Think about that statement for a moment, folks. Now think about what it is you TRULY love to do, and whether or not you are making a living at it. I would be willing to bet, chances are, you are not doing it...
Am I right?
I have been looking at this all the wrong way, and I readily admit this. After countless job applications where I have been rejected, and more resume tweaking than I care to recollect, I still sit here, without a "job" in the corporate sense of the word. Of course the ramifications of this have been felt, and have indeed left me with quite a few sleepless nights.
Then it hit me...
Drew, I said, why are you chasing after a job you will not be happy doing, and will barely keep you "Just Over Broke"? Everyone else is doing it, and the competition is fierce, to say the least. I am a man of many talents, all of which have been used at some point in my life, and have made me happy. SO with that said, why not maximize ON those talents, creating multiple income streams FOR MYSELF, and putting me steps closer to achieving those goals I set so long ago. Goals which, I might add, always have appeared to fall just a little bit further out of reach. Perhaps it is not the goal that is unattainable, but the vehicles I have chosen to drive me to them!
This is where I stand now. I am a gamer. I am a writer. I have a radio voice. I love to make music. I still have a desire for art. I find joy in helping people, and in ways to educate and counsel. None of these I have in the past gotten paid for because I simply thought, well none of them will pay the bills... I need a corporate job to do that, and can do all this other stuff as "hobbies".
Wrong answer.
Bel Geode- Independent Contractor, Tyria.
The harsh reality of this world is that, unless you are in business for yourself, you are a slave to someone else's vision. If you cannot control your own destiny, there are many factions out there who will gladly control it for you. I do not know about you, but I am ready to take the red pill, wake up, and get out of that matrix. The signs have been crystal clear to me over the last few months. Corporate America does not want me... They cannot afford me, and they will never respect me.
Why deny your Gawd given talents, in favor of a skill-set spoonfed to you as "the only way" to pay your bills? I wish I could tell you how many of my friends have degrees, upwards of masters, who are constantly told they are "overqualified", yet they have awesome innate talents they are not using. It is downright criminal to give up on your dreams and talents, because this degree is supposed to get you the money you deserve... Yet it ISN'T.
Yoda said- "You must UNlearn, what you have learned."
I've been reading about the law of attraction. It's pretty profound stuff, but nothing that any of us could not achieve, if we tried. So here is what i have been doing to help my own process along, and in turn save my sanity, and provide a little sleep back into my nights.
What is Scarlet's obsession with those "sexbots"?
Writing-
Aside from this blog, I began writing in November with a brand new gaming e-zine called Elite Monster. I actually found the editor on Craigslist of all places, and we talked about what the goals were, and it meshes with mine. Since my number one game is Guild Wars 2, I have been writing what I call "Living Story Logs", which essentially recap the latest living story updates, and steps to do in order to complete the story steps. Thankfully for me, ArenaNet has those biweekly updates, which gives me a steady stream of work to do. I will also be chiming in on other games, such as Star Citizen; which I would highly recommend any die hard space simulator fans, or aviation buffs check out. It won't be out till 2015, but they are already doing some amazing things over there.
Livestreaming-
I did it folks. I took the plunge and brought my radio voice to twitch.tv, starting the channel "Bel Geode, THE Purple Norn plays...". My viewership keeps rising daily as I take what would normally be a solo endeavor to new heights, with an audience, and of course my part snarky, part witty commentary. Right now the major games I am streaming are Guild Wars 2, and Star Wars- The Old Republic, though I have experimented with other games like Assassin's Creed IV, War Thunder, and even The Secret World. As I get new games, I will have new opportunities to grow my viewer base, and the prospect excites me. There are already "regulars" who check in, each time my SWTOR bounty hunter Ghita, continues her story.
Ghita and Mako prepare to show 'em how it's done.
I have yet to upload any highlights to YouTube, but to be honest, until they do right by the myriad of gamers they are screwing out of income, with their draconian ContentID system, I am doing a personal boycott. Luckily for me, twitch.tv allows me to archive any highlights of my streams.
There are other avenues that are about to be explored within the next month, some involving my voice, that I cannot wait to get to experience. As those become public, I will gladly share them with you here, but for now I will keep them under wraps, out of respect for the others involved.
I am no fool however. I know Rome was not built in a day, nor do I expect this to be an overnight financial miracle for me. One thing I DO expect however, is to be the best I can be at doing what I LOVE to do, and having the universe take care of the rest. When things looked darkest for me, I was able to find a way out, and a way up. I am not about to look any gift horses in the mouth.
Ghita turns a bounty into a new companion.
I encourage anyone to do the same. Find what you LOVE to do. Find a way to make it work for you, and stop chasing after corporations with no heart. Go into business for yourself... whether freelance, like I have been doing, or a bona fide, brick and mortar business. Back in the day, my mother and I had a flower shop in Ft. Lauderdale. For several years we created our own destiny, because at the time mom realized what I am realizing now... NO ONE is going to save you but yourself. You know what... it was FUN!
The program we have all been fed is a lie. We were never meant to slave away at jobs that have not got our best interests, or our families at heart. It's killing not only our dreams, but our souls. There IS another way. Every single one of us has talents we were born with. It is up to us to use them to create the life WE want. The rest will sort itself out. The only thing stopping us, is our own programming and FEAR! I won't lie to you, deprogramming and subduing fear is a daunting task, but guess what? IT CAN BE DONE!
I invite you to come with me on my journey, and see where I go from this turning point. If I can do it, anyone can.
Bel and the Valkyrie squad get ready for more Dragon killing in Skyrim.
That is my lesson to you today.
No comments:
Post a Comment