There is a saying "Follow your heart and the money will follow". A part of me has always believed this to be true and another part wonders how to do this exactly! I find myself asking the question "How do you follow your heart and honour your responsibilities?" I do not think that these two things are mutually exclusive; I believe that they can and do exist in harmony and can feed and support each other. We have all heard stories of people who have taken risks to follow their passion and been successful. We have also heard stories of people who did the same and struggled or lived out of their car for awhile before they found success. So what do you do? What do you do when you are in that in between place living in your car? How do you make a change that will allow you to follow your heart and not end up in your car?

Following Your Passion
I do not think you have to make a radical change to start living your passion. It is not necessary to take such drastic action that you put your or your family at risk, financially or physically, in order to follow a passion. I think you can start by taking small steps and making choices that align with your passion rather than following what you or others thinks you should be doing.

Small Steps
I think before you can live your passion you have to know what that means for you. That is the first step. What are you passionate about? How will you know you are living your passion? What does that look like and feel like to you? Once you are clear on what this looks like then you can start making choices to bring your passion more fully into your life. You can make choices that are aligned with or support your passion, one small step at a time.

Obstacles on the Path
In my experience, I have found that a number of things can get in the way of making choices that support your passion. Sometimes I find myself doing things that I think I should be doing. You know that voice that says "This is a great opportunity…everyone says you need to do this in order to get established…this job will show people you have arrived!" Sometimes I find myself doing things out of fear…fear of failure or fear of making a wrong choice. It is amazing how the mind can rationalize just about any decision. Sometimes I can see so many sides of an issue and it just leaves me feeling even more confused! It is amazing how things can get so clouded that it is difficult to know what the right choice is. It can be hard to hear that still small voice of the soul.

Taking the "Wrong" Path
I have to admit that I have found myself on the wrong path any number of times. By that I mean that I have made choices that turned out not to be right for me. In retrospect I slap my forehead and say "Man you should have seen that one coming! How come you didn't know? It is so obvious now" You know what they say about hindsight! I believe that sometimes you have to take the wrong path to fully realize it is the wrong path. The wrong path brings learning that helps you get really clear on what your heart and soul truly wants. This learning simply means that it was not so much a "wrong" path as another step in your journey.

You know it is the right path if it brings you joy, if it makes you feel alive, if you feel enthusiasm and lightness in you body and soul. You know it is the wrong path…well you just know don't you! You know by the heaviness of heart, by the dread, by the absolute lack of enthusiasm you feel when you go to work. When I am on a wrong path is when I start to feel a yearning, a pull to what I really want.

There is great wisdom in knowing for sure what you do not want as it can help you to see what you do want.

Sometimes I have found that I needed to walk this "wrong" path because there was something I needed to learn. I truly believe that there are no mistakes, only learning. If you find yourself on a wrong path consider what it is you can learn from the experience. I have learned that life unfolds with grace and there is wisdom and insight to be gained on any path. I have found that even when I was on the wrong path, I was still moving in the right direction. It is probably better not to speak of right and wrong paths at all but of evolving paths.

Coaching Questions
What are you passionate about?
Are you living your passion?
How do you know?
Can you think of a time when you were on the "wrong" path?
What did you learn?
How has that knowledge served you?
Can you think of a time when you were on the right path?
Did this path reflect a passion?

Action
Make a list of your passions. Choose your top 5. Are you living these passions?

What do you need to do to more fully live your passion? Do you need to make more time for your spouse or children? Do you need to get some information about a course or career?

About the Author:

Jan is a Master Certified Retreat Coach whose passion is to help you reconnect with the heart and soul of who you are. Through customized coaching retreats Jan's trademark is getting you out of your usual environment and way of being to access your personal power and wisdom. Jan is the author of 5 self-help e-courses, two self-led e-retreats, and a number of articles.