If you go to any bookstore or online bookseller out there, and do a simple search, you will find countless resources from motivational authors about finding your passion.  Targeting what it is that you love to do, and how to embrace it.  And, if you’re lucky, make obscene amounts of cash doing it.

Now, I wouldn’t say that I’m rolling in piles of cash, but I do have the good fortune to have a day job that surrounds me with something I’m very passionate about.  I eat, sleep, and breathe workplace learning and employee development.  When I’m “off the clock”, my mind doesn’t stop.  I don’t simply remove my “Learning and Development Manager” hat, and put it back on when I step into the office the next day.  My career is part of who I am; that authenticity is part of what defines me.  My day job makes me more passionate about my chosen field.  It’s not an either/or.  I don’t sacrifice my day job to find my passion.  And I believe that passion makes me a better, more authentic person.  Awesomesauce!

That said, even when doing what I love, sometimes the four walls of the office feel a bit limiting.  There are areas of my field that I just don’t get to explore often enough, because of the day-to-day rigor.  That’s why I have always embraced freelance opportunities when they come along – not necessarily as a cash supplement, but more as a creativity supplement.  It’s been a few months since I have had a side project on my plate, and while I have had very little time for it lately, I still crave the change in routine, and the opportunity to discover new things and work with new people.

It’s that passion that fuels me to get better at the day job.  And when I get better at my day job, it feeds my passion to learn more.  Create more.  To just do more.  It’s really not a “versus” at all…the two work in tandem.

So, my friends, here’s to finding your passion, in or out of your day job…