How do you turn a passion into a career?
From getting to unleash an inner artist every day to finding a way to spread passion with the world, here are the 12 answers to the question, “How have you turned your passion into your career?”
- I Get to Unleash My Inner Artist Every Day
- From Human Potential to Professional Development
- I Turned Writing into Career Freedom
- Give a Voice to Frontline Workers Everywhere
- Be Open to Changes in Plans
- Starting a Blog About Music
- Strive to Make a Difference in Society
- Strive for the Highest Quality of Work
- My Passion For Career Matching Helped Me Become a Reverse Recruiter
- My Passion for Writing Was Born Out of Pain
- Burnout Helped me Pivot And Discover My New Path
- I Found a Way to Spread My Passion to the World
I Get to Unleash My Inner Artist Every Day
I’ve always been an avid artist. I paint as a hobby, and it’s my No. 1 outlet. However, I’ve also used my artistic skills throughout my professional life. I worked as a lighting designer, and my designs can be seen in prestigious places like the Las Vegas skyline. Today, as a hair restoration doctor, I am able to put my artistic expertise to work helping people look their best. My keen eye and ability to bring my artistic vision to life has served me well in my professional endeavors, and I am very thankful for that.
Jae Pak, MD, Jae Pak MD Medical
From Human Potential to Professional Development
My passion is people. I have always known this. However, when I recognized that championing human potential was truly at the core of my existence…my reason for being…that’s when I realized that I MUST create a company where I could do exactly that.
Through creating U & Improved 14 years ago, I have been able to work hands-on with tens of thousands of teams and individuals to create real, tangible improvement, and lasting and sustainable change within organizations across the globe. And now, after putting that knowledge and experience in my first book, I’m looking forward to helping even more. Putting my passion into action has truly been the biggest gift.
Jodi Low, Founder and Author, U & Improved
I Turned Writing into Career Freedom
Since the age of 4, I’ve always been passionate about writing and storytelling. Not wanting to go into journalism, I didn’t know what writing for a living could look like for me after college. So I shifted into survival mode, working jobs that didn’t really interest me but allowed me to pay the bills. That is, until I got married and had children. Working a traditional job just didn’t work for me as a mom of two.
So I started researching writing careers and how to make a living as a freelance writer. More than six years later, I regret nothing. I get paid to do what I love — and make more money AND work less than I did in a traditional setting. It took me a few months to fully replace my income with writing. I took my time building up a client list, learning SEO, and adapting my skills for digital media. I also made sure my early success would be sustainable before quitting my day job. Living my passion every day has given me more career freedom than I ever expected.
Alli Hill, Founder and Director, Fleurish Freelance
Give a Voice to Frontline Workers Everywhere
Growing up in a family of frontline workers, I recognized how essential this workforce is. I also understood that unfortunately, so often, this workforce is overlooked or not included because they work differently than desk-bound workers.
I wanted to change that by providing them with tools to be seen, heard, and recognized. When I met my Co-Founder, Young-Jae Kim, we had similar backgrounds and the same vision – to make a difference for these workers. We took our data and training and applied it to a new solution to bring workers and employers together in a safe, secure, and simple-to-use channel for emergencies, onboarding, schedule changes, and so much more. We help workers voice their most critical needs and assist employers in receiving those messages without adding to anyone’s workload.
Building Anthill is the culmination of a life-long interest in the future of work, and bringing a voice to deskless employees everywhere. This is a passion that Anthill will never stop pursuing.
Muriel Clauson, CEO/Co-founder, Anthill
Be Open to Changes in Plans
If you dream about a job or industry, don’t talk to your parents, friends, or anyone who doesn’t actually work in that job. Find the people who do or find the people who have access to the information you need.Learn how to network and you will open your own doors. A high school pen pal of mine introduced me to a writer who had his own media company. From there I worked with him for over 20 years. He introduced me to other media outlets that hired me as a freelancer. My initial dream didn’t come true, but I still got to work in that industry, doing what I love.
I also wanted to work in advertising because I thought that would also elevate my position in this industry. Women simply didn’t sell advertising at that time, anywhere. My mentor introduced me to a fellow who gave me advice that I carry to this day. I did get work in advertising, but it led me to other areas where it brought me skills I needed to get even closer to this industry.
Debbie Elicksen, Principal, Debbie Elicksen
Starting a Blog About Music
Music has been at the forefront for most of my life and I have always wanted to work with music in some form or another. A few years ago, I had the chance to start my own company, a music journal that also features some of the top music equipment and technology. Starting this has always been a dream and through this venture, I’ve discovered an excellent way to merge my passions with my career.
Larissa Pickens, Owner, Repeat Replay
Strive to Make a Difference in Society
I have always been passionate about home improvement and when I had the opportunity to turn this into a business, I welcomed it with open hands. My main focus has always been to help people make the best of their living space and have an enriching experience while doing so.
I strive to bring a difference in society by offering top-quality home improvement services with complete customer satisfaction. We prioritize customer satisfaction above all else and make sure that every project is completed with utmost precision and attention to detail. We believe that the quality of a home reflects the personality of its inhabitants, which is why we always strive to make sure our clients are left with nothing less than perfection.
With decades of experience in the industry, we have been able to develop our services into something even more exceptional.
Neil Platt, Director, Emerald Home Improvements
Strive for the Highest Quality of Work
Web development has been a passion of mine for a long time. From the moment I first stepped into the world of coding and web design, I knew that I wanted to make a career out of it.
At first, I took the traditional route and undertook a degree in computer science. That provided me with a solid foundation of knowledge and the skills to be able to make a start in the industry. Before I finished my degree, I started freelancing as a web developer. This gave me the opportunity to hone my skills and gain some valuable experience in working with clients. With each project I worked on, I pushed myself to do better; striving for the highest quality of work and learning something new each time.
Once I had completed my degree, I decided to take the plunge and make web development my full-time job. What followed was a period of hard work and dedication, with hours spent honing my skills, studying industry trends and honing my craft.
Burak Özdemir, Founder, Online Alarm Kur
My Passion For Career Matching Helped Me Become a Reverse Recruiter
I’ve always been passionate about helping people find jobs. I remember in college helping friends create their LinkedIn profiles and figure out what kind of work they want to do when they graduated. This led me to a career in recruiting.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get the satisfaction of working directly with job seekers as a recruiter which led me to working as a reverse recruiter. Reverse recruiters work directly for job seekers, helping them find jobs, apply to jobs, and network with hiring managers. Today, I get to make a living doing what I love doing, and likely would have been doing for family and friends for free.
Mike Podesto, Founder & CEO, Find My Profession
My Passion for Writing Was Born Out of Pain
Nothing like fine-tuning the thing you love to do into a career. You get the best of both worlds. On the one hand, you’re doing something you love and getting paid for it. Not a lot of people get that lucky, though. For instance, I started writing a draft for a fiction (still in the works). This was born as a form of catharsis from a nightmarish relationship I struggled with at that point in my life.
Somehow it motivated me to take on Freelance projects for writing Content in the past decade. After all, I do love to convince people with great products and services. And combining that with the art of storytelling. Well, it made perfect sense.Before I knew it, I realized I enjoyed convincing people with the written word. It’s only one life, as people say, YOLO (You Only Live Once), make it count. Go for your dreams, and even if you fall short. Your ‘short’ would be far better than living a life you’re not really content with.
John B. Martyn, Lead Content Strategist , BrightestMinds
Burnout Helped me Pivot And Discover My New Path
For many years I thought that being self-employed would be a dream rather than a plan. Until the pandemic and a burnout happened…In 2020 I was working in one of the world’s Big Four and, despite my impeccable assessment, I was working in a consultancy firm with success goals and a business culture that didn’t fit my values. As soon as we started remote work I realized that I was much better that way.
I could accompany my son closely and continue to be productive. In any case, the excessive working hours, the shock of values and the dissatisfaction continued, and I couldn’t avoid burnout. After Xavier’s birth and some therapy, my perspective on fear has changed. It took courage, savings, and support. I said goodbye to a job at a well-known mega-company, to an above-average salary, to a “secure job.” I’ve been helping incredible projects to be born, I’ve been meeting wonderful people. I feel that my work is relevant and that I can help those who need me.
Maria Mano, Independent Brand & Communication Designer, Maria Mano Design Studio
Found a Way to Spread My Passion to the World
I wrote a book! I was in the security industry for over two decades, in roles from regional labor relations manager, to general manager, to sr. Regional vice president and loved helping every person at every level of organizations thrive and providing high-value customer loyalty from the inside out.
When my mother became ill and I “retired” from corporate America, I decided to take the pieces I loved and put them into a consulting business. I then determined what would best help every stakeholder from my work and put it in a problem-solving book. I can’t tell you how much fun I have every day. Why? Because it is my passion. And now I have readers worldwide enjoying and learning.
Irma Parone, ODCP, President, Parone Group, LLC
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