What Matters – From Side Dish to Main Course
Guest Contributor for My L.A. Lifestyle
At a barbecue the other night, a new acquaintance was telling me that she had the hardest time staying motivated to do her job. She’s a single mom raising two teenagers, so she needs her steady income. But to feed her spirit, she has a robust side-business teaching children to play instruments. Essentially, she’s working two jobs. The job that has her feeling like she’s really engaged, where she really loses herself in the activity of her work? Teaching music. Is it exhausting to do this and her regular job? Yes. But in an energized, fulfilling way that comes with knowing she’s made a difference.
“It’s instant gratification,” she tells me. “I can see how these children develop and learn in one lesson, not to mention what they’ve learned by the time they perform at the recital,” she says, laughing. Her energy is up, and I can tell that motivation is clearly not an issue. Is there a way to make this her main source of income? She’s working towards that, with a smart plan that requires some patience and good timing.
It’s so easy to forget – or not even know – what really matters to us. Knowing what really matters can shine the light on what we need to do in life. Listening to our inner yearnings provides us with the information we really require to show us where we must go, to do the work that is clearly important to us.