreneurs discuss their successes, great tips, invaluable insight… and in that moment I didn’t feel like I could add ONE THING.

I’m great at what I do — but I’m not PASSIONATE about it. I don’t wake up just dying to get to work. And that’s not the best mindest to have. And lemme tell ya - that shit hit me HARD last week (you should see the texts I sent the wife.) I mean, after I got off the phone call, I just kinda shut down (WORST THING TO DO EVER, BTW — I’m working on that.) The reality of where I am in my life professionally really didn’t make me feel great. And, this needs to be stressed — THIS ISN’T ABOUT MONEY. Yes, the whirlwind started because of a conversation about money, and the reality is that I do OK, but it spiraled into something far greater:

“Dude, what are you passionate about?”

So… What Now?

THAT, my friends, is the million dollar question — and why I follow guys like Gary, Andy, Danny and Sean. And it’s why I joined Ryan and the Iron Council…. because I know I need to learn this kind of stuff and, more importantly, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

I know what I’m good at, but I also know what I’m passionate about. It’s an interesting mix. Can the two be combined — can I find passion by doing what I’m good at in a way that provides value, happiness and cash flow?

It’s giving me a lot to think about… and, I promise you, I’m thinking.