Hello,
I sympathize with all of you going through your soul searching and trying to find you way to the joy you seek, as I have also been doing tons of soul searching and exploring of my passions and career choices over the last few years. I want to commend you all for even being willing to think outside the box and listen to your souls' desires to do what you love. It's so important, and we spend so much of our time doing work, so it's understandable that not doing what feels more natural and enjoyable to you would put you out of balance. I have also read The Artist's Way, a great book for sure. I recommend also checking out Live Your Dreams: Doctor's Orders...check out the website for that and the author's company here: http://www.dreamsforreal.com/liveyourdreams.html It's a very useful book, and it gives real life examples of people who've struggled to find the right careers for them and made it happen despite the challenges they faced.
We all face challenges in life. Having become more spiritual, I believe everything that happens to us is for a reason, even if it doesn't seem to make sense until you're at the end of the journey and look back. There are lessons to learn from every experience you have, and in the end what matters most is not how much money you earned, every single physical accomplishment, etc., but more so how you were changed on the inside, on the soul level. I can tell you that I have experienced first hand how when you write down your goals and ask God or the universe for guidance in helping you find the path to the right career and what will make you happy and successful, or whatever it may be that you desire in life, the right opportunities, people, and information will somehow come your way. Last year, I was pondering what the life coaching field would be like and how I could work with teens, and just a day later I happened to meet a life coach that also does some work with teens while attending a regular public speaking group I go to. I've also met other life coaches. I have a degree in journalism, and I've done work in that field, mainly for community papers, but I happened to get offered a temporary position coordinating an annual creative writing contest for the homeless through a nonprofit organization I had volunteered with just a few months after completing the journalism program. I loved that position more than any other, even though it didn't pay well considering all the time and effort I put into the job, but it was an amazing experience. Since then, I've been thinking of how to use the arts to help others be empowered and get healed. Interestingly, after that I went back to looking for work in journalism, thinking I shouldn't waste my degree, and I quickly found a position as an editor at a youth paper. But turns out that the top editor there who hired me told me that he liked that I had experience from that other job with the writing contest in working with youth, doing some humanitarian related work (this newspaper was under the Boys and Girls Clubs organization), and the experience of leading writing workshops, since this job at the paper required me to work with writers aged 16-24 and help budding journalists learn the craft.
You just never know how one thing may lead to the next. I have found it amazing and am thankful that actually through my journalism work, while I've often thought it's not the right place for me considering I don't even like following the news to be honest (!), I've met a lot of interesting and inspiring people that I've learned a lot from, and I'm still in touch with some of them. It has also allowed me to connect with people in some fields that interest me, including musicians, artists, and social workers. I feel that what motivates me in my work is knowing I can use it to help make a positive difference in others' lives. So I've been doing my best to find ways to do so. I focused more on finding article ideas on inspiring people or ventures and worked as a freelance writer (not an easy path, but it worked for now, and I still live with my parents...am now 26). I have also been writing songs and poems since I was nine, and I got back into that this year and have been researching those fields. I've started small by sending my poems to literary magazines and attending some poetry readings in the city. Also, I finally told a musician I'd done an article on this fall about my songwriting interest recently, and he's now helping put music to some of my songs. I've also gotten the Songwriter's Market book so I can learn more about the industry. I'm thinking of how I can start crafting more songs that can inspire and motivate others.
There are still questions in my mind and worries about where my path may lead, but it's also been really exciting and motivating for me when I have been able to do more or even just talk more about my passions. Another good site to check out if you want to connect with others that share your interests is meetup.com. At least we're ensuring that our future will be full of joy, even if right now things seem confusing and difficult. Just trust that all will somehow work out. Stay open to the signs to guide your way on where to go next. You may come across some great article or book, a tv segment, someone who can provide some useful info. Who knows. Stay positive. Also, things will happen when it's the right time for you.
God bless.