By: Eden Hensley; Photos by Brooke Dennis for Alt Summit
The new American Dream is doing what you love or finding and following your passion. We are told no dream is too big and no obstacle insurmountable. And we take pride in our doggedness and our determination. But, at what cost?
Paul Graham posits there are two routes to doing work that you love and making a living at it. The first is organic: you gradually increase the parts of your job that you like so each year you are doing more of what you love. The second is the two-job route: working at things you do not like to get money to work on what you love.
Many of us have chosen the two-job route, getting started on our creative endeavor by pursuing that passion while working a full-time job, which pays the bills. So many do that David Ferguson of The Onion wrote a parody of this trend, “Find the Thing You’re Most Passionate About, then Do It On Nights and Weekends for the Rest of Your Life.”
Can creative entrepreneurs really have it all? Is doing what you love and having a balance between work and life possible? How do you define balance? By day, by week, by month, or over the course of a lifetime?
Join us Wednesday, October 22nd on Twitter at 9AM PT/12PM ET when we attempt to define balance and discuss the challenges of finding balance when doing what you love. If you are new to Twitter chats, take a moment to review How to Participate in a Twitter Chat.
In the meantime, you may be interested in four traits of work that makes someone happy (hint: it is not doing what you love) or six tips from Leo Babauta on how to find the elusive balance between work and life.
What are your thoughts? Do you think we can have it all? Is there such a thing as balance?
