When is the right time to pursue your passion and chase your dreams? As I write this, I sit in Times Square, waiting patiently for 2 p.m., when I will meet with several literary agents to pitch a fiction book I've written.
I am about to turn 47. In my life, I have been an active-duty U.S. Marine, earned my master's degree, built one of the best-selling real estate teams in the country with my wife (according to Real Trends), and have many other significant accomplishments. I would not say any of those was in pursuit of my passion or dream, but it was doing what needed to be done when it needed to be done.
Doing what needs to be done without complaint comes naturally to me. Pursuing a passion or dream does not.
Are you like me? You know what needs to be done, and you will do it. In the meanwhile, you continue to pay minimal heed to that lingering dream or passion.
Taking ownership of your responsibilities is essential. However, that does not mean you must never answer that long-sublimated desire. You have to make time to pursue it; that is where people fail when that mid-life crisis appears. You feel like you have not lived the desired life, or that something is missing.
You are never too old or far away from your passion to make it a reality. There may be just a few things you need to do first that are as simple as 1,2,3:
One: What obstacles lie between you and your passion? This could be getting your finances right, your career on track, or your kids to a certain age. Obstacles are a good thing. They are just that, an obstacle—something to maneuver in, over or around. So, the first step is to recognize the obstacle and decide how to get through it.
Two: Decide how much time you will spend each week pursuing this passion. For me, it was a minimum of four hours a week. One hour four days a week, I would wake up an hour earlier. The sacrifice for my passion is just one hour a day, four days a week. Time is like that; something has to be sacrificed for something new to fit into your day. If your days are full, that may mean a higher sacrifice. If you find yourself death-scrolling through social media for hours each week, it's sacrificing needless entertainment.
Three: Set a goal or destination. This is the result you are striving to achieve in your pursuit of your passion. How do you know if you are getting closer to something unless you know where you are going? When I am coaching someone, and they tell me they feel lost or unaccomplished in life, it's because they never set any goals or destinations. Of course you feel lost, don’t know where you are going, and have just been walking through life. So, what is the goal? Say, “I want to be (the goal) by (date/time).”
There it is; the three things between you and your passion: Obstacles, Decisions and Goals. Spend a few minutes working through each of those and reignite the flame inside you that yearns to burn brightly for the world to see.
Peter Levinson is the eXp Branch Office Broker for the Levinson Real Estate Team. Find more information at forsaleokc.com or call 405.285.5750.