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“Most people tiptoe through life, hoping they make it safely to death” Bob Proctor

I wanted to call this post…

Be the Bad-Ass you were born to be and live an awesome life, boldly doing what you love with everything you’ve fucking got

But trying to get all that to fit nice and tight into that little subject-line area up above would’ve been one helluva hot mess

I got a comment on the Letting It Out Of Its Cage blog post the other day that got to me a little.

The post was about how everything we do, big or small, negative or positive, effects everything else, not only in our lives, but in the lives of everyone we touch, and everyone they touch, and on down the line

And that knowing this, we should do some seriously awesome shit and spend our time boldly doing what we love

The comment, came in from a guy named Joel…

“Chris,

I can see where you’re coming from and totally agree.

However, I’m hoping you have some bit of wisdom to pass on to me quickly to kick my ass into gear.

I hate my job, I’m good at it, but I friggin’ hate it, and I’m surrounded by people who annoy me or I wouldn’t associate with.

I’m also expecting my 5th child in June, so while this job pays the bills, I have no idea what direction to take.

How do you find out what kind of work will satisfy you and hope it pays the bills?

How do you make that leap while being responsible?” – Joel



What Joel’s talking about here is SOOOOO common

This really is the million dollar question, isn’t it ?

How do YOU find what you love to do, and make money doing it?

Now, first of all…

I don’t think doing what you love for a “living” is always the ONLY path of awesomeness

It’s the solution I’m gonna delve into here, but there ARE other paths that are pretty damn awesome as well

… Like…

Leading a life of selfless service, I commend anyone who can do it, and in my book, you are pure bad-ass to the bone

Another option is doing what you really “like” for a living… and taking up a hobby doing what you love

That’s better than the popular choice of tip-toeing through life at some shitty job hoping to make it safely to death… no scratches, bruises or enemies

For example…

If you hate delivering pizza, but love to workout and have always wanted to paint

Maybe you’d be happy becoming a personal trainer, a career that pays 10-20 times what a pizza delivery guy makes and allows you to talk “workout” stuff all day

You’d also be helping a bunch of people to become happier and healthier, instead of delivering a heart attack in a box with everything on it, hold the anchovies

And then you could paint in your free time as a hobby

You’d probably be much happier taking this route, instead of the pizza gig

Just don’t sacrifice your life to the Gods of Mediocrity, Comfortability and Boredom… doing shit you don’t like doing for people you don’t like doing it for

I’m all for hard work, but work hard doing some shit you love to do

Something you can become legendary at

Something that, once you find it, burns bright in your soul and simply cannot be contained

For example, I’m doing what I love at this exact moment…

… Writing

Personally I just don’t fit into the 9-5 culture… I’m pretty introverted, don’t like schedules and CAN’T STAND working for anyone

So, I work for myself and make my own hours

There’s actually a recurring nightmare I’ve had over and over for years…

… It’s called a day job

SCARY STUFF

I’d rather just write… no schedule or commute required … just sit at the keyboard and open a vein

I have two blogs… and I write sales copy for my products and programs for personal trainers… and I have a blast doing it

Plus, I get to write a lot of email copy, not only for my own info-products, but all kinds of affiliates products I promote as well

And I couldn’t be happier

I’ve ALWAYS wanted to be a writer, and even though I suck at English, deep inside I know it’s what I was born to do

But for most of my life, I bought into the bullshit my head and society were spewing at me and I just didn’t see how I’d be able to make a living doing it

But today, that’s exactly what I do

Now, there’s definitely NOTHING special about me

In fact, I’m more defective than anything else

And one of my defects is that I MUST do things I love to do or I go bat-shit outta my mind bored crazy.

Ask just about any teacher or employer I’ve ever had

In fact, I was officially in the running for the “World’s Worst Employee Award”… but I lost to some dude who shot up his workplace

Fortunately, it’s now been over a decade since I’ve had a day job, but when I DID have one, I had an intimate relationship with misery

Depression would set in deep on Sundays and all I could think about was “Tomorrow I gotta go back to that shitty job I hate”

When at work, I’d go so ADHD nuts that I just couldn’t give any attention to the job at hand and would do a half-assed job

The exception are the years I worked as a bouncer, I loved throwing drunks out of bars, and was good at it, but the money sucked and the environment just wasn’t congruent with my goal of complete and total sobriety

California minimum wage is $8 and that’s exactly what I’m worth at the typical job-type job

I just can’t seem to get into it and call in sick at least once a week

My curse of dissatisfaction is also … in a way… my gift

Dissatisfaction was the driving force that propelled me into doing things for a living I FUCKING LOVE…

… And when it comes to something I love, like writing, I become OBSESSED and want to do it all the time

I actually need to keep myself in check so I can enjoy a balanced life … otherwise I’ll go without sleep, without conversations with friends and family, without workouts and will actually sit there and hold in my pee for hours cuz I don’t wanna stop doing that thing I love

To keep a healthy balance in life, I pray, meditate, workout, take breaks and make sure to drink a large raw veggie juice everyday

Doing what you love is a topic I have a close and committed relationship with

I’m also fortunate to know many others who love what they do… fitness professionals, information marketers, film makers, artists, writers, personal development coaches, brick and mortar business owners… you name it

My question to you is…

If you’re not doing what you currently love… why the hell not?

There’s gotta be SOMETHING that excites you

Something that burns deep inside

You just need to look for it and ignore the naysayers, bullshit, rationalizations and stories in your head

Stories like…

… “I could never do what I love and make good money doing it” …

… “This job is as good as it’s gonna get for me” …

… “I don’t have the time”…

… “I have no skills” …

… “I have 6 kids, I should have started something years ago, it’s too late now” …

… “Someday”…

Are these good reasons?

Let me answer em’ one at a time for you

Bullshit

Bullshit

Bullshit

Bullshit

Bullshit

And Total Fucking Bullshit

Someday’s a train that ain’t coming, but it IS passing your station right now… and you can catch it if you run after it with everything in you

If you REALLY wanna do something else… something greater… something you’re passionate about.. something that allows you to leave a bigger and better imprint on the world, in your own unique way, and enjoy it AND get paid for it…

… Then I’d do most, if not all, of these 11 things…

1. Be Relentless In Your Search

Don’t sit there stewing in thoughts about how much you hate your job

Start searching for what you would be happier doing

And if you’re happier doing something, you’ll be of better service to others

DO NOT settle

The warrior never settles

To settle is to lay dying on the battle field, knowing you didn’t give em’ your best fight

If you truly dislike your job and coworkers, and that’s how you spend your days, do you know how bad that is for you?

How much life that’s sucking out of you?

Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, spending 40 hours a week stabbing yourself in the soul with a tiny little butter knife, over and over

2080 hours a year… living in a fucking straight jacket.

Imagine spending the next 20 years in that toxic environment

41,600 hours sharing a cubicle with the devil

Now that’s fucked up

Turn your dissatisfaction for your job into something that moves you, the thing that calls the hero in you to the Great Quest

Your Hero’s Journey

Be willing to make sacrifices, walk through fears and face your critics head on

Including your own inner critic… he’s usually the most convincing of the bunch

This is not a journey for cowards

Rise up, make up your mind up that NOTHING will stop you… and start walking towards that North Star, using your soul as your compass when the fog is thick

Beware of charlatans, the allure of the quick buck and shiny objects along the way

One foot in front of the other with fierce determination that NOTHING can defeat you

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” Ayn Rand

2. Stop Being a Fucking Pussy

There is an AWESOME life, FAR beyond the inner most depths of your imagination, waiting for you right on the other side of that shit you’re afraid of

And no matter how hard you try to avoid what you fear, there is no way around, only through

Your greatest fears are the passageway to your deepest desires

The scary stuff in life, the part of our to-do list we keep ignoring… that’s the stuff that we should be doing FIRST… cuz without it, the other stuff really doesn’t matter

Once we walk through the fears, facing them head on… the things that scared us become less and less scary and no longer control us

We’re able to move from the passenger seat to the drivers seat

Many famous musicians, public speakers and comedians still suffer from some level of stage fright, but they get up there and do what needs to be done

They could be shaking like a leaf on the inside, but they don’t let it hold em’ back, otherwise they’d never be living their dream … they’d probably be working some normal job-type-job that they would HATE…

… Sitting in their cute little cubicle dreaming about being a musician or a comedian or a “fill in the blank”… instead of actually doin’ the awesome thing they do and sharing it with the world

Henry Fonda was known to throw up before each stage performance, even up into his seventies

Sometimes we may never be fully comfortable doin’ those things we currently fear, but the fear stops having power over us

We act in spite of it, it no longer paralyzes us, for we have risen above it… and now we have the power instead of the fear having the power over us… the fears have been converted into fuel that we burn up hauling ass down the road of our new life

The treasure is right there on the other side of the dragon… we must approach the dragon head on, feel it’s fiery breath and do what needs to be done

Here’s a little nugget from one of my favorite bloggers, Julien Smith

“In every industry, there is an edge. In your business or personal life, it doesn’t matter– somewhere, there is a cliff. Most people don’t want to get to close to it, because they’re afraid they’ll fall off. Thing is, the edge is where all the cool stuff happens. I know you don’t want to make a decision that is irrevocable and wrong– a decision from which you might never recover– that’s natural. But guess what? You are actually in the middle of an open field, inside your house, clutching your purse, crying like a little girl while looking at an edge you see on television. In other words? You are nowhere near the goddamn edge. It’s time you stopped being a fucking pussy.” Julien Smith

3. Ask for “Big” Guidance



I’m not gonna tell you what to believe in, cuz I don’t like it when people try to tell ME what to believe in

But I CAN tell you that simply praying and asking for guidance, in this area of my life, changed everything for me

In 2002 I had a job I hated, that’s a big word hate, and my hate for what I did from 8am to 5pm everyday WAS big

I was pretty ripped at the time… chiseled six pack, veins everywhere, the whole deal

I prayed about what I should do, I just basically got on my knees, and with everything in me, asked for some guidance when it came to what I should be doing for a living

I think I asked something like “What should I enjoy doing, where I can be myself and can help a lot of people?”

And the trippiest shit started to happen…

Over the course of about a week, I don’t think a day went by without some random person looking at me, asking me what I did to get into shape, and then either asking if I was a personal trainer

Or telling me I should be one

I quit that shitty job and become a trainer

( I now pray about pretty much everything in life that’s bigger than “what should I have for lunch?” )

4. Be Still



Our soul knows our calling

But our mind tends to get in the way

If you can spend 40 hours a week at a job you don’t like, you can spend 20 minutes a day to look within and find a greater Truth for your life

The power of meditation is beyond explanation

It puts you in deeper touch with your soul and opens you up to new ideas and possibilities your logical mind could never conceive of

5. Ask Yourself



Is there anything you’ve always loved doing?

Is there something you’re just naturally good at and enjoy?

Do you have a hobby you love that you could possibly make money at?

What would you wanna do all day even if you didn’t get paid for it

( If you answered watch TV, stop reading this post now, and go get rid of your fucking TV )

Deep inside you know what it is for you, no one else can tell you

The answers WILL come if you’re ready and open to receive them

Serendipitous occurrences will start happening and the way North will become obvious

Now, if you’re NOT getting clear answers, your mind might be blocked by beliefs, judgments and incessant thinking

If this is the case check out the book ‘The Power of Now’ By Eckhart Tolle… It can help to wake you up to that place beyond thought… I’ve gone through it many times over the years and it’s helped to change my life more than any book I’ve ever read

Something else you can do that helps, is ask your subconscious mind what you should be doing for a living, don’t think about it, just ask

Especially right before you go to sleep

Just let your subconscious mind go to work finding the answers

“The unexamined life is not worth living” Socrates

6. Ask Others

Find people who love what they do… or do shit that looks cool to you, and ask them about it… ask them how they went from they were to where they are now

How they like doing it now they’ve been doing it all this time

What they would recommend

Put your feelers out there… once you start asking, you’d be amazed at the people who will start showing up in your life with the answers

7. Research

We live in a day and age where there is SO MUCH information out there on ANYTHING you wanna learn

INCLUDING finding your passions, changing careers, starting businesses… and whatever it is you wanna know

If you don’t seek out the clues, sign posts and the pop-corn trail that runs through the halls of the universal library that’s out there, it’s no ones fault but your own

The information, both free, like on blogs, and paid, like in books, is there… just waiting for you

The book “What Color is Your Parachute?” , which is updated each year I think, helped get my butt out of that print shop a decade ago

It’s more for the job seeker in my opinion, but it WAS helpful

Start seeking and putting stuff in your head that gets you thinking and opens you up to new possibilities and ways of looking at things

Read blogs like The Art of Non-Conformity

And Jonathan Mead’s Paid To Exist

There’s a ton of them

My friend Jonathan Fields wrote a book called Career Renegade that’s helpful in this area

Another one you might like is Love Your Job or Find a New One

There are countless resources for you to dig into, set aside some time every day, and start digging

8. If a Clean Break Isn’t an Option, Start Out Part Time In Your Off Hours



Some people start by doing that thing they love in the middle of the night after they’ve put your kids to bed

Or getting up a few hours earlier

Start putting in whatever time you can and when you start making some money, cut back the hours you devote to your old career

Do more and more of the new career and less of the old

When I started my first dream business … my personal training business, I kept cutting my hours from my shit job, as I kept growing my training hours

And once I was making more money training than I was doing the old thing, I quit

I can already hear excuses why this can’t work for you

And you’re right, it can’t work for you… cuz you’re full of excuses

9. Trust Whatever’s Running The Show



I don’t give a shit what your religious or spiritual beliefs are

In my experience, those who have a strong spiritual foundation and go about life with a “Thy Will, Not Mine, Be Done” attitude… and REALLY fucking mean it with everything in them…

… Are able to tap into the flow of life and align with their TRUE path, instead of trying to swim up stream all the time

True creativity is beyond the mind and not of this world

Doors fly open where there were walls, serendipitous experience becomes the norm and one’s true calling becomes apparent

Many people much greater and stronger than you or I, from all types of beliefs and backgrounds, have relied upon prayer to show them the way

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell

10. Be In The Action Business, NOT The Results Business

Take bold action, and get shit done, but don’t be attached to the results

If you follow #9 and do the whole “Thy Will, Not Mine, Be Done” thing… then you know the results are out of your hands anyway, and everything is gonna happen exactly as it’s supposed to

Even if you’re optimistic, being attached to results brings a controlling, fear-based, constricting energy to what you do

It takes your focus off the work at hand, out of the present moment, and it projects it into an imaginary future, taking the love out of what you do and putting it in a headlock

… Making you unable to do your thing to the absolute best of your ability

It then all becomes just one more means to end, one more thing to get you over “there and then”… as you ignore the “here and now”

You trade intrinsic joy for the extrinsic chase of material riches, validation and prize possessions

Life becomes no longer about the game, but about the trophy case against the wall

It all becomes about the destination, and no longer about the journey

Instead of smelling the roses, you’re yanking them from the ground and selling them for pennies down at the local bazar

Stop it

Just do the work, one foot in front of another, and give it your fucking all

Fucking jam your tunes man

Even if you’re in a garage band

Don’t worry about getting “discovered”

Bang the drum cuz you love to bang the drum… become ONE with the drum

Play from your fucking heart

Don’t worry about impressing the record execs and girls in the audience

Play From Your Fucking Heart! Bill Hicks

http://youtu.be/xRkA6zugNMQ

11. Make Your Mind Up That NOTHING Is Gonna Stop You

It’s all within you… and it’s all UP TO YOU

Your success or failure in this area has nothing to do with any one else, any outside circumstances or anything that is not YOU

You may tell yourself stories why you can’t do it… the kids, lack of skills and education, it’s too late, too early, your too young, too old, the dog ate your homework

Blah, blah, blah

If you wanna keep doing what your doing and don’t long for something greater with every cell of your being, than keep doing the shit you’ve been doing

Hey, at least your semi-comfortable in your low-level misery and are able to pay your bills

At least you’re cozy, all cuddled up under your cute little security blanket… scared to face the monsters in your closet

But if you long for change and are ready to do what it takes, then cut your fucking umbilical cord, get up and start kicking some serious ass…

… Determined that nothing or no one is gonna stop you from doing what you were born to do

It’s your fucking birthright

And just like the Blues Brothers, you’re on a mission from God

You have a higher calling

Do what’s important, not what’s urgent

Be willing to put in the fucking work

It takes work to be great

And remember to steer clear of any charlatans, shiny objects and get-rich quick bullshit that may tempt you along the way

Don’t trade your soul for easy money

Avoid anything with a picture of some dude and a lap top, chilling with a hammock on some picture perfect beach somewhere

What that dude’s selling ain’t real

Just put one foot in front of the other, boldly move forward, and DO NOT STOP

Just keep moving forward… re-aligning as you go

KEEP MOVING FORWARD

Remain steadfast in your determination that NOTHING or no one can defeat you

It’s all up to you my friend

Do what you’ve been doing and keep getting what you’ve got

Or let your Inner Giant out of it’s cage to rise up and do some seriously awesome shit

If you’ve risen above some serious shit in your life, do what you love OR wanna do something more awesome and congruent with who you are than what you’re currently doing… then please chime in the comment section below and share your experience … you just never know who you may help, inspire or learn from

And if you’d like to be the first to get my brand new blog posts as I write them, then be sure to subscribe to ChrisMcCombs.Net here:

Rise Above,

Big Chris

P.S. I’d love to hear your comments below

I do my best to respond to all comments.

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