If you could do anything in the world …
I’ve been thinking about work and business in general.
In a human service business, we sell our time.
In a digital service business, we automate the human service with technology and manage the technology.
In a product business, we sell our product. We create something and pay people to make it (sometimes). Note: if we make it ourselves, we’re again, in the business of selling our time.
If the goal is to figure out what we’d rather spend our time on…
If money was not a factor…
If you could do anything in the world…
What would it be?
What do you do in your spare time?
On your days off. On the weekends.
What would you do even if no one paid you to do it?
What do you already do in your spare time (because you like to)?
For example, I spend a lot of time online.
I read, learn, communicate, research, work, volunteer, run errands, meet clients, read the news, decide what I’m going to make for dinner, shop, discover new music, art and more — all online.
Mostly, I use social media and Google. Apple and Android manage my personal and professional life. Spotify and Pandora manage my music life. TIME, TechCrunch, Red Bull, WIRED and other publishers design my yearly goal board.
As a writer,
Medium manages my free writing.
The Huffington Post manages my social writing.
Wordpress manages my business’ writing.
Twitter manages my thoughts.
Facebook manages my daily inspirations.
Instagram manages my memories.
Field Notes manage my ideas.
I also spend a lot of time visually documenting life as it happens — through photos and videos. Apple, Canon, Nikon and GoPro manage this part of my life. (I also trusted Polaroid with my wedding.)
Big picture — technology plays an important role in my life.
So when I asked myself the questions above — what would I do, what do I do in my spare time…for free? A: All of that.
If I could get paid to do all of that, what would that look like as a “job”?
Digital Media Teacher
Digital Media Consultant
Digital Content Creator
Documentarian
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That’s what I’m currently doing with my life.
Ask yourself the same questions and don’t think too hard about the answers.
We don’t often think the things we love to do can be done for a living.
We do them in our spare time when we could be doing them all the time.
*Note: this is meant for people trying to figure out what to do…
- in life
- next in life
- after retiring
- after graduating
- after losing or leaving a job
- after realizing your not happy in your current position
- simply to make a change
There are no limits but your own.
Also — I ask myself these same questions every once in a while and from time to time I adjust what I’m doing in life to match what I WANT to be doing. It’s really that easy. It’s also really easy to stay in the habit of things.
Like this…
“I can’t because I live in ________.”
“Oh I can’t do that, I have a kid(s) to take care of.”
“My boss would never let me ________.”
“I don’t have enough money.”
“I don’t know how to ________.”
Instead of this…
“I could move to _______.”
“I can do that if I get _______ to help me care for my kid(s).”
“If my boss doesn’t let me, it’s probably time for a new boss.”
“If I save $2/day I’ll have enough money in 3 years.”
“I’m going to google how to learn ________.”
It’s all about perspective. Why you can’t…or how you can.
