People tend to do one of three things…
(1) Ignore the fire. (2) Devalue the fire. (3) Stoke the fire. I think we often look at people who have succeeded at something – let’s just say life – and we chalk it up to them being “rare” or “lucky.” Why? Sure, there are people who have less complicated paths to meeting their goals, but at the heart of it all, they had to want to succeed before they could succeed. Does that make sense? You can’t actually do something great without believing you should or could. <– Slap that on a bumper sticker!
Life is like a puzzle
When I say “stoke the fire” I’m obviously talking about the fire within you (Whoa man, that’s deep!). What fills you with passion, energy, excitement, and drive? I genuinely believe that our lives are like a puzzle and each piece is like a trial, an achievement, a special skill, a personal or physical trait. All of these pieces come together to make up the puzzle of our life. Since no one has the same combination of pieces, we can’t all have the same puzzle. At the end of your days on this planet, what kind of picture would you want your puzzle pieces to make? Your puzzle could be total happenstance, it could be intentional, or maybe a combo of both, but the point is – you can actually have an influence on each puzzle piece and the final picture.
Pursue what makes you feel excited
When I said that most people ignore or devalue their fire (aka passion/purpose), I’m saying that folks are either unwilling or unaware of what to do with it, or they tell themselves it isn’t important and no one will care. It’s like that quote: “The worst mistake you can make is being afraid to make one.” This is SO true! Don’t be afraid to pursue whatever it is that makes you feel excited, ambitious or impactful, whether it’s an idea, a mission or a special skill.
Stoke the fire – even if it means getting burned
Elon Musk, Mother Theresa, and John Lennon weren’t afraid to embrace their ideas and stoke the fire. It takes an element of fearlessness to put an idea into action and be unashamed to stand out. My passion and purpose are sharing stories that inspire and encourage others to let go of their fears and live a more fulfilling and fruitful life. When I decided to pursue freelancing full-time, a lot of people didn’t understand and many encouraged me to think of my passion as more of a hobby or side-job (even those closest to me). Navigating this solo-profession and staying true to my mission isn’t always easy, nothing worth doing is, but in order to persevere, I have to keep stoking that fire – even if it means getting burned from time to time.
Happiness is an inside job
I encourage you to take some time to search your heart. Challenge your safe way of thinking and write down what comes to mind. Ask yourself, “If money, opportunity, and opinions weren’t an issue, what would I do?” Once you start to stoke the fire that is naturally within you, you may be surprised by how freeing it feels! Lastly, I want to remind you that happiness is an inside job…don’t let the fears of others steal your purpose!
Share your discoveries with me in the comment section or email me at michelle@freelymi.com!
Love this! Thank you so much