Have you ever had a passion to do something that made
your heart sing, but it didn’t make enough money to sustain you yet? I found
myself in this position.
After many
years in a career that I loved at first until about 10 years ago (Aviation), I
assessed the toll that it had taken on me and the distance I always had to be
from my family. I needed to continue to work to maintain certain financial
obligations so switching careers wasn’t really an option for me if I wanted to
maintain my current income level. All the while at the same time, I was working
on my dream to be an author and filmmaker during my days off.
I wanted to
find work near my home, but I knew that gainful employment, with the skill set
that I have would take me 2 ½ hours away. I ended up being hired by the Navy about
45 minutes away. It was a wonderful experience as I attended their nine-month
training program. I had the opportunity to meet some outstanding people that will be friends for life.
Although I
was making far below what I was used to, it was a steady job that brought in an
income that I was grateful for. Even so all the while this dream of becoming a
full-time author and filmmaker never left me, I would do what I have always
done and worked it part-time. Every morning, I would pray and ask God to open
doors of opportunity for me to be able to work it full-time, making a better
income than I ever had.
Fast forward
to January 5th, 2022. I was released from the program. In my heart,
I already had a sense it was coming and started a project that would mitigate
(my YouTube channel). As I now have all the time in the world to work on my own
projects and learn many new things, I am completely invigorated! In the last 30
days, I have had to learn Canva, Adobe Premiere Pro, Shopify, how to create and
edit my own videos, filmmaking, podcasting, Book bolt, how to create my own
low-content books, etc. I feel that I am living the life that I want and the income
that I desire will not only come but will exceed my expectations. It has been an
exciting time.
If you have
a dream, and you are working a job that you dislike or even hate, pray. Things
may not happen the way that you would like, but it is okay. It is simply a
means to an expected end, and you start to live in a way that is more aligned with
who you were created to be.
In closing, no matter where our journey takes us, we still live in the backdrop of that which is eternal. Proverbs 16:9 (NIV) says: In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
-John
