Money, creativity, fulfillment and passion: how do you find the right balance?

There's one big dilemma that often comes up, and that's how to strike a balance between the need for freedom, the desire to express your creativity, your contribution, your passion and the financial stakes...

Persevere or give up?

Make a living from your passion or combine it with another activity as a hobby?

Is it really possible?

I'll provide some answers in this newsletter :

⚖️ Aligning freedom, time, creativity, passion and money

The bills have to be paid.

You've got your head full of passions and projects.

You feel the need to fulfill yourself through creativity and impact.

How do you align all this?

I know we often talk about "making a living from your passion", but we've all been there and done that, where your passion doesn't immediately pay off, and you invest a lot with no guarantee that it will ever really pay off.

I spent 2 years creating content every day on a blog and Facebook between 2009 and 2011 before getting my first client...

Likewise, once you're making a living out of it (and I know all about that), the financial stakes get higher and higher, and you have to balance the creative with the mission, while meeting the financial needs (profitability of the activity).

Let's be honest, contrary to what some gurus say :

Making a real living from passion is hard!

It requires perseverance, patience and balance over several consecutive years, with no guarantee that you'll succeed... or that it will last once you do!

Becoming a professional sportsman is hard, becoming an entrepreneur is hard, becoming an artist who really makes a living from his art is hard.

But I also have a question:

Which difficulty do we choose?

We can quickly fall into dilemmas of values, financial stakes, fear of loss or survival to continue to make a living from our passion...

Do you have to have an income-generating activity in order to devote yourself to your passion? Does your passion have to be profitable, or just a hobby? When a passion becomes a profession, does it remain a passion?

There's one thing I've learned over the last few years, working alongside artists, entrepreneurs and sportsmen and women... who make a living from their passion:

Patience and a long-term vision are more important than remaining in a survival mode that keeps us on the hamster wheel...

An intention to create, expand and flourish will be far more powerful than the pressure of urgency and results (creating bad stress)!

It's the essential engine of perseverance and resilience to continue on a path.

I'm often asked:

"Johann, how do I know if it's worth investing so much, persevering, if I'm not sure it's working, nor if I'm making the right decisions?"

I'll answer simply:

We don't know!

We can have more experience to refine our decisions, we can do the best we can, we can be helped...

But part of the result is not up to us!

But is it that important?

Is this path, these projects, this passion... really important to you?

My mindset is based on the principle that I'm not too attached to the result, but rather to who I become in the creative process through learning and investing in the project.

The results will be the consequences of this process.

Good decisions come from bad decisions, and you have to be willing to screw up, to learn, to try again, to adjust along the way.

You'll get further by doing, than by standing around thinking or dreaming about what your life could have been like if you'd dared!

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid to fail, but I accept that the worst failure is to do nothing!

What's the price of staying where you are, of not daring, of giving up?

If you have a project, a path, an idea, a project that calls to you, these 3 resources will be essential:

Passion transcends and gives us the sacred fire The time we have must be spent on what matters Money is the passport to freedom, giving us the choice not to depend on others.

❤️ Passion is the driving force:

We won't persevere if creation and challenges become obligations. Enthusiasm must be present, even in the face of adversity.

You'll kill your sacred fire if you live only by obligation!

What really drives you? What game do you want to play every day? What gives you joy and meaning?

You need to know!

⌛ Time is the key resource:

We only have 24H a day, it's not a question of time, but of priorities:

Where do you put your attention? What should you stop doing? What should you continue? Are you focused on the right tasks?

Working well and being busy every day on the wrong priorities is the best way to waste time!

Be clear about what you need to do.

Either ask for outside help, feedback, or experiment until you find it...

💶 Money:

Money is important!

It doesn't solve all problems, but it does solve money problems, which already takes a lot of mental load and certain worries off your plate!

It brings security and freedom when you have a good relationship with it.

You need to clearly define your financial needs (your standard and bearing requirements) and make decisions accordingly.

Be clear about your needs and get organized!

We're torn between the need for security and adventure, so why choose?

It's a balance:

Let's take risks, but let's calculate them... Let's secure what counts. Let's be adventurous...

But: Nothing should come before your time, your peace, your values and your integrity!

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