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How to answer your call
in mid-life
By Craig Nathanson (The Vocational Coach™)
(Excerpt, from, 2005 forthcoming book, “Mid-Life Passion: Discover
and FINALLY do the work you love!”)
Hank Bochenski’s story proves it is never too late to walk away from
a life you feel trapped in and do something that you really love.
Hank spent 30 years in demanding senior positions at large high-tech
companies. By the time he went home each day, he felt like all the
blood had been drained out of him.
Hank’s real passion was his collection of more than 1,000 movies. He
had recently spent hours converting the collection from VHS to DVD,
a process he enjoyed. One day his wife walked by as he worked on
this project and said, “It’s too bad you can’t make money doing
this.” Before his wife’s offhand remark, he hadn’t considered that
he could do this full time.
He did some research and found a company called Home Video Studio
Inc., in Indianapolis. HVS offers 21 services, including DVD
transfers, DVD duplications, home movie transfers, photo-video
keepsakes, sports scholarship videos and videotape repair.
Hank and his wife did some due diligence and decided that this was a
perfect opportunity for them and they went ahead and got into the
video duplication business. And to top it all off, Hank's studio is
in his own home--no more 1.5-hour each way daily commute.
What Happens in Mid-Life?
Mid-life is a time of challenges and crossroads. Often we
re-evaluate our relationships, become more concerned about our
health or worry about whether we are as financially secure as we
should be. The biggest challenges in mid-life often involve our
careers, and more centrally, whether our careers are providing the
fulfillment we crave, or are simply exhausting us physically and
emotionally. In mid-life, fulfillment and meaning begin to compete
with paychecks and perks, and the paycheck and perks usually win.
Answering the Call to Vocational Passion
Before you can take action to change the course of your life and
pursue your vocational passion, it is critical to take an inventory
of your life and what is really important. You must begin by
understanding what is missing. You need to have a dream and a plan
for achieving it.
Start by making a list of the things that are missing in your life.
Is it a passion from your youth that you can never find time to
pursue? Is it music, a sport, writing, cooking, activism,
entrepreneurship, working with kids? It doesn’t matter, as long as
it is something you long to do, and have enough passion to do it
full time.
You need to understand not only where your passion is, but also
where your strengths lie. Make a list of the things you are
passionate about, and then narrow the list to those items that
present an opportunity to generate income. An interest in rock
climbing suggests opening a store that sells climbing equipment.
Perhaps some past volunteer work with disabled kids leads to earning
a certificate to teach full time.
Once you’ve narrowed your list and have matched your aptitudes and
interests, it’s time to take a good look at your support network. Do
you know people who care about what you are passionate about? If
not, what organizations or social networks could you tap into to
build a better personal network to help you make your big vocational
change?
Begin the Journey with a Lighter Backpack
Finally, you need to think about money--how it comes in and where it
goes.
Treat your money with more respect. Making better choices in how you
spend your money will make it easier to free yourself to change the
direction of your life.
Examine ways to “lighten your backpack.” Do you really need 100
cable channels? How many shoes, credit cards and watches does it
take to make you happy? Would life be any more difficult if you
drove a used Toyota instead of a brand new Lexus?
These are the kinds of questions that Hank Bochenski and his family
asked themselves as they made the difficult but ultimately rewarding
decision to “throw it all away” for a simpler yet more fulfilling
lifestyle. Hank is much happier. He is having fun every day. And
while his income may be more modest than before, his family is
living comfortably. His pursuit of vocational passion has cost him
little materially, yet the spiritual dividends have been immense.
Craig Nathanson is The Vocational Coach™ and the author of the new
book, P Is For Perfect: Your Perfect Vocational Day by Bookcoach
Press and the publisher of the free Ezine, ‘’Vocational passion in
mid-life’’. Craig believes the world works a little better when we
do the work we love. Craig Nathanson helps those in mid-life carry
this out! Visit his on-line community at
http://www.thevocationalcoach.com
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