How to Make a Career Doing What you Love

As you get into adulthood or while you are an adult you are figuring out what you want to do and what you don’t want to do and where you want to take your career or what you want to do in this life to provide for yourself and your family. Many times we may choose a job not because we like it but because it pays the bills and then you blink and its 10 years later and something that was supposed to be temporary turned into something much longer. Also many times family, friends, or society tries to force you into picking something to do because it may bring “security” but you may not be happy with doing that but out of fear of scarcity you do it anyway. Many dreams go unaccomplished because of fear, which is not your fault because many times it is projected onto us by others fears for themselves, but I am here to tell you it is not too late to chase your dreams or try new and different things or multiple things at once.

Yes you want to make money, but you don’t want to spend the bulk of your days (work days are usually 8 hours in more structured or corporate environments) and you definitely don’t want to spend 8 hours of your life daily doing something that makes you unhappy because it will start to show in all other parts of your life and you definitely don't want to spend that eight hours somewhere that doesn’t see your potential and doesn’t pay you your worth which may cause you to be barely scraping by.

Whether its a dream job at a different company and in a different position or its starting from scratch creating your on business or businesses or streams of income it is definitely possible to attain, but you have to decide how important is your happiness to you.

5 Tips to make a Career out of What you love:

1. Stop caring about what others think or have to say, you are in charge of your life.

   Many times people don’t follow through with their ideas or plans because they have allowed other people’s views and opinions to discourage them and make them feel like what they want to attain isn’t possible, but just because its not possible for them doesn’t mean its not possible for you. Do you want to spend your life wondering “what if” or do you want to try it and see if it works out and if it doesn't then back to the drawing board and on to the next. Learn to be satisfied with your own opinions of your life and choices therefore you have no reason to look anywhere for answers because your decision may already be made.

2. Take the time to explore yourself, your interests, your non-negotiables, what makes you happy, what do you really want

   Many times people may not know exactly what it is they want to do but they know that they don’t like what they currently are doing. Take the time to explore different interests and things outside of your comfort zone, take on things as hobbies and then decide if you want to take them any further and start learning how you can do that. Figure out what you want your daily life to look like, how much money would you need to live the lifestyle you desire, what things make you happy, what types of structure do you work best in (flexibility or something more set in stone daily). You can’t find out what you want to do if you don’t truly know who you are or where you want to end up.

3. Let go of limiting expectations and mindsets

   Stop thinking that just because something didn’t work instantly that it means it won’t happen. Instant gratification isn’t realistic so get out of that, if you want results put in the time, the work and the effort and you will eventually see the benefit which might come slow or they might come fast but you have to remember that slow and steady wins the race and this is a marathon stop being in such a rush to “finish”. Grow up and stop thinking that just because something didn’t go the way that you expected that its all over, if plan A didn’t work figure out a Plan B to make Plan A work or if you heard one no either keep moving to the next until you hear a yes or find a way to make that no a yes. If you want everything to go your way when you want it and your mindset stops there and goes no further then you are meant to stay in the unhappy position you’re in because you don’t really want it forreal. You say you want all this money and this great lifestyle but your’e not willing to put in the work and at the first sign of inconvenience or stress you’re ready to throw in the towel, make it make sense.

4. Stop tying yourself down to things

   It is okay to change your mind, it is okay to change your mindset and it is okay to change your life at any given time that you feel the strength to do so. You are not tied to doing something just because you started it, no you shouldn’t give up on things easily or quit, but if you’ve truly tried your best and are not happy then let it go and move on. Not everything has to last forever and nothing has to be set in stone if you don’t want it to. Find your power and take it back and stop letting everything else drag you through life.

5. Realize your path is yours for a reason and will be different from others, give yourself time and grace

   You may accomplish things at a different pace than the people around you, it may take you a little longer or it may take you less time but you will never know unless you try your own shit in your own way. Do things the way you want to not the way others are doing it or think you should do it. Be yourself and stop trying to be a duplicate version or everyone else. There is one of you and that is your power. Nothing is an overnight success so give yourself time and grace to grow into who you truly are and continuously elevate that. Comparison is the theif of joy, you aren’t them and they aren’t you.

No one said it would be easy but pick a hard.

5 Reasons Why and How to be High Maintenance

“Never test my patience Ni**a I’m high maintenance, high class, if you ain’t rollin’ bypass.”

— Amil 'Can I Get A' Verse

I hate that people try to make something wrong with people taking good care of themselves or requiring others to treat them with the same energy that they give themselves and I especially hate it when people do it to Black women. There is NOTHING wrong with spending money on yourself, buying yourself things even if they are on the expensive side, having maintenance that you budget into your finances etc. You should take care of yourself and be HIGH MAINTENANCE because being low maintenance isn’t anything to brag about no matter what people say.

Being high maintenance to me is caring about yourself and catering to the person that you are whether that means monthly nail, hair and spa appointments, shopping for yourself often, liking to make luxury purchases and wanting others to do the same for you, liking a certain quality of living and making sure that you look and feel like your best self at all times. Being high maintenance shouldn’t just be something that stops at what you look like but should extend to who you are inside and making sure that you explore yourself and find out what makes you feel your best self, it should reflect in your home life and how you make your living spaces feels and look, it extends to your career and what you are willing to accept, and how you make sure that you are being responsible financially. If you are not high maintenance I just gave you the answer to what it means to be, how you can be that and why you should be so moving forward begin learning yourself and who you are and elevate yourself to be high maintenance and you’ll wonder why you haven’t been did that.

To elevate is to be high maintenance and to be high maintenance means to properly care about yourself in all aspect, no matter how much you are spending make sure that you are taking great care and upkeep of how you look, how you feel and the moves you make.

5 Ways on how to be High Maintenance:

1. Invest in your appearance.

   Let’s be forreal, your appearance speaks before your personality. No one is telling you to go splurge money on clothes, bags and shoes that you don’t have but invest in grooming like having your hair done, making sure your skin looks good, getting or doing your nails and toes, buying quality body and haircare products etc. because you truly feel good when you look good and too many people undermine and minimize that statement when it holds so much value in many different aspects. Now to clothing, invest in flattering clothing that fits your style, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to have quality pieces but if you have the money to spend YESSSSSS SIS GO FOR IT AND COME BACK AND TELL ME WHAT YOU GOT! Find your style, figure out who you want to be and what you want to look like ad what best represents your best self then do that. Investing in your appearance doesn’t just mean spending money but investing time, like investing time into working out to build the body that you want, taking the time to cook more home cooked meals for yourself, taking time to drink more water, taking time to care about the quality of the food you eat and much more,

2. Take time to figure out who you are, build a strong mindset

   Yes appearance is important but what’s even more important than that is taking time to learn and explore yourself to find out truly who you are and then after you figure that out building a stong mindset and confidence to properly carry that power. This isn’t a job that happens overnight but something that is continuous because we are constantly changing, once you figure out what your strengths, weaknesses, emotions and thoughts are you will have found your power and once you find out that information you can start changing or loving whatever things you wan to keep and whatever things you want to change. In order to be taken seriously in this life or to even take yourself seriously you have to be confident in who you are and what you have to offer, you have to be strong minded in what you believe, what you know, what you want to learn and where you want to go. Like I said this is a lifelong task but once you have it you continue to carry it with you and strengthen it as you go, if you haven’t gone down that journey of figuring yourself out start TODAY, START RIGHT NOW

3. Figure out what do you want to do in this life to afford the lifestyle you desire

   Figure out where you want to go in life and what things do you value more, for instance do you want to stay in a “comfortable” position for secure money but you’re unhappy or do you want to take a chance on something that brings you joy and could eventually bring you money? What’s more important to you money or your happiness, because once you figure out what makes you happy with handwork it will start to make money for you. What is it that you are interested in? It doesn’t have to be one thing, you can come up with different things and find ways to try them all and whatever doesn’t work leave it but if you know what you love to do then do that. Do you want a more corporate structure or do you want to create your own lane and become a business owner or entrepreneur or even do both? Even if you don’t know what you want to do just start the process of at least figuring out what you like and don’t like because you have to start somewhere. Don’t let people, family, society, social media or friends decide what you should do, go down your path even if its less traveled.

4. Be responsible

   Figure out how you can make your finances work for you. Plan, save, invest, always learn. Figure out how whatever you’re doing can afford you to have the things you desire. If you want to fit shopping, saving, traveling, investing, monthly maintenance appointments, outings with friends etc. into your budget be strategic with how you spend and make a real budget to afford those things or use that as a tool to fuel your hustle so you can work and make the money to afford those things you desire in the life you want to live. If you want to go have brunch or go out with your friends a few times a month figure out how you can do that by properly using the money you have or figure out how you can add more income to yourself to make that happen because those things make you happy. I am not saying to be materialistic or worry about spending your money on things that you shouldn’t be, but I’m a firm believer in hustling and having ambition and work ethic to make happen what you want to come true so if you being able to go to Sunday Funday brunch with the girls, go shopping once a month, get your hair done, a wax, you nails done and eyebrows monthly is what motivates you to get a bag then so be it, but just make sure that with doing those things you’re taking care of your responsibilities like bills if you have them, business if you have it, groceries, saving or whatever else.

5. Do it for you and nobody else

   Being high maintenance is an all around thing over here it doesn’t just stop at how you look like I said before but it does include that, being stylish isn’t a hobby it’s a lifestyle and that’s exactly what I mean by that. Everything that I’m telling you is for you and not anybody else, do this for you to feel good, for you to feel motivated to elevate and do more, for you to feel inspired to look like and be your best self, and to just be everything you imagined and making yourself happy by doing that. You matter the most to you, nobody else’s opinion should matter especially if they care more about you and your life than their own.

Invest lots of time into yourself from the inside out, it will truly show in the way you talk, the way you talk and your mannerisms. Be high maintenance because its about more than buying things but taking care of yourself like a luxury item because you are. If they’re bragging about being low maintenance and accepting the bare minimum from people then they are definitely not who you should be listening to, so teach yourself to look within for answers and truly trust and be confident in yourself.