Three passions; not enough time for all of them?

[bradb]

Hey all,

I'm a 28 year old computer geek in Montreal. I have three passions in life and seemingly not enough time to commit to reaching my goals in each one. My passions are:

1. Hacking. I build big websites and figure out how to make stuff easy for Normal Human Beings to use. I love figuring out how things work and seeing relationships between seemingly unrelated things. I pig out on knowledge.

2. Poker. I'm competitive. I love the challenge and the mechanics of Poker. And, amazingly, it's something I can make money at, if I'm good enough. I also realize it takes a lot of work.

3. Social life. Until a few months ago, my social life was sparse. I've actively revolutionized this area of my life, have penetrated many social circles, and have made many friends that share common interests (Poker, computers, etc.)

If I knew there were no chance of failure, I would pursue the life of a professional Poker player, and contribute back to society in my free time (I'm into reducing, reusing, and recycling. I'm a member of the Green Party and Greenpeace. I'd like to write about Poker and have some other Poker-related business ideas. I'm also into Open Source Software.)

I've got some ways to go before I could even consider switching to Poker full-time, probably at least a year or two of intense study and bankroll building. But I'm also a currently a consultant looking for geek work, having recently left my last contract. And nuturing my social life takes several nights a week too.

Have any of you guys found yourself in a similar predicament? Not enough time for all your passions, and particularly feeling like you don't have enough time for the one you're perhaps most passionate about? Is this just a time management issue that can be resolved?

Insights and perspectives would be appreciated.

[TheGlassInYourMouth]

Hey Brad

I am also in a similar situation.

I am 25 years old and currently in the process of starting my own graphic design business specialising in designs for bands and music related companies.

I have also been in a band for the last 5 years but never was able to dedicate my full time to it and the other members did no work whatsoever towards helping me take the band to the next level.

I have since quit (the band broke up when i quit realising I did everything) and have since had a great offer to join a band with great potential but this will be a near full time position taking away from my design business.

On top of this I just moved into my own new place (by myself for the first time) have been looking into getting some passive income flowing in, trying to find some new groups of friends and getting a hold of my dating and love life which has been suffering.

If anyone has any solutions or experiences in prioritising several goals and dreams in life I would like to hear from them.

[rene_stpierre]

Guys,

I'm there too. I'm 34 with a full time job (not much interest in it anymore although it is highly paid), married, 2 kids (3 years old boy and 11 months old girl), I love sports, I have a new found passion for personal development and on top of all that, I got started with Affiliate Marketing last December (with the goal to earn a full income within 2 years).

Pretty full plate .... Here's what I do.

First, I have very clear goals (Long Term, Mid term (for 2007) and Short Term). So I know where I am going. BTW, I never had written goals until last year!

Second, every morning, I take 20-30 minutes to review what I will do during my day (I use the process teached in Simpleology). In doing so, I ensure what I will work on during my day will bring me closer toward my goals.

I do a little of everything each day. But, to succeed, I must be very efficient and disciplined. I could drop a few things but then I would loose the balance I have in my life. So, I have decided to keep the balance and take smaller steps each day towards some of my goals. The important thing is that I move forward every day.

Here's what a weekday looks like for me:
6h00: Get up, family breakfast, get ready for work
7h30: In my home office to plan my day
8h00: Check e-mails and work on most important daily task for my day job
9h30: Go to office (skipped traffic and saved 30-45 mins transit time)
9h45: continue work for day job
11h30: eat lunch and personal development (read, eCourse, etc)
12h00: Work on Affiliate business (advertize, check stats, follow-ups, etc)
13h00: Work on day job
17h00: Go home
17h30: family dinner, play with kids, give bath, put kids to bed, exercise (3 times/week)
20h00: Back in my home office to work on Affiliate business (or unfinished tasks for day job)
22h30: Go to bed
From Friday 17h00 to Monday 6h00, is open to whatever we want to do.

So, in a work day, I perform on my day job, take care of my mind, play with the kids, exercise and work on my new business. As a bonus, I get to do whatever I want during the weekends!

Bottom line, with planning, efficient use of your time and discipline, you can keep all your passions and reach your goals (it might take a little longer if you want to keep all of them).

René

[Joel Chue]

Originally Posted by rene_stpierre

Guys,

I'm there too. I'm 34 with a full time job (not much interest in it anymore although it is highly paid), married, 2 kids (3 years old boy and 11 months old girl), I love sports, I have a new found passion for personal development and on top of all that, I got started with Affiliate Marketing last December (with the goal to earn a full income within 2 years).

Passion would be something you will want to do for your entire life.

Here is a quote I learnt from Niu Gensheng (The CEO of Mengniu Diary - World's Top Selling Diary Company, CHina Company)

"Something worth doing is one who can never achieve in his lifetime"

Example are like Walt Disney who wants to make people happy. Can this be achieve in anyone lifetime.

I don't think so.

You may have found things that you love to do but is it worth doing for your entire life?

[Mark Lapierre]

Originally Posted by Joel Chue

Passion would be something you will want to do for your entire life.

How many people stay the same throughout their entire life? How many people enjoy one thing throughout their entire life? Does it really seem possible, let alone rational, to attempt to do one thing for your entire life and be able to remain passionate about it the entire time?

I think that's one source of much distress for people these days. They believe they have to choose something to do for the rest of their life. A single career choice for the next 50 or so years. That's one reason why some people, faced with a variety of good choices, are paralysed, because they're afraid of making the wrong choice and thereby missing out on the joy they could have experienced through the other options.

I'm pretty sure that out of multiple great options, any choice would be fine. And if not, pick something else. We're not as limited as we sometimes think we are.

[Liara Covert]

I agree with Mark. Few people tend to stick with one major focus throught their lives. If you find something you're passionate about and wish to focus on that, by all means, all the power to you. However, if you get restless or come to desire a life change, realize that's okay as well.

bradb: if you suspect poker is your big thing, and you live in Montreal, you are likely familiar with the Casino de Montreal. If you hadn't already thought of it, it could be worth your while to contact people who work there and find out how they got into dealing or whatever area that interests you. Halifax also has a Casino. the only way to figure out if this avenue is for you is to check out possibilities in more detail and get involved.
See for example: Casino Dealer Schools

joel:I like your quotes. Some people discover sources of passion at different points during their lives. Some of my passions have grown more intense and more fulfilling as I've evolved to devote more time to them. If you believe in some form of reincarnation, then maybe happiness can indeed be achieved over many lifetimes. However, I also think different forms of happiness can be experienced during the life we live now. It's subjective, yet possible, providing you figure out what happiness means to you.

"People love others not for who they are but for how they make them feel.” -Irwin Federman

[stocktrading101]

Bottom line, with planning, efficient use of your time and discipline, you can keep all your passions and reach your goals (it might take a little longer if you want to keep all of them).

I think this says it all, time efficiency, because I believe you can pursue all of your passions at once if you want it bad enough.

The Secret (for those who've seen it, and if not u should!) tells us to focus on what we WANT, not what we don't want. It seems like the focus in the first post was fear of not having enough time to pursue all of their passions. Perhaps working harder to enjoy those passions as you experience them each day will help manifest balance in your life.

[bradb]

Originally Posted by stocktrading101

I think this says it all, time efficiency, because I believe you can pursue all of your passions at once if you want it bad enough.

The Secret (for those who've seen it, and if not u should!) tells us to focus on what we WANT, not what we don't want. It seems like the focus in the first post was fear of not having enough time to pursue all of their passions. Perhaps working harder to enjoy those passions as you experience them each day will help manifest balance in your life.

My time management skills have slipped a bit lately, and I may be wasting too much time on thinking about what I don't want instead of what I do. I've heard good things about The Secret; I'll watch it soon.

I'll experiment with amping up my efficiency. I know that pursuing three passions takes discipline and I could be pushing way harder.

Good to know there are others in this boat, and that some have figured out how to pull it off.

[run_fly]

Hey bradb,

I was in the same situation myself and I was fustrated about it because I wanted to do it all! So I tried doing it all but what lead to my downfall was being too busy and could of led to burning out.

I decided to take one passion and focus primary on that and let everything els go. At the beginning it was hard to give up other areas of my life. But after a month or so it felt good to have some free time to relax.

It's almost like you need to polarize one way or the other. Try focusing on one passion only for a month see how it feels?

I like Erin Pavlina's quote:

Question: There are so many things I want to do in life and I can’t pick just one, so I’m floundering around accomplishing nothing. How can I pick the thing that is right for me?
Answer: There are many methods you can use to select a path so I can’t say which one is best, but you’ll know you’re on the right path when you feel good about your direction. Also, just pick one. It’s better to pick something you think you’ll like and go for it than to constantly wonder what could have been. You don’t have to commit in advance to doing the thing forever.

Goodluck!