"Living the Life" - Following your Passion into Business

You have often heard the phrase, "follow your passion", or the most successful business people are those who followed their dream!  But for many of us, it is not that well defined.  We are so caught up in paying bills, raising kids, getting through life, that we often feel that we don't have time to follow our passion, or "what the heck is my passion"?

When my husband and I started our winery operations about 10 years ago, it started with my passion of horses.  I was going through a mini-midlife crisis, wondering when I was ever going to have the horse ranch that I always dreamed about.  I even had the name already picked out "Hacienda de las Rosas" - "Big house of the roses"  We bought a piece of property with a beautiful adobe home, and 600 dead apple trees and overgrown avocado grove.  But it was my passion, so we worked hard to build the facilities and clear the property, literally "one board at a time".  Then my husband had the idea to plant some grapes for fun.  He later went to UC Davis on viticulture classes, and interned with some wine makers.  Suddenly this former farmboy was back to farming and loving it!  His new passion was growing grapes and making wine...and he quit his full time job two years ago to do just that.  Our family motto has become "Drink Fine Wine...Ride Fine Horses."

This was a 10 year effort to finally find our passion and turn it into our livelihood and work.  And when people come into our Wine Tasting room, they often remark that "you are living the life", and I tell them that they can do it too..they just need to decide what that life is for them and then start going toward it "one board at a time!"

Think about what you loved to do when you were younger, or those dreams and goals that you had in college or early 20's.  Get back to that feeling and explore ways in which you can take steps toward that passion.  It doesn't have to be a big step...it can be a lot of baby steps.  But TAKE A STEP in that direction.  Take a class, connect with someone in that world, buy those paintbrushes, or read that book!  And it sometimes is not easy...building a dream life isn't that easy...otherwise everyone would have it!  However, one step leads to the next step and with commitment to your passion, the momentum will carry you forward!

We have all witnessed those who seem to really enjoy their work and life, and probably felt some envy.  Most of them were not handed this life...they had to create it for themselves.  And sometimes, discovering your passion can be a wonderful journey in itself.  If you are in the doldrums of your work, or haven't been energized in awhile...try something completely new and different.  Go to a meeting or join a group that you would have never thought to be a part of.  When an opportunity comes along, don't analyze it to the detailed end...take a leap of faith.  When someone invites you to go do something that you've never tried before in business, go for it.  Stretching yourself in new ways may introduce you to even greater opportunities, new contacts, and adventures that you never could have imagined. 

Be one of those people...create the steps in your life to determine your passion, and let it be the way that you live!