Passion + Structure = Success
Tereza Litsa · Follow
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We’re all passionate about something that goes beyond our full-time day job.
For me, it’s writing. All different kinds of writing.
I came up with the idea of this post during a Saturday stroll. My mind tends to be more creative in the least expected times. It’s when there’s no pressure of thinking that you open up your mind to any suggestion. That’s why I’m always carrying around a notebook.
Without even realising it, I started drafting notes an hour later on my ride home. I started writing at a speed that my hand couldn’t handle (maybe the caffeine also helped on this) ending up with most of the notes from this post.
Writing has always been a passion for me.
What’s a passion then in this case?
Passion is something that excites us enough to find time to spend on it. There are no expectations and no limitations.
And still, we can use this passion to explore its potential.
A passion can become a side hustle if you start getting paid for practicing it. An additional income is always welcome, but in fact, this shouldn’t be the primary motivation to continue your practice.
If you start focusing on the monetary compensation, you may easily lose your interest in your passion. Why is that? Because it can lose its importance through a different currency of value.
A real passion is measured by the importance it holds in your life.
You don’t want to ignore it and you’re willing to explore how far it can take you.
That’s where hustling comes in.
It’s the stage that you turn your passion into actionable steps that will help you master it. It is the ability to take your passion to the next level and you’ll be able to explore your potential. And most importantly, it is the stage that you acknowledge your skill and you want to improve yourself even more. (And yes, it’s also the stage that you start getting paid for it, but as we said, this is not always the most important reason for this shift.)
It’s called ‘side-hustling’ because you can still work on your full-time job while experimenting with different paths.
Now there’s the next big question.
How can you work both on your full-time job and your side hustle?
When you work 40 or 50 hours per week, it sounds almost impossible to find time for your side hustle. You come back home from work exhausted and all you want to do on the weekends is to spend time with your family and friends.
How can you fit another project into your busy schedule?
It’s not as hard as it sounds. At least, not if you’re really passionate about it.
When we think of additional income and side hustling, we think of it as a job. That’s the easiest way to lose your motivation and postpone the work. It’s good to remind yourself that this is still your passion. Nobody is asking you to do it, you’re only doing it because you enjoy it.
And if you are already paid to do it, which means that you have some obligations associated with it, you can still remind yourself that this started as a passion. It should still have its initial sparkle, even in a different form. As with your talent, the practice can keep it alive.
The difference between a passion and a side hustle is that the second requires discipline. It’s when you start taking yourself and your talent seriously enough to make time for it.
You push yourself to become better and that’s wonderful.
Discipline should not be taken for granted.
Just because you’ve decided to take on a side hustle, you won’t be instantly motivated.
Some days are harder than others. But if you still encourage yourself to show up in your craft, then many great things can happen.
I’ve heard many people through the years from different backgrounds telling me that they’d like to blog more often.
“I’ve got lots of ideas in my mind, but I never find the time to write a post”
“I know that Medium is good for my personal brand, but I tend to forget it among all my tasks”
Do these sound familiar?
In a similar context, have you ever had an amazing idea but never chased it enough to turn it into action?
What if you suddenly see someone else turning it into action?
There’s no need to be devastated by the lost opportunity. You can still use such instances to try harder. This might be the push to take your passion to the next level by being more creative and productive.
After all, it’s not always the talent that makes us successful but the will to keep trying and turning an idea into action.
Use your talent to keep practicing your passion, this time by treating it as a side hustle. Prove to yourself and to everyone else that you’re serious about it.
Push yourself one step at a time to try something new. Find what makes you stand out and use it to your advantage.
Don’t let your story stay trapped in your head.
It’s your story that sets you apart from everyone else. Start ‘writing it down’ through your passion. Don’t let your story stay trapped in your head and side hustling should help you in this direction. It urges you to chase your dream, to keep working towards achieving it. And this cannot be achieved without authenticity.
Start seeing opportunities everywhere. Be open to what’s coming up and don‘t just stick to the plan. Yes, you need the structure when switching from a passion to a side hustle, but it’s the gut feeling that will help you discover new paths that you haven’t necessarily planned in advance.
As everything starts from your inner desire to chase your passion, the destination is still unknown. And that’s both scary and exciting. It’s up to you to pick how you react to these feelings.
It’s common to think that hustling should be linked with overworking. This approach will probably lead you to a burnout and this is not fun.
What’s important is to find a balance between all the bits of your life that will keep you happy and healthy.
Job, family, friends, free time, side hustle. How do you find time for all of them?
There’s no perfect formula, but the burnout is definitely not the answer.
It’s all about splitting the time to the bits that matter most, depending on the day, the week, the month and the priorities you’re setting.
Chasing your passion is exciting, but when you start struggling with your life, it’s not fun anymore.
Find what works better for you and move at your own pace. Block some time in the week to focus on your passion and call it a side hustle by adding the necessary discipline to keep it going.
The most important benefit from calling your passion a side hustle is that you start taking it seriously. It adds up structure to the motivation and the combination can lead to amazing results.
Here are 10 points to keep in mind:
- Be serious about your passion
- Start seeing opportunities everywhere
- Embrace the unknown
- Set up a schedule that works better for you
- Don’t let your passion become a chore
- Remember that it’s still your passion
- Find what motivates you to use it on the hardest days
- Seek for creative stimulation from your surroundings
- Breaks are important to avoid a burnout
- Don’t forget to tell your story to stand out.
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