Do These 5 Things to Make Sure You Don’t Waste 50 Years

There are plenty of people out there who have already found their dream jobs. They are insanely happy to get up and go to work each day. If you count yourself among these people, I congratulate you and kindly request you stop reading this article right now.

But if you don’t count yourself among that group, this article is for you.

A video from a friend.

Recently, a very good friend of mine sent me this video. It uses a simple yet powerful visual to show that the time we spend working, probably about 50 years, makes up a huge portion of our lives.

Being a kid is great, being retired is amazing, but the years in between, our working years, those are less-than-stellar for many people. But we can’t afford them to be.

Less than ⅓ of working adults report being engaged at work. There are many reasons for this. Companies do a terrible job at creating the right environment for their employees to thrive and people stay at jobs they hate because they feel they need it for their resume, they get comfortable, or they convince themselves they are the problem.

But we don’t have time to waste. You get one life. That’s it. You need to spend it doing what you love.

We always hear the phrase “find your dream job” but no one ever tells you how to go do it. Here are 5 things you need to do to spend your 50 working years doing what you love.

1. Get good at self-reflection.

“Don’t become too preoccupied with what is happening around you, pay more attention to what is going on within you.” — Mary-Frances Winters

We are busy.

We work 8–10 hours a day, hit the gym, eat dinner, stream a show, and then it is time to do it all over again. We have very little time alone with our own thoughts.

The weekend hits and we want to fill it with events to make the most of our time off. We need to see our friends, go out, take trips. Before we know it, Sunday afternoon is here and it’s time to go to work for another 5 days.

We get caught up in routine. Bouncing from day to day, task to task, project to project, and very rarely take the time to reflect to really figure out if we are unhappy in the first place.

Carve out time on your calendar each week simply to reflect. Journal, turn off your tech and just think, whatever you need to do. Be open and honest, dig deep, and ask yourself some difficult questions.

Ask yourself if you are happy. Are you building the life you dream of? Do you come home fulfilled? Or are your drained come 4 pm? Are you living for Friday or living for Monday?

Answer these questions. And figure out whether or not you are really happy.

2. Figure out what your passion is.

“That thing that you do, after your day job, in your free time, too early in the morning, too late at night. That thing you read about, write about, think about, in fact, fantasize about. That thing you do when you’re all alone and there’s no one to impress, nothing to prove, no money to be made, simply a passion to pursue. That’s it. That’s your thing. That’s your heart, your guide. That’s the thing you must, must do.” — Jes Allen

That is likely my favorite quote of all-time.

We all have that thing we spend far too much time (and money) on. We read, write, and think about it all the time. It keeps us from going to bed at night.

Think about what that thing is for you. It could be anything. Literally, anything.

Maybe you love to dance. Maybe you spend hours and hours reading sports blogs. Maybe you love talking to people. Maybe you love shopping. Maybe you love making people laugh. Maybe you love Game of Thrones.

It doesn’t matter what it is. But you need to figure out what it is.

What do you spend too much time and money on? What would you spend 80 hours a week doing? What would you do every day for the rest of your life if you could?

Answer these questions. And figure out what your passion is.

3. Figure out how to get paid to do that thing.

“The best feeling in the world is getting paid to do what you love.” — some unnamed smart person

You can get paid for your passion no matter what it is. I say that and people think I am exaggerating. I am not.

You can get paid for your passion no matter what it is.

If you want to build buildings, go get hired to do that.

If you love sports articles, start a blog. Eventually, people will pay for your content.

If you are obsessed with Game of Thrones, start a podcast to recap episodes. Eventually, you’ll get enough viewers to attract advertisers.

If you love shopping, start a YouTube channel to share tips. Eventually, you’ll get enough views to make money.

If you have a weird obsession with vegetables, ship them to people. People will pay for anything.

We live in a new day and age. Anyone can use the power of the internet to share their passion with the masses.

Have a product you want to sell? Kickstarter. A blog? Medium or Patreon. Art? Etsy. A vlog? YouTube. Photography? Instagram. A book you want to write? Kickstarter, again. Music or a podcast? SoundCloud. Want to start a company? FounderDating.

You can get your passion in front of anyone. You can get paid for anything.

4. Let go of your ego.

“The ego is the single biggest obstruction to the achievement of anything.” — Richard Rose

Why do we have jobs? There are a few reasons.

Society tells us we need to have one. We need to make money to live. There is a certain personal pride and ego-boost that comes with being paid well.

These things are all true, but I argue we need to rethink them.

Yes, common practice is to have a full-time job, save money to afford retirement and to help send your kids to college. The rules say this is the way to go. But, as we’ve covered in a previous article, there are no rules. Here is an excerpt.

“We need to stop paying attention to norms, following outdated ways of doing things because it is all we have known and worrying about what other people may think if we make an unconventional choice. Be smart enough to ask yourself the right questions to determine what makes you happy. And then do what makes you happy… There are no rules.”

We need to make money. That is certainly true. But do you really need to make as much money as you make right now, or see yourself making when you are out of school?

My first year out of grad school, I made $31,500. The next, I made $24,000. This year, I will make a little over $12,000.

I live in an apartment. I go out to eat with my friends. I travel.

I am not sharing this with you to be self-righteous. I’m sharing as a real example that it can be done.

If you are willing to make less money while you get good at your passion, you can and still enjoy your life.

Are you willing to put your ego aside?

Are you willing to start as an intern in a field you know nothing about but you really love?

Are you willing to work part-time making coffee while you build up followers on your YouTube channel?

Are you willing to dip into your savings to launch a product that may not work?

If you put your ego aside, you are dangerous. You are capable of trying and failing and ultimately succeeding at all things.

If you put your ego aside, all of a sudden anything is possible.

5. Work at your passion every single day.

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” — Malcolm Gladwell

A lot of us shy away from our passions because they lay outside of what we went to school for. There is often no direct way to make money doing them if we started today. We aren’t good enough yet. In short, being successful at our passions takes time.

It takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. But how quickly are you willing to rack up those 10,000 hours. If you work 4 hours a day, it’ll take you 7 years. 8 hours a day? 3 years and 6 months. 12 hours a day? 2 years and 3 months.

Just because you are not good at something doesn’t mean you can’t get good at something. You just have to put in the work.

Are you willing to put in the time when you suck? To make a prototype that gets destroyed by investors? To make a podcast for 3 listeners? To write article after article every day for only 400 people?

If you do what you love every day, day after day, without fail; you will get good. You will get great. You will find success and live the life you dream of.

The SparkNotes

You will spend 50 years of your life doing something to try and make money. You need to love it.

Reflect. Are you happy doing what you’re doing right now?

Find your passion. What do you already do every day for enjoyment?

Find a way to monetize it. How do you get paid to do what you love?

Let go of your ego. Are you okay being seen as “unsuccessful” for a period of time?

Do that thing every damn day. Are you willing to put in the work?

Choosing this type of life will be uncomfortable. Difficult. Humbling. But it will be a life full of reward, of happiness, of waking up every day excited to live.

You’ve got 50 years. Make them count.