Passion, Inspiration, Motivation

There is a book by Marsha Sinetar called Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow. I've heard similar platitudes most of my life. The trouble is figuring out what I love.

I know people who have passions. They can't not do whatever it is they're doing, whether it brings money or not. Artists are like that. I remember going to a talk by Jane Yolen a few years ago. She described how her husband had been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning radiation treatments. She came home after the first day, sat at her computer and a sonnet "oozed" from her fingers. She wrote a sonnet every day of her husband's treatments and the result was a small book The Radiation Sonnets.

Perhaps I'm a late bloomer; I haven't yet discovered my passion. There are lots of things I enjoy doing, but no one thing that I must do.

When I was in high school and thinking about careers, I knew I wanted to go to college and have a profession. Beyond that, there were no specifics. I thought I would be a teacher, more because I couldn't think of anything else. Before I finished my BA, I landed a job in what was then the Goodell Library at UMass/Amherst. I liked the work and was good at it, so I continued on to Library School.

All these years that I've worked as a librarian I've considered a career change several times. I used to knit constantly but couldn't figure out how to make a living at that, though it might be fun to own a yarn store. For about 8 years I taught an aerobics class at the Greenfield YMCA and I considered a career in physical fitness. I even took classes and became an ACE certified fitness instructor. But no one, not even a spry 20-something (and I was a spry 40-something then) can teach aerobics all day. Most people in this field are personal trainers and I never made that leap.

I enjoy cooking and I'm a good cook. My live-in partner tells me that I can always open up a restaurant. But I know that having a dinner party for 8 is very different from owing a restaurant. My sister has a degree in Culinary Arts. She worked in the restaurant business for a few years and is now studying to be an elementary school teacher. She says cooking was too much work for too little money. (Wait till she starts teaching little kids!)

I enjoy a clean house. I even enjoy the process of getting it there, but I have NO interest in turning that into a career.

Since I've become comfortable with Public Speaking, I've considered becomming a motivational speaker. What a great blend: helping people and also being the center of attention. It appears that motivational speakers can make lots of money, too. But does the world really need another one? Do I have a unique enough point of view that people would hire me instead of someone else?

Back in my teen years, I wanted to be a writer. I've had various and sundry experiences that involved writing and I very much like writing this blog. I suppose I could explore ways to earn a living from my writing.

A couple of days ago, I taught 2 continuing education workshops for the Connecticut State Library. The classes went very well; I felt as if I really connected with the students. They were very responsive and we all had a good time. It was an extremely satisfying experience: helping people and "showing off" what I've learned over the years. Now that I'm an adjunct faculty member at Simmons GSLIS-west, it looks as if I've ended up back at the beginning. I'm a teacher. Perhaps it's not a passion, but I'm definitely inspired.