怎样知道你喜欢做什么

Martin

　　Brian Kim的这篇 《How to Find What You Love to Do》是我认为世界上每个人都应该精读一遍的好文章，很高兴看到imacee把它翻译成了中文，这里是转载的imacee's weblog上的译文，希望更多的人能看到这篇文章。

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　　写这篇文章的灵感来自于史蒂夫·乔布斯在斯坦福大学学位颁授典礼上的演讲。在讲话中, 他谈到我们曾听过成千上万遍的忠告:

　　“你必须找到你所喜欢的东西。工作上是如此, 对情侣也是如此。 你的工作将占据你生命中大半个人生, 唯一能真正获得满足的方法是做你认为伟大的工作, 而唯一能做伟大的工作的方法是喜爱你做的事。” –史蒂夫-乔布斯

　　那么, 问题自然地出来了, 怎样找到你喜欢做什么事情? 这是一个很大的问题。让我热血沸腾的是我们听到我们必须一直做我们喜欢做的事情, 但是从未有一步一步地告诉我们怎样才能找到喜欢做的事情的建议。这篇建议旨在帮助那些在某种程度上无所事事, 无条理逻辑结构或次序的人。

　　一个完美的例子是, 为了找寻你的激情, 我们被教导问我们自己：“如果你有一百万美金(免税), 你将会怎样做?”

　　典型的回答接着是:“ 嘿, 我会把它存入一个高利息户头, 靠每年的利息生活。然后我会迁居到夏威夷, 买一幢房子, 整天喝margaritas, 玩视频游戏, 去海滩, 游泳, 周游世界, 品尝所有的cuisines, 读书, 运动等等。”

　　但这些真的有帮助吗? 实际不是. 当然, 你描绘出了懒虫喜欢做什么, 但是没有真正回答出其中所隐藏的问题, 这就是“我怎样通过做我喜欢的事情来赚钱?”

　　那结果是什么? 人们做令自己讨厌的工作, 感觉被束缚, 因为他们依靠唯一的收入来资助一种为了逃离令人不快的现实和在生活中漫无目的漂流的生活方式, 无法辞职, 简短地说, 导致生活静静地拼命, 就像Henry David Thoreau雄辩地那样。

　　你会问, 他们为什么不辞掉工作, 追逐他们喜欢做的事情或工作呢?

　　两个理由:

　　理由1: 他们不知道自己喜欢做什么。

　　理由2: 害怕。他们已经有了一个需要维护支撑的生活方式, 账单要支付, 家庭要照顾, 担心没有稳定的收入来源, 害怕听到别人可能对他们想法或评论等等，害怕。

　　征服了理由1的犹豫不决并行动起来, 大部分情况下可以征服理由2中所有的恐惧.

　　不管你相信与否, 你正在寻找你喜欢做什么的事实就是一个巨大的一步(通过遇到这篇文章并阅读它的事实)。许多人在他们的一生中都在逃避或根本没有去寻找过这个问题的答案。 他们在自己头脑中听到过这个问题, 但是极其适应地让它寂静无声。

　　回答怎样寻找你所喜欢做的事情这个问题极其重要。

　　你必须决定你人生的最终目标是什么。否则, 你自己放任自由, 让别人来左右你的一生, 和取决于人生风暴对你的宽容。如果你知道你的目标在哪里, 其余的很简单。

　　你会发现, 一旦你知道你喜欢做什么, 所有的不确定性和负担将从你的肩膀上消失, 你将会对你的旅行是什么和怎样的旅行真正会乐趣横生有一个清晰的预见。

　　当你读完这篇文章的时候, 我忠心地希望你能体会到这一点。

　　怎样通过做你喜欢的事来赚钱呢?

　　怎样金钱化你喜欢做什么的问题是正确的。因为有账单要付, 肚子要填饱, 家庭要支撑等等。

　　现在不要担心那些了, 那些会在本文的后面提及到。

　　要事当先, 你必须去寻找你喜欢做什么。

　　你什么寻找你喜欢做什么这样难呢?

　　答案是:

　　这根本不难。

　　你读对了。

　　这根本不难。

　　但是为什么如此多的人在寻找他们喜欢做什么的时候遇到了困难呢?

　　因为他们从未真正扪心自问。

　　让我吃惊的是, 花时间和自己在一起, 似乎成了一个耻辱的标记. 你必须持续地做某件事情, 不管是玩游戏, 和朋友一起喝啤酒, 参加那个热辣聚会或闹市区的俱乐部等等。不要误解我了, 做这些都没有任何错误, 但是我怀疑大部分有着“我每分钟都不得不做某件事情, 因为我不能做我自己”心态的人仅仅是展示人们怎样满足和充实他们的生活的一个方面, 在现实中, 情况恰恰相反。这里的反语是说花时间和自己在一起的确是你满足和充足自己的生活所必须做的。

　　人们觉得应该周游世界, 经历新的事情等等, 来发现你喜欢做什么, 不, 你仅仅只需坐下来然后做决定, 答案已经在你心中了。你只需把它挖掘出来, 避免拖延。你的大脑已经吸收了各种各样的信息和经历, 它已经有了等待解开的答案。

　　仅仅让它出来。

　　诚实地说, 你有没有真正地自己独自坐下来,仅把精神集中地思考聚焦来问你自己你喜欢做什么, 请不要, 拿起你的手机, 上网, 看电视, 在AIM上聊天, 听你最喜欢的歌曲, 玩自娱棋或扫雷游戏, 查收电子邮件, 回电话, 喝杯水, 去洗手间, 看着时钟, 读杂志文章, 我可以继续, 但是你必须明白. 我要去爬树, 并且说你不必了, 为了读这篇文章唯一的目的, 为什么是那样?

　　如果你害怕答案将会怎样, 问自己喜欢做什么。

　　答案是: 我不知道。

　　但是这就是你所确定要必须找出的。因为你知道答案是你不知道, 你正在避免回答这个问题, 但这样也好, 承认你不知道非常好。这没有任何错误。你正在向一群被问“我喜欢做什么”的问题时学着保持沉默的人靠拢的路上了。

　　让我说, 你实际上是特别想知道他们喜欢做什么的少数人中的一员了, 下一个闪现在他们脑中的想法是“噢, 我不能通过它赚任何钱”。这个种下的种子决不会发芽。

　　我讨厌含糊不清的答案, 我想要清晰的,逻辑的, 确定的答案。

　　让我们来做吧。

　　第1步, 你将会找到答案, 毫无疑问。

　　你将会找到答案, 你将会找到它, 毫无疑问。

　　用这种心态处理问题, 你肯定可以找到答案, 会花多长的时间? 这没有关系, 底线是, 你将会找到答案。

　　这样做, 你会自动地逐步地获得一种反自我放弃的身体机制, 因为你知道你将会找到答案。如果你知道你想做什么, 然后你将会继续。

　　举个例子, 如果你知道你想到达纽约, 你会找到许多方式到达那儿。你会乘上一辆火车, 汽车或飞机去纽约, 并将到达纽约。

　　如果你没有现金, 你将会借, 或者找个工作并存钱, 或者得到一个航空服务员的工作, 免费去那儿, 会花多久时间或者你需要做什么都无所谓, 因为你知道你将要去纽约。

　　所有朝向想到达纽约的决定的行动会以到达纽约为中心。

　　重新读最后一个句子一遍。

　　所有朝向想到达纽约的决定的行动会以到达纽约为中心。

　　找到你喜欢做的事 = 决定到达纽约

　　第2步: 做一个两行的你拥有的技能和兴趣的清单并把它们写下来(我会稍后解释你为什么必须把事情写下来)。

　　我已去掉了创建文档的归属权, 你可以打印, 所以你可以容易地填空格. 你可以从这里下载. 关键是把它们写下来!! 我非常强调这个. 不要认为可以在你头脑里做这一切. 写下来。

　　当我说技能, 是指任何技能. 它可以是特别领域的知识. 它可以为一个无形的技能. 在这里把你的大脑中的剪贴板清除干净, 列出每一个你拥有的技能. 它可以是编程, 制作网页, 说话, 倾听, 说服别人, 打字, 调情, 分析, 做演讲, 让事情易于理解, 吹口哨, 用唾液吹泡泡, 它可以是任何东西. 不要害羞, 列出任何你意识到的技能, 包括你觉得知识丰富的主题或事物: 电脑, 经济, 生物, 打篮球, 踢足球, 玩魔术等等。

　　在另外一列, 列出你的兴趣, 同样不要害羞, 列出每一个你可能想到的兴趣, 蜘蛛, 鞋, 头发, 化妆, 篮球, 台球, 想点子, 照顾小孩, 散步, 徒步旅行, 烟花, 助人为乐, 取笑别人, 钓鱼, 太极, 空手道, 海贝壳, 海藻, 开罐器, 任何其它的。是的, 我的确是说开罐器。

　　为了帮助你写下更多的兴趣, 想想你在以前的工作中对什么感兴趣并写下来。你也可以想想你在以前的工作中对什么不感兴趣, 然后写下相对应的反面。

　　问你自己下面的问题可能对你拥有什么样的技能和兴趣更加清楚些。

　　如果你走进一个书店, 哪一部分会自然地吸引你?

　　问你你的朋友他们从你身上看到的技能和兴趣。你会为他们对你深刻的洞察力而你以前从未想过而感到惊奇。

　　你大部分的时间在做什么? 你期望做什么?

　　返回并像小孩一样想你所取得的成就. 什么样的技能和兴趣包含在你的成就中?

　　人们表扬你哪方面你做得好?

　　你的老师和父母说你有什么样的技能和技巧?

　　我为什么在这里强调技能和兴趣?

　　技能: 因为你必须有你擅长于做什么。不要说你什么都没有, 每个人都有技能。你只是没有坐下来想一想并把它写下来。通过使用你的技能, 你可以拥有先起步的优势, 一个催化剂。

　　兴趣: 简单地, 因为你必须喜爱你做的事情. 通过包含兴趣, 你拥有了另外一种形式的反自我放弃的机制。

　　集中精神以产生尽可能多的技巧和兴趣, 思考后并写下来。

　　你可能会发现技能会逐渐偏移向一到两个精确的技能, 同样的道理也适用于兴趣, 把那些记在头脑, 用于第3步。

　　第3步: 留出一些真正单独能够集中精神的时间, 通过问自己正确的问题来描绘出你爱做什么。

　　人们留出时间责骂, 烹饪, 看电影, 读书, 但当关系到他们自己个人未来的时候, 他们从没有留下任何时间, 这让我很惊奇. 需要多少时间留下来考虑将会使你感到愉快的方法?

　　好, 你会留下一些私人的单独的且精神集中的时间, 现在怎样?

　　你必须问你自己一个十分清楚的问题. 清晰在这里是关键, 问题越清晰, 答案也就会越简单。

　　例如, 如果我问你12乘12是多少, 答案来得容易, 144。

　　可是, 如果我问, 一个两位数的偶数乘以另一个两位数的偶数是多少? 猜你会花多久回答那个问题?

　　清晰的问题引出明了的答案。

　　另外一个关键是写下来。我知道你已经听了十亿次了, 如此老套, 但是有一个原因, 写下事情让你很容易把你以前从未想的连接起来, 因为你看它写在纸上了, 这样可以为你的大脑“腾出空间”来想其它的问题。因为它们被放在另外一个容器中。

　　如果我问你, 257乘852是多少, 尝试着在你头脑里用心算和用笔写下来算。当你写下来时, 答案来得非常容易, 并不是说更加准确。

　　如果你还没有写下来你的技能和兴趣, 停止并现在开始做。用脑袋对你不会有任何好处。

　　因此, 在以前的步骤, 用笔写下来, 使用你单独的时间问你自己一个清晰的问题. 你应该问你自己什么样的问题?

　　是不是“我喜欢做什么?”

　　那个问题有些宽泛, 所以让我们把它变窄点, 尝试着问你自己:

　　我在日常生活中喜欢做什么, 能够同时利用我的技能和兴趣, 为人们增加重要的价值?

　　想在这里看到不同点吗? 问题越详细清晰, 越容易回答。为什么我添加了增加价值部分? 因为这会引导你找到一条通过做你喜欢的事来赚钱的途径。

　　通过合并怎样利用你的技能来添加重要价值这个问题, 你自动滤掉了所有的当人们被问他们喜欢做什么想出来的普通答案。例如”我喜欢看电视” 或者”我喜欢玩视频游戏”这样的普通答案. 像这样的回答使人泄气。因为人们看不到能从中能赚钱。

　　添加了这个, 很多人转向了一个聚焦于怎样赚钱的错误认识。很多人没有意识到金钱只是一种增加价值到给人们的产品或服务上的副产品。

　　当你知道怎样为人们增加价值, 你就会知道怎样赚钱。

　　打开Word或一张空白纸, 把那个问题写在顶行, 这里再写一遍, 如果你不想翻页的话。

　　我在日常生活中喜欢做什么, 能够同时利用我的技能和兴趣, 为人们增加重要的价值?

　　关键是把它们写下来!! 我非常强调这个。不要认为可以在你头脑里做这一切。写下来。

　　看着你在前面一步中列出的两列清单, 开始写一列答案。只是写。不需要完美, 也不需要有意义, 因为迟早, 你会把这些点连接起来。这是说明关于我在谈论什么的一个故事:

　　这是一个关于一个因滑雪景点著名而吸引很多游人的小镇的故事, 这帮助了小镇的经济。可是, 当下雪的时候, 落下的雪聚在电线上, 直到雪的重量大得把线缆压断, 导致了几次停电。慢慢地, 但是肯定的, 游人们停止前来了, 因此小镇举行一个会议讨论怎样解决电线积雪的问题。各种解决方案在相当长时间内被否定。

　　然后, 有人从会议室后面大声嚷嚷道:“让我们把几罐蜂蜜挂在电线上, 让熊爬上来, 当熊爬上来拿到蜂蜜, 它们的动作会把积雪从电线上震下来。”

　　观众大笑, 有一个决定和他继续的人说:“我们怎样重新把蜜罐填满?” “我们可以使用直升飞机”, 另外一个人说道, 然后答案初现, 让直升飞机在电脑附近飞, 来自螺旋桨的风可以把雪吹下来。

　　这里是说明, 不管答案看起来有多么荒唐, 必须毫无畏惧, 因为有比没有更好, 它可以引导我们到结果, 这就是所有的过程。

　　即使一个答案看起来很荒唐, 也写下来, 写下你所有的答案, 直到你有了20个答案, 浏览一次, 你会发现, 当你写下答案并看着它们, 这会驱使你想写新的有创意的你以前未注意到的答案。 你会为你所写的所有的东西而感到惊奇。

　　现在是集中精神的时间了.

　　我确定你听过太阳和放大镜类比与聚焦有关, 这里我想再说一遍。如果一次做很多事情, 那什么事都完不成。如果你拿着放大镜在最热的天气摇摆不定, 那你什么也烧不了. 你把你的精力白白浪费在琐碎的小事上了。聚焦和控制你所有的力量, 精力, 时间, 聚焦, 思考等等。最终, 你会惊奇地发现你会多么深入且快速地完成事情。仅仅是你坚定地拿着放大镜聚集在单个物体上, 炙热的太阳光比作你的期望, 聚集, 力量, 精力, 时间等等. 你会带来冲击。

　　聚焦的思想是如此重要, 我将使用另外一个类比。想像你是一个猎豹, 你看见两只味道鲜美的瞪羚正在草地上吃草。花你的时间追逐两个 = 没有食物 = 死亡. 猎杀一只。追捕到并杀死它需要时间, 但当你这样做, 你会重新补充能量, 你马上可以开始收集瞪羚是怎样奔跑, 它们可能朝哪个方向奔跑, 它们喜欢在哪吃草等信息。这些将帮助你在以后捕捉到更多的瞪羚, 因此把你放在一个良性循环中. 聚焦精神, 逐一攻破。

　　所以, 把你的清单看一遍, 你可能发现你可以把一些想法合并为一个想法。尽管如此, 选一个不仅是你最满意的, 同时也是别人最满意的想法。

　　你可能想集中精力合并你在开始的时候列出的技能和兴趣。原因是, 从心理学上看说, 你可能首先列出了你最好的技能和兴趣, 然后向下排列, 你的技能和兴趣程度也是一样。这可能不是真实的。你可能拥有20项不同但相等的技能和兴趣, 如果你这样做, 我祝贺你。这里仅仅是一个我想要说明的小提醒。

　　怎样知道你已经找到你喜欢做什么?

　　这让你感觉很好吗? 如果你觉得它已经像意外得到一大笔钱似的在你心中了, 那你就对了。

　　如果你的朋友对你的想法有深刻见解, 你会重新思考一遍吗?

　　你不得不对此毫无保留。如果你细微地怀疑这不是你的激情, 那它就不是对的。你一定渴望克服所有的障碍, 追逐你的激情。一旦你拥有这种感觉, 你的搜索就结束了。

　　那么, 现在是你喜欢做什么。

　　至于知道怎样赚钱, 你或许在你写下你的答案时就已经找到途径了。如果你想要通过做你喜欢做的事来找到更多的赚钱方式, 仅需要跟随同样的步骤。

　　第1步: 知道你找到答案。

　　第2步: 写一个清晰的问题, 写下答案, 然后你会惊奇地发现, 你可以通过很多途径来赚钱。

　　我将把赚钱的问题留给你, 但它不会很难。

　　现在你知道你喜欢做什么, 并怎样从中赚钱, 你必须行动。

　　这完全是另外一个故事, 大部分人到达了这一步, 但是没有行动。这将不会影响你任何的生活。

　　仔细阅读本网站的其它文章, 通过学习怎样行动, 设置目标, 管理时间, 削除恐惧和疑问(最大的梦想猎杀者), 改变思考方式, 积极思考, 形象化等等, 给自己投资。过你想要的生活, 并不是别人给你设置好的。

　　投资你自己, 让事情发生。

Martin

　　“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” - Steve Jobs

　　Well then, the question naturally arises:

　　How do you find what you love to do? It’s such a big question.

　　What absolutely boils my blood is that we hear we should be doing what we love to do all the time, but there’s not any step by step advice out there on how to find what you love to do. The advice that is out there helps to a certain degree, but it’s just a bunch of pieces thrown together with no coherent logical structure or order.

　　A perfect example is this. In order to find your passion, we are told to ask ourselves: “What would you do if you had a million dollars (tax free)?”

　　The typical answer ensues: “Well gee, I would put it in an account that yields high interest and live off the interest each year. Then I would move to Hawaii, buy a house, sip margaritas all day, play video games, go to the beach, swim, travel around the world, taste all the cuisines, read the books, play the sports, and on and on and on.”

　　Does this really help? Not really. Sure, you figured out what your lazy butt likes to do, but it doesn’t really answer the question that’s hidden, which is “How do I make money doing what I love to do?

　　What’s the result? People working in jobs they hate, feeling trapped because they can’t quit as they rely on that sole source of income to finance a lifestyle tailored to escape their grim reality, drifting aimlessly in life, in short, leading lives of quiet desperation, as so eloquently put by Henry David Thoreau.

　　Why don’t they just quit their jobs and pursue what they love to do you ask?

　　Two Reasons.

　　Reason #1: They don’t know what they love to do.

　　Reason #2: Fear. They’ve got a lifestyle to uphold, bills to pay for, families to take care of, fear of no steady source of income, fear of what other people might think or say about them, etc. Fear.

　　Conquer indecision in Reason #1 and ACT, and you will most definitely conquer all fear in Reason #2.

　　The very fact that you are seeking to find what you love to do (by the very fact you came across this article and started reading it) is a BIG step believe it or not. Many people in their lifetime avoid or do not even seek to find the answer to that question. They hear the question in their head but have become extremely adept at silencing it.

　　It is extremely important to answer the question on how to find what you love to do.

　　You must decide what destination to steer your life in. Otherwise, you leave yourself wide open for others to direct your life, as well as at the mercy of the winds and storms of life. If you know where your destination is, the rest is easy.

　　You will find once you know what you want to do, all uncertainty and burden will be lifted off your shoulders and you will have clear vision as to what your journey is and that journey will truly be joyful.

　　By the time you finish reading this article, I sincerely hope you experience that.

　　What about how to make money doing what you love?

　　The question of how to monetize doing what you love is certainly a valid one. There are bills to pay, stomachs to feed, families to support, etc.

　　Don’t worry about that for now. That will be covered later in this article.

　　First things first, you’ve got to find what you love to do.

　　Why is it so hard to find what you love to do?

　　The answer is:

　　It’s not hard at all.

　　You read right.

　　It’s not hard at all.

　　Then why are so many people having difficulty finding what they love to do?

　　Because they’ve never truly asked themselves.

　　What amazes me is that there seems to be a stigma attached to spending time with oneself. You have to constantly be doing something, whether it’s going to the game, drinking beer with the buddies, going to that hot party or club downtown, etc. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with doing all that, but I suspect the vast majority of people who engage in this “I have to be doing something every minute because I can’t be by myself” mentality are just putting up a front to show people how satisfying and fulfilling their life is, when in reality, it’s just the opposite. The irony here is that spending time with oneself is EXACTLY what you should be doing to lead a satisfying and fulfilling life.

　　People think you have to travel around the world, experience new things, etc to find what you love to do. No. You just have to sit down and decide. The answer is already within you. You just have to dig it up and avoid procrastinating. Your brain has absorbed all sorts of information and experiences and it has the answer ready to be unraveled.

　　Just let it out.

　　Be honest. Have you actually sat down by yourself with no distractions, with your sole focus on asking yourself what you love to do without picking up your cell phone, surfing the net, watching TV, chatting on AIM, listening to your favorite song, playing solitaire or minesweeper, checking your email, returning a call, getting a drink of water, going to the bathroom, looking at the clock, reading a magazine article, I could go on and on but you get the point. I’m going to go out on a limb and say you haven’t for the sole purpose of you reading this article. Why is that?

　　Fear of what the answer will be if you ask yourself what you love to do.

　　The answer is: I don’t know.

　　But that is exactly why you MUST find out. You’re avoiding the question because you know the answer is you don’t know, but that’s ok. Admitting you don’t know is perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with it. You’re way ahead of a ton of other people who learn to quiet the voice within that asks the question of “What do I love to do?”

　　And let’s say you’re one of the few people who actually specifically know what they love to do. The next thought that pops in their head is “Oh, I can’t make any money off of that.” The seed that was planted never grew.

　　I hate vague answers. I want clear, logical, definitive answers to questions.

　　So let’s do this.

　　Step 1: You WILL find the answer. No doubt.

　　You will find the answer. You will find it. No doubt.

　　Approach the question with this mentality and you are sure to find it. How long will it take? It doesn’t matter. Bottom line, you will find the answer.

　　By doing this, you automatically instill an anti quitting mechanism within yourself, because you know you will find the answer. If you know what you want to do, then you will do it.

　　For example, if you know you want to arrive in New York, you’ll find ways to get there. You’ll hop a train, bus, or plane going to New York and will arrive in New York.

　　If you don’t have the cash, you’ll borrow it, or get a job and save up, or get a job as a flight attendant to get there for free. It doesn’t matter how long it will take or what you need to do because you know you’re going to New York.

　　All your actions onward from the decision that you want to arrive in New York will revolve around getting to New York.

　　Read that last sentence again.

　　All your actions onward from the decision that you want to arrive in New York will revolve around getting to New York.

　　Finding what you love to do = Deciding to arrive in New York.

　　Step 2: Make a list of your skills and interests in two columns and WRITE THEM DOWN (I’ll explain why you must write things down later):

　　I’ve taken the liberty of creating a document you can print so you can easily fill in the blanks. You can download it here. KEY is to WRITE THESE DOWN!! I cannot emphasize this enough. Don’t think you can do it all in your head. WRITE IT DOWN.

　　When I mean by skills is any skill. It could be an intangible skill. Empty your clip here, list EVERY skill you have. It could be programming, making web pages, talking, listening, persuading people, typing, flirting, analyzing, giving speeches, making things easy to understand, whistling, blowing bubbles with your spit, it could be anything. Don’t be bashful. List everything you perceive your skills to be.

　　On your other column, lists your interests and don’t be shy here as well. List EVERY interest you could possibly think of. Spiders, shoes, hair, makeup, basketball, tennis, thinking of ideas, babysitting, walking, hiking, fireworks, helping people, making fun of people, fishing, tai chi, karate, seashells, seaweed, can openers, anything goes. Yes, I did say can openers. Your interests can also include subjects you are knowledgeable about as well. Computers, economics, biology, baskebtall plays, football plays, magic tricks, etc.

　　To help you write down more interests, think of what you were interested in at your previous jobs and write them down. Also, think of what you were NOT interested in your previous jobs and write the exact opposite.

　　Asking yourself the following questions may shed light as to what skills and interests you possess.

　　If you went in a bookstore, which section do you naturally gravitate toward?

　　Ask friends for any skills and interests they see in you. You’ll be surprised at how much insight they have on you that you’ve never thought of before.

　　What do you spend most of your time doing? What do you look forward to doing?

　　Go back and think of your accomplishments as a child. What kind of skills and interests revolved around your accomplishments?

　　What did people praise you on doing?

　　What did your teachers or parents say you had a skill or knack of doing?

　　Why am I emphasizing skills and interests here?

　　Skills: Because you’ve got to leverage what you’re strong with. And don’t say you don’t have any. Everybody has skills. You’ve just never sat down and thought about it and wrote it down. By using your skills, you’ve got a head start, a catalyst.

　　Interests: Simply because you’ve got to love what you do. By including interests, you include another form of an anti quitting mechanism.

　　Focus on generating as many skills and interests you can possibly think of and WRITE IT DOWN!

　　You may find that your skills are gravitating toward one or two particular skills. The same may hold true for interests. Keep that in mind for step 3.

　　Step 3: Set aside some TRUE alone time with no distractions to focus and figure out what you love to do by asking yourself the right questions.

　　It amazes me how people set aside time for taxes, cooking, watching movies, reading, but when it comes to their own personal future, they NEVER set aside any time. How much MORE time should you set aside to figure out the path that will make you happy?

　　Ok, you’ve set some private alone time with no distractions; now what?

　　You must ask yourself an extremely clear question. Clarity is key here. The clearer the question, the easier the answer will be.

　　For example, if I ask you what 12 times 12 is, the answer comes easily, 144.

　　However, if I ask, what is some even two digit number times some other even two digit number? Guess how long it’ll take you to answer that question?

　　Clear questions lead to clear answers.

　　Another key thing is to WRITE it down. I know you’ve heard it a billion times and it’s so cliché but there’s a reason. Writing things down allows you to easily make connections you’ve never thought of before because you see it on paper. It also allows you to “free room” in your brain for other thoughts because they are put in another container so to speak.

　　If I ask you, what’s 257 times 852, try doing that in your head vs. writing it down. When you write it down, the answer comes out easier, not to mention more accurate.

　　If you haven’t already wrote down your skills and interests in the previous step, STOP and DO IT NOW. It won’t do you any good having them in your head.

　　So, let’s use your alone time to ask yourself a clear question in writing. What is the question you should ask yourself? Is it: “What do I love to do?”

　　That question is a bit broad, so let’s narrow it down a little. Try asking yourself:

　　What would I love to do on a daily basis utilizing both my skills and interests that will add significant value to people?

　　See the difference here? The more detailed and clearer the question, the easier it is to answer it. Why did I add the add value part? Because that will lead you to find a way to make money doing what you love.

　　By incorporating the question of how to add significant value by utilizing your skills, you automatically filter out all the “common answers” that people come up with when asked what they love to do. Common answers such as: “I love to watch TV.” Or “I love to play video games.” Answers such as that discourage people because they see no way of making money from it.

　　Adding to that, many people tend to make the mistake of focusing on how to make money. A lot of people fail to realize that money is just a byproduct of adding value in the form of a product or service to people.

　　When you know how you can add value to people, you’ll know how to get money.

　　Open up Word or get out a blank sheet of paper and write that question up at the top. Here it is again in case you don’t want to scroll up.

　　What would I love to do on a daily basis utilizing both my skills and interests that will add significant value to people?

　　The KEY is to WRITE YOUR ANSWERS DOWN!! I cannot emphasize this enough. Don’t think you can do it all in your head. WRITE IT DOWN.

　　Looking at the two column list you made in the previous step, start writing down a list of answers. Just write. It doesn’t have to be perfect and it doesn’t have to make sense because sooner or later, you will connect the dots. Here’s a story to illustrate what I’m talking about.

　　There was a story about a small town with a ski resort which attracted a lot of tourists, which in turn helped the town’s economy. However, when it snowed, the snowfall collected on the power cables, until the weight was enough to collapse the cables, resulting in several power outages. Slowly but surely, tourists stopped coming, so the town held a meeting to discuss how to solve the problem of having snow collect on the power cables. Solutions were tossed out for quite some time.

　　Then somebody shouted in a loud voice from the back of the room and said “Let’s hang pots of honey on the power cables to make the bears climb up. When the bears climb up and get the honey, their movement will shake the snow off the power cables.”

　　The audience laughed and somebody else deciding to play along said “How will we refill the pots of honey?” “We’ll use a helicopter”, another person said.

　　Then the answer dawned upon them. By having a helicopter fly by the power lines, the wind from the propellers would shake the snow off.

　　The main point here is that answers, no matter how ridiculous they may seem, should not be feared because more often than not, they lead to results. It’s all part of the process.

　　Even if an answer seems ludicrous, write it down. Write down all your answers. Do it until you have 20 answers and look them over. You will find that as you write down answers and look at them, it will in turn propel you to think of new creative answers that you would not have come up with before.

　　You will be amazed at all the things you wrote and the different solid creative ideas that come about.

　　Now the time comes for focus.

　　I’m sure you’ve heard of the sun and magnifying glass analogy pertaining to focus but I’m going to say it again. If you try to do a bunch of things at once, nothing will get done. If you wave a magnifying glass around on the hottest day, you won’t burn anything. You’ll dissipate all your energy among the trivial many.

　　By focusing and harnessing all your power, energy, time, focus, thinking, etc. on one goal, you will be amazed at how deep and quickly you can accomplish that. Just as you steady a magnifying glass on a single object, with the hot burning sun rays analogous to your desire, focus, power, energy, time, etc, you will make an impact.

　　The notion of focus is so important that I’m going to use another analogy. Imagine you’re a cheetah and you see two juicy gazelles grazing in the grass. Spending your time chasing both = no food = death. Hunt one down. It might take time to catch it and kill it, but when you do, you’ll be recharged. You will soon start collecting information on how the gazelles run, which direction they run, where they like to graze, etc, which will help you catch more gazelles in the future, thereby putting you in a favorable cycle. Case in point, focus on one.

　　So look over your list you just made and choose one idea that seems the most appealing to you. You may find you can combine a few ideas into one idea. Nevertheless, choose one idea that you will garner the greatest satisfaction not just for yourself, but to other people.

　　You might want to zero in on the ideas that combine your skills and interests that you’ve listed in the beginning. The reason being, psychologically speaking, you’ve probably listed your greatest skills and interests first and then as you started listing them downward, so did your degree of skill and interest. This might not be true. You might have 20 different but equal skills and interests, which if you do, I congratulate you. Just a tip I thought I would throw out.

　　How Will You Know You’ve Found What You Love To Do?

　　Does it make you feel good? If you feel it in your gut that you’ve hit the jackpot, you’re right.

　　If your friend were to bring up the idea you picked, would you be all over it talking about it?

　　You have to have no reservations about it. If you feel the slightest doubt that it’s not your passion, then it’s not. You must hunger to overcome any obstacles to pursue your passion.

　　Update (03/15/2007): A reader just posted this comment way below (#87) and I wanted to include what she had to say in the article so you don’t miss it. I think it ties in very well here and is also well written. Thank you Bronwyn for sharing your story with us and adding such great advice to the article.

　　“So when you look over your goals, and one seems right, but you’re still finding excuses to not do what you have to do, that’s not it. It might be a close relative, but it’s not the one. Keep looking and you’ll find the goal that makes you counter every objection with a solution, the one where you’d happily pay whatever it takes, cash and years on the barrelhead right now. The path that makes you quiver with eagerness like a hunting dog on the point, the one over there you’ve been ignoring because you’ll have to learn a difficult new skill like drawing, or face big mistakes and big fears, and you didn’t believe you could do those things? That’s the one. Admit how much you really want to go down it, tell yourself you really can do it, and then your passion will take over and you will not let anything keep you from it. “

　　Once you have that, your search is over.

　　That, right there is what you love to do.

　　As for how to make money off of it, you might have already found ways when you wrote down your answers. If you still want to find more ways to make money doing what you love, just follow the same steps.

　　Step 1: Know you will find the answer.

　　Step 2: Write a clear question, write down the answers, and you will be amazed at the many ways you can make money from it.

　　I’ll leave the money making question up to you, but it shouldn’t be hard to do.

　　Now that you know what you love to do and how to make money from it, you must ACT.

　　That’s a whole other story. Most people get to this stage but don’t act and it doesn’t make any difference in their lives.