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This is Being Yourself For A Living.

by Cathy Park

 There is a quiet, happy, relentless revolution going on. It’s happening to the man in front of you in the queue, to the woman in the car behind you and to your next-door neighbour. These people have turned away from the drudgery of work as simply a means to make money. Instead, they are creating work that allows them to be true to themselves, give service to the world and make a damn good living in the process. They are being themselves for a living. These courageous pioneers are at the forefront of a revolution that is proving that work, passion and profit can go together in a sentence.

In a little Italian restaurant up the road, you’ll find Marco at the pizza oven, rolling the dough into shape, artfully sprinkling handfuls of toppings and then spearing the pizza into the hot flames. He has used his love of making pizzas and driving high speed vehicles to create a pizzeria garnished with Ferrari photos and racing paraphernalia. His clients get great meals and service with a fulfilled smile from someone who has created the working life he always dreamed of and who drives home each night on his Ducati bike.

How did he get here, you wonder enviously. He started one step at a time, working in various pizza shops, watching and learning. Then he heard about a petrol station-shop on a busy corner that was closing its pumps. He pictured a restaurant there, and took the leap.

The first step to becoming yourself for a living is to take the step. Sometimes, like Marco, this is a leap of faith and sometimes you get pushed from behind. Irene, a world class bodybuilder and personal trainer, explains how she had to leave pre-primary school teaching due to a voice ailment which doctors couldn’t explain. Various other external factors eventually pushed her to go out on her own and use her competitive bodybuilding expertise to help others stretch themselves physically and mentally.

Taking this step starts with an inner shift, a silent commitment to creating a purposeful, joyfully integrated life, even if you have no clue yet how to do this practically. Once you have done this, the universe responds with help. One misty spring night, I stood with my head out of the window and declared my commitment to living this life. That is when opportunities and leads began to come my way. Now I have a thriving business that helps others live and work purposefully by being true to themselves and their dreams. I have also written a book that shares my experiences teaching juvenile offenders how to create purposeful, self-respecting working lives that give service to others and make them a legal living.

Once you have made this silent commitment, this whispered ‘yes’ or, perhaps more aptly, ‘yes, but how?’, your work then is to trust. Trust that the universe is on your side and wants you to live a meaningful and happy life. Then, keep your eyes and ears open. A snippet of conversation, a fragment of a radio show, a dream – all are whispers and sometimes shouts from the universe that contain guidance and direction.

While being trusting, you also need to keep taking action that is in line with your agreement with the universe. Betty, recently retired from forty years of corporate employment, is living frugally on her pension and exploring a newly-discovered artistic flair. She has turned down three job offers because she wants to believe that she can make a lucrative living from doing what she loves, which is creating things of beauty. Each time she says no to the temptation to give up her dream in return for financial security, she renews her commitment and thus her certainty. Recently, she received bountiful gifts of art materials and easels from an unexpected source.

Develop a picture of who you are, your strengths and passions and what you give to people. Then listen for what the world needs from you. Tony and Natasha, a married couple with a shared love of sports and personal fitness, became frustrated with the inexpert advice and impersonal treatment their personal training clients received from a large gym. They opened their own gym, a stylish, intimate setting which offers their clients personal attention and expert advice and tuition. The style of both owners is evident all over the gym, from the sleek décor to the snack platters of fresh and dried fruits. Tony and Natasha describe this entrepreneurial experience as a roller coaster ride, but they’re glad they bought the ticket.

Study global and local trends. Look for ways to make the changes that are happening in the world work for you. Gary, a draughtsman by profession, sees the perceived problem of a shrinking job market in South Africa as an opportunity for people to become entrepreneurial. He turned his hobby of martial arts and his love of children into a lucrative school of martial arts and is now making more money than in his previous profession.

These people all around you are creating ways of working and living that express who they are, give service to the world and make them a living. The ways they do this are as unique and colourful as they are, but the core process is the same. They all have an unbending intent to live a purposeful, integrated life. They all took the first step, then another, in the direction of this vision.

Every day, the travellers on this path keep walking, knowing that they are on the right road. What about you? Is the fact that you are reading this article a nudge from the universe? Will you be next to set out on this journey?

Steps to Being Yourself for a Living

• Commit to creating a life that is integrated, 
  joyful and purposeful

• Take daily steps towards this life

• Turn away from anything that pulls you 
  away from your vision

• Develop a picture of who you are and what
  you have to offer

• Be trusting and listen to what the world
  needs from you

• Watch global and local trends and find
  ways to make them work for you

• Create a package of products and/or services
  that combine all these factors, then place
  a fair-but-not-cheap value on this package
  and sell it

 
Cathy Park is being herself for a living and helps others do the same through her workshops and courses. She is also author of ‘Inside Outside – a journey of the spirit through the gates of a prison’ which shares her experiences teaching business and life skills to juvenile offenders. Contact her:

cathy@bentrepreneuring.com
Cathy Park  + 27 (0) 82 925 0643