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I was having a conversation the other day with a friend of mine who was lamenting that passion doesn’t put food on the table and that doing what you love for a living might merely be a myth. I of course, disagreed, but nonetheless, it did made me think for a bit about my own situation.

I love what I’m doing – writing this blog, organizing fun projects and thinking of new ways to push the envelope for artists out there – but the truth is that it isn’t easy – and I won’t sugarcoat it. I say this because there are so many nitty gritty details that will drown out whatever it is that you love, if you let it. And doing this for four years has not exactly put a lot of food on my table, which is why I have other jobs to tide me over. I’m grateful for any sponsorships that I get, and I am ever so thrilled to get an email from a reader who breathlessly tell me about how they are so happy after they visit the blog.

There’s a bit of disconnect there – wouldn’t it be great if happiness is a tradable currency? What if I gave you 5 smiles in exchange for that muffin? If only it were that easy! I’ve racked up lots of smiles from running Pikaland, and if it happiness was a standard currency, then I’d be rich! But alas, the world doesn’t work that way.

But here’s the thing – I’ve had jobs that sapped the energy out of me, but my pockets were full. And right now, though I love my job(s), my pockets aren’t quite as full as they were before. I thought it would be a difficult adjustment, but it turns out it’s not that hard. I traded things that I thought made me happy, for things and experiences that did, and my sanity thanks me for it.

So while I’m treading that fine line between making my passion work for me and pushing through the hard bits, I know that I’m doing what I love. Because let’s face it – if I don’t love what I do, I would have given up on this mad path a long time ago. And to me that is passion – the drive that pushes you to go forward as you reach for the (seemingly) never-ending finish line, or that oft-promised pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

And while my passion doesn’t quite put food on my table for now, there’s a churning in my belly that tells me that the day will come when my table will be full – and it will be surrounded by people whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with. It will filled with the fruits of our labor, and most importantly, we will be joyful in the knowledge that we have made a difference in our community.

What about you? Are you doing what you love?

Screenprint Do What You Love by Andy J Miller.

You know how they say inspiration is all around you? Well it’s true. But to most, they’re flustered because goshdarnit if it were all around us then why is it so hard to find? I’ve credited my randomness (which means that I might be talking to you about one subject and then shift to another without batting an eyelash) to constantly getting inspiration all the time.

It’s no secret to those who know me that I’m a ball of randomness.

I’ll be thinking one thing one minute and flitting to another a moment later. It’s not that I have a short attention span; it’s because I’m taking everything in, all the time. I’d be looking at that pattern on the wall, to the rug on the floor, connecting patterns and lines and POOF something new is born in the recesses of my mind.

It could be a pattern that I’d like to explore, or it could be a way to solve a problem that I’ve been having – anything and everything is collected and accumulated which results in waves of impulses shooting around in that noodle of mine.

You’d think that by now my mind would have exploded (or imploded) already with all the things that I’m absorbing. Well, there’s a method to my madness of absorbing inspiration and I’m going to share that with you today:

1. I look up and down

We all tend to look at things in a straight manner. Walking ahead, how many of us look up, or even down for that matter? I’ve seen things in new perspectives when I shift my viewpoint a smidge. It could be that normal commute home, but take a moment to take in your surroundings, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see things you thought were never there before.

2. I read. A whole lot.

I read business books. Articles and everything I can get my hands on. I read TechCrunch, Inc.com, and the Wall Street Journal. I read Time Magazine. I’m reading The Decision Book, and I flip through Oh Comely. The point is that I do not discriminate about the things I learn about – I find it fascinating that one day I’m reading about how organic cotton is made, and then moving on to reading about World War II in a few clicks. Yes, it’s random, but I don’t memorize all of the things I absorb, because…

3. I’ve learned to see patterns in things

I’ve written about how I connect things in my mind for fun, but I also use the technique to find solutions to problems. It could be that article that I read last week that might help me solve a problem today. Or perhaps I can’t figure out how to make an illustration better but I remembered that there’s this fellow who used a certain analogy that could be applied to my brief. I don’t copy and paste – I synthesize and solve problems based on how others have done before me, and this could mean so many different ways depending on how you see things.

And to make sure my brain doesn’t go KABOOM on me…

4. I don’t use my brain to store things. I use it to come up with new things.

I write down a lot of things in my journal and my sketchbook because I know that I cannot trust my memory– it has failed me a few times. I would come up with this insanely great idea and then sleep on it and forget all about it when I woke up. So rather than just forcing myself to remember, I unload all the information in a safe place – a notepad, my phone, etc – so that I can come back and retrieve it later.

And because I know that my ideas are in good hands, my mind is free to take in more things and to expand on what I’ve seen and learnt, and to come up with even more ideas.

Tell me, what works for you?

Not all who wander are lost print by Eeko Studio.