Find what you love!

f looxao BACK ovER my last few columns and felt that perhaps I had been rantilng a bit too much recently, so I am going to be kinder and gentler this month. However, I cannot promise how long it will last!

Certainly the business cycle of the last few years has given each of us pause to wonder if there is something better we could be doing with our lives. Any number of people have been candid enough to tell me how business is not fun any more and how stressful it is. But I guess if you are reading this column, at least you have been one of the luckier ones who have survived this trough we are mired in. Now, in truth, I hear that same sentiment from people both inside and outside our industry, so sometimes the grass is not always greener. But still, I have always believed changing circumstances merit taking stock of where you are at. Like your stock portfolio, your life needs to be constantly reviewed and re-balanced.

In times like these, take the opportunity to rethink your wants, needs and dreams, and either come back to the conclusion there is nothing better or different that you want to do and that you are content with your lot in life, or decide it is time to start dreaming about alternatives and possibilities. Then, instead of just dreaming, actually take action to change.

When I read about the great business successes of our time, there is hardly a rags-to-riches story where some adversity had not taken place that had led to a monumental change. In fact, true success comes in attaining good times after facing-and overcoming-bad times. All of us at some time or other face difficult challenges-at home or work. How we deal with those set-backs defines who we are and what we achieve.

A near-death experience, the loss of a loved one, being fired, being laid off, becoming fed up with the status quo, or just plain dreading work every day are all good motivations for tackling the situation head on. It is these times when you realize that you are at the crossroads of life and must decide what path to take. Many of us choose to fake it. We smile and soldier on, while being eaten up inside. Sometimes fear or a series of hazards, real or imagined, can bog down the decision. It can take real guts to decide that it is time to take the plunge, taking risks for something you have always dreamed about and, in the process, often walking away from security.

Over my career, I have learned the hard way that nothing comes easy. But whenever I faked it, avoiding that risk, I paid a price for it. You have to love what you are doing in all facets of your life. If you do not, maybe it is time to change. Work fills a large part of our life, and great work brings great enjoyment and great satisfaction. If you cannot make the statement that you love what you do, none of the previous statement can come true.

We all know that our time on earth is limited. Aside from our formative years and our sunset years, most of us are left with about 45 years to make real change. We should not trap ourselves into doing things we do not enjoy. Life is too short. Drown out all the naysayers. Go with your gut. At the end of the day, you have to run with your heart and intuition. One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is strivins to become what we in our souls know we long for and not settling for anything else.

Do not live someone else's life. Find what makes you live life to the fullest. Delete everything that doesn't. Have the courage to follow your convictions and your heart.

All right, back to normal next month! Happy Thanksgiving.

Alan Oakes, Publisher ajoakes@aol.com

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