by vivrant thang on side hustles
Now life is what you make
Of your time, sometimes you can even fake it
If you doing something other than what you like
You can escape, just don’t give up the fight
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to “loving what I do and doing what I love.” One of the biggest things I will accomplish during year one of my five-year plan is the development of my side hustle – which will be something I’m passionate about. It should be a realization of my purpose and what I was put here to do. It should generate income as I’ve had to face the harsh reality that the better your income looks on paper, the bigger chunk Uncle Sam will snatch. And the more you spend. But that’s another post for another day.
It’s always been very important to me to discover just what my purpose is since one of my mother’s biggest regrets in life is what she has never really pursued her purpose – or even discovered what it is. As with a lot of baby boomers, she has worked tirelessly at her job year after year. Job hopping for advancement or to gain skills is foreign to her. She’s kind of fallen into human resources/accounting functions, but there is so much more to her than that. She has so many skills and talents that she’s never utilized. I don’t want that to be me.
Don’t you know that you came from the Earth
Have some faith, best believe what you’re really worth
Whole lot more and so much in store
For ya if you just…
Last year, I had a nice freelance web development thing going. Garned me enough income to ball out of control in Miami and Jamaica. However, that’s not my passion. Not even that good at it because I haven’t taken the time to advance my skills. My heart wasn’t in it.
What my heart has always been into is the written word. In high school, I would bring my fiction stories to class and my friends would be engrossed in them instead of reading about how Columbus discovered America. My vivid imagination had me creating characters involved in situations that a fifteen-year-old should have known nothing about (remember this was early 90s!). I even completed a young adult novel somewhere in there. Went on to be editor-in-chief of the newspaper and yearbook. Won all kinds of journalism awards/scholarships. Attended numerous journalism-related summer workshops. Worked as a features reporter during the summers at The Newark Star-Ledger (still have my clips!). My path seemed clear. It was only natural that I would go on to get two degrees in English. What else was there for me, a lover of the word?
Somewhere in between writing 20-page papers about Chaucer, I stopped writing for me. I fell out of love with the word – or I should say creating the word because I was still reading and getting lost in bookstores – amassing a ridiculous amount of books. I always missed it though. Some part of me always felt unfulfilled. I could no longer call myself a writer because I wasn’t writing.
Do what you love and love what you do
In this life there’s a place for you
Love what you do and do what you love
Make sure that it’s something from above
-For Da Love of The Game f/ Raheem Devaughn and V
I created this blog as a way to reclaim my identity as a writer. To fill that hole. I’m loving what I do here and doing what I love. The fact that people are reading and responding positively is just the icing on the cake. I have my doubts some days when I read other writing that I feel is so much better than mine. However, again, I’m loving what I do here and I think it’s showing. Directly or indirectly as a result of blogging, I have a book review coming out in a literary magazine in the next few months. I’m also going to be a guest blogger over at Sweet Potato Pie, which was featured in Heart and Soul magazine. I have a feeling this is just the beginning.
I hope all of you are utilizing your talents and finding some way to do what you love. Time’s a wastin’ and none of us are getting any younger. One of my male friends is a photographer with a really good eye. Clearly, he loves taking pictures. I keep urging him to put himself out there and start his own business. People are always going to need a good photographer. He listens but doesn’t hear me. Not to get religious on ya’ll, but that’s a God-given talent and I think it is a slap in the face to Him when we don’t use what we’re blessed with. Besides, we have to work everyday and most of us aren’t fortunate enough to be bringing home a paycheck from a job that we’re skipping to everyday. Life is too short not to be spending that time outside of work discovering what you’re here to do and pursuing that. You never know where it may lead.
Have you discovered what you have been put here to do? Do you have a side hustle – loving what you do and doing what you love? Tell me about it in the comments.
13 Comments
April 9, 2008 at 1:34 am
Hell, I’m trying to make a living writing. I have been writing longer then I have been doing anything else, even though I never thought of myself as a writer and until just recently felt comfortable calling myself one. it was a long and winding road to get here and today I had a serious crisis of faith. I’m not making that much writing right now (maybe a grand a month) and with my school days coming to an end I need to generate some cash (at least a couple of grand a month). I almost considered chucking it all and getting a “real” job. But I know I’d be miserable and at the end of the day I love what I do, so I’m pressing on…success is so close..I can almost touch it.
I’m so glad you wrote this post. Lord knows I needed it. Look forward to seeing your first post at SPP.
April 9, 2008 at 11:05 am
Although still searching, I think I’m heading in the right direction. I know for a fact that I don’t want to work for others for the rest of my life. I’ll probably continue to do what I’m doing now, but I’ll just be doing it my way and going in a slightly different direction.
April 9, 2008 at 3:30 pm
You are definitely a great writer. You grab me and hold me as a reader, which is basically what writing is. I can see your written works disrupting the Social Studies class. An adult book? lol. You were a little too young to know about that…
I didn’t know you had written a book. You keeping secrets?
I hope my book will be printed by the end of the year, and people support it. I then hope to just keep writing books and sports articles and quit my “it will do for now” job.
April 9, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Yo! This is so right on time for me. I’ve been thinking hard about what my purpose is and how to discover it. Lately, I’ve just decided to try different things and stay in prayer. A closed mouth don’t get fed, right? Anyway, you are a very talented writer and I look forward to reading all of your work. Keep pushin’!
April 9, 2008 at 10:36 pm
@ JJ – That’s quite a testimony. I’ve read your blog. You can definitely call yourself a writer and I look forward to the day your ship comes in. I need the inspiration!
@ ph – Although I’m still not totally comfortable with what it will all mean, it’s also in my 5 year plan to work independently – to consult and work on my own writing. I need the flexibility. I know that the day will come for you.
@ don – That really means a lot to me, coming from you. I didn’t know you were that close to being published!!! That is GREAT news. I also think you’ve done a very smart thing by blogging like you do. You already have your audience/buyers and I think they appreciate your talent. You are already a success and you definitely have support over here.
@ Krush – I had a feeling that this would be right on time for a lot of people. It’s been brewing for a while and when I sat down to write it, it just flowed. You’re doing the right thing by praying on it. The answers will come. Just ensure that the one you have in your life supports your dreams and you will be able to do anything. I wish you the best, truly.
And I appreciate those that commented on my talent as a writer. It REALLY means a lot and I SO needed to hear that.
April 22, 2008 at 12:58 am
[...] Great event and I was blessed to have been a part of it. I’m not an industry type or a professional music writer. I’m just a woman who has a passion for this thing we call soul music. I “scribble” some words about that love a few times a week. Who knew it would start opening doors in unexpected places? Love what you do…and do what you love people. [...]
May 6, 2008 at 10:48 pm
[...] this economy. I’ve had so many things on my mind lately – the direction of my career and my side hustle, moving ahead with my five-year plan, whether the therapy is helping, letting go of the past, [...]
May 20, 2008 at 12:10 am
[...] That level of faith really inspires me and puts some things in perspective. As cliche as it is, I am going to continue to embrace what is present in my life and not focus on what’s lacking or what I’ve lost. I’ve been given another year. I’m able to pay my mortgage with weekly paychecks from my new job. I’m able to treat myself to the things that make me happy like concerts, new music, and vacations. I have a very close relationship with my mother and a few true lifetime friends. Doors are opening that will allow me to continue to pursue what I’ve been put here to do. [...]
June 3, 2008 at 2:15 am
[...] a few other things in the works. A sista has really started grinding and getting serious about getting her side hustle on and working towards fulfilling her personal mission. Trying to fit that in between work (which is [...]
July 25, 2008 at 12:02 pm
[...] this week and really feel good about some things I’m about to put in place to move closer to doing what I love…at least as a side hustle. I can’t see myself being able to give up my weekly paycheck [...]
October 28, 2008 at 9:21 am
[...] is that while she is a teacher, a wife and mother of three, in all the spare time she has left she is actively doing what she loves. She has tangible products of her passion. Members of Procrastinators Anonymous, time’s a [...]
November 6, 2008 at 10:08 am
I’m so happy I came by this blog this morning. You have soo inspired me to get going. I’ve always, since a little girl, wanted to do art…whatever would make my heart sing…and now as an adult, nothing. I create, but by buying others art. I’m ready to walk through fear and start from the bottom. Poke insecurity in the eye, and truly follow mt heart.
February 26, 2009 at 12:36 am
[...] In case you’re couldn’t tell, he is creating the beats right there. I don’t know about you but I am in awe of his artistry – what he was creating right there on stage. As I watched his every movement, I know how people who were fortunate to watch Dilla make music must have felt. I thought about how his ability to be able to use all of those instruments, sometimes simultaneously, to create that incredible sound is the result of God-given talent and hard work. He started playing the piano at age four and look at him now. It really inspired me to keep pushing and doing what I love. [...]