The Career School

I hear this all the time - as if doing what you love is some kind of rare genetic mutation. As if painting, singing, writing poems or making films are things only the ultra-rich or recklessly irresponsible get to pursue. As if your heart’s desire is cute… but not compatible with grown-up bills and a mortgage.

Many people believe they have to choose either a “sensible” job that pays the bills or the work that lights them up. Like food that’s either healthy or delicious - but never both.

I see this inner tug-of-war all the time in my coaching work. “𝘔𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳... 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 / 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 / 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴.” And I get it. Stability is a very real need.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth most people aren’t saying out loud: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠.

We are lucky to live in the day and age when any passion can be monetised. But sometimes the path to your dream job looks different than you think.

You love singing? You could be a singer - 𝘰𝘳 a vocal coach, sound designer, voiceover artist, or music therapist. You love painting? You could be an artist - 𝘰𝘳 an illustrator, art director, food stylist, tattoo artist, or art therapist. Want to write a book? You could be a book author - 𝘰𝘳 screenwriter, UX writer, ghostwriter, blog content creator or even an AI prompt engineer.

Passion is not one narrow lane. It’s a whole highway system. You just need to learn how to drive on your terms.

You are probably familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Many people spend their life in the bottom layers - Survival and Safety, focusing on getting the bills paid and pension secured. Some are lucky to form bonds with the team and reach the level of Belonging. Fewer still reach Esteem, having put in the hard work and gotten promoted to the leadership roles. But very few have the courage to climb to the top: Self-Actualisation.

Why? Because chasing a dream often means walking away from comfort, status, or external validation. That takes a lot of guts.

If this speaks to you, here’s what I want you to do:

1️⃣ Let go of the idea that it's either income or passion. It can be both. It is both for many people. If I could do it, so can you. 

2️⃣ Test your idea while you’re still employed. You don’t need to jump off a cliff. Just try it out in the comforting security of your current job.

3️⃣ If you discover your flow, find creative ways to monetise your passion. Build gradually. Take little steps - not massive life transformations. 

Let’s say you are an accomplished lawyer but you adore kids. You could become an Early Years Teacher (and have a massive drop in salary)... or you could start up your own Nursery, Children's Club, online course, or kids' podcast empire. There are always more options than the first thing that comes to mind.

The key is refusing to accept the false binary: money job or passion job.

You do get to have both.

Good luck. You’ve got this.