Category / passion

by Nathan Coumbe

It’s not an absence of passion

It’s a presence of fear. 

That thing you were considering—now you feel you aren’t “passionate” enough about it to pursue. 

The business you thought of starting. The video you were going to film. The degree you thought about getting.

You’re telling yourself you aren’t passionate about it. And therefore it’s not worth doing. 

You’re wrong. 

Passion has nothing to do with it. You’re just scared. 

Scared of starting. Scared of failing. Unsure of what it will look like once you commit. 

To paraphrase Seth Godin: if it scares you, it’s a pretty good sign you should try to do it.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Childhood inclinations

Don’t get in the way of your children’s natural inclinations.

If they want to write, encourage it. If they want to dance or sing, help them do it. If they want to play sports, give them the means to do so.

We all seem to be wired for different things. Trying to become something we’re not is the worst possible way to live.

by Nathan Coumbe

A new poet in our midst

My wife has a good friend who just published her first book—a beautiful book of poetry written from deep in her heart.

She is the perfect candidate for Seth Godin’s marketing tactic known as “First, ten“. And I told her that was all the marketing she needed to do when she released this book.

The premise is simple: find 10 people you trust, and show them your work. If they like it, have each of them tell 10 more people.

Like rings in a pond from where a stone struck, the ripples spread outward, ever larger and more impactful on the shores they touch.

Well, consider this my way of telling 10 people (quite a bit more than that actually). I urge you to check out her poetry here… And afterwards, FOLLOW HER LEAD!

Create your own art and share it with the world. Tell 10 people and let word spread. You won’t regret the effort.

(And check out her blog here.)

by Nathan Coumbe

Lack of work might be making you unhappy…

Feeling unhappy? I can probably guess why…

You don’t have a project to work on.

“Prod any happy person, and you will find a project.“

—Richard Layard, economist

I don’t mean a project at work: one of those mindnumbing, agonizing, tedious, pointless tasks you’ve been given by your boss just to look busy.

I’m talking about something that matters: a project that makes you happy. A project that makes a difference. A project that changes someone else for the better.

Seth Godin would call that kind of project “art.” And it doesn’t have to be a painting, song, or movie. It just has to matter to you. 

And it helps if it makes the world a better place.

A quick way to find real happiness? Start working on a project.

(If you want to learn more about this argument, check out Layard’s book Happiness: Lessons from a New Science)

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by Nathan Coumbe

Do you have big dreams?

I see you there, hiding away to dream about what it would be like if you weren’t in your current J.O.B.

  • If you actually enjoyed what you’re doing and didn’t have so much trouble waking up each morning to go to work
  • If you had time to spend with your family instead of working all that overtime just to make ends meet
  • If you felt like your skills and talents were being put to good use doing something that really matters in the world

It’s so great to have big dreams. 

So what now? 

Feel stuck in moving forward with those dreams? Do you want them to become more than just a break-room diversion over a bologna sandwich or a microwave pizza?

My friend Dan Miller has helped thousands of people take their dreams and develop a plan and act on them with resources like his New York Times Bestseller 48 Days To the Work and Life You Love and No More Dreaded Mondays.

He’ll be hosting a FREE Masterclass that you NEED to check out. It’s Thursday, July 15th with two times to choose from — 1 PM CT and 7 PM CT.

“5 Reasons Big Dreamers Get Stuck And How To Blast Through Them To Success”

You can register here!

He’ll walk you through those 5 reasons. Chances are one (or some) of them are holding you back from your dreams as well.

He’ll also help you with some immediate action points and real-life examples of people who’ve used them so you can start blasting through those sticking points to the success you’ve been dreaming of.

So open up those eyes, dreamer, and save your seat TODAY for Dan Miller’s FREE Masterclass. 

Click here to register!

by Nathan Coumbe

Speak Your Dreams Into Reality Today

I got an email from the 48 Days Eagles (affiliate link) asking what my main business goal is for 2021. I thought I’d share it with you as well. So here goes:

“I want to help small businesses and entrepreneurs write better copy for their websites and marketing efforts so they can increase the sales of their products and services and grow their businesses.”

Why do I want to do this? Because if I can help others succeed in their business endeavors, they’ll be able to live out their hopes and dreams.

Now it’s your turn. Use this awesome layout to create your own business goal.

What’s your dream? Have you spoken it into reality yet?

And most importantly, can I help you with your dream or business?

Let me know in the comments!

by Nathan Coumbe

Are We Really “Born to Do” Anything?

It’s a question asked by lots of career counselors, coaches, and well-meaning advisors.

“What do you feel you were ‘born to do?'”

What if the honest answer is we aren’t born to do anything specific?

There is an entire area of philosophy dedicated to this idea that was first theorized by John Locke. (You can check out the basics here.) But I’m focusing on talents and passions today.

Was Van Gogh born to paint? Was Steve Jobs born to create the iPhone? Seth Godin would argue no. His answer to this question is simple. Here’s how I understand it:

No one is predetermined to use a certain medium for his or her art. We simply adopt the means and medium of whatever is available to us in our time.

In one of his podcast episodes, Seth says he doesn’t believe that Van Gogh would have painted with oils had he been born in the 20th century. Nor would Steve Jobs have created the iPhone had he been born in the 1700s (the resources and advancements in science were not available for that to have been possible).

And yet, each of us is genetically unique. You have never occurred before and will never occur again in this universe. Surely that means that we are born with innate talents and leanings.

Part of me thinks that’s true. And yet part of me also believes, as career coach Dan Miller says, “Passion is more developed than discovered.”

By this, he means we become passionate about things we engage with over and over again.

I find this idea incredibly liberating. Why? It means if we aren’t satisfied with what we are doing—if our passions are no longer feeding or fueling us—we can choose a new passion. We can develop it to something that feels like we were born to do it.

Maybe, in the end, it all comes down to choice and what’s available to us in our time.

What do you think? Were you born to do something? Leave a comment today!

by Nathan Coumbe

Artist-of-All-Arts

I don’t think I’ve ever met a single artist who was not a jack-of-all-trades in the arts and humanities–an “artist-of-all-arts” if you will.

It seems every artist is not only attracted to multiple forms of art but develops skill in multiple areas as well.

My late friend Michael McNally was a brilliant cellist and a gifted, passionate actor. My friend Lindsey is a skilled artist, photographer, designer, and also a singer with a beautiful voice. (You can see some of her work here and here.) Another friend of mine, Alden, is one of the best photographers I know as well as a talented artist and connoisseur of music.

It seems to me that anyone attracted to the arts and humanities is attracted to all of them. It’s as if once the right brain is fully engaged, it looks for beauty everywhere. 

Such is the life of an artist, and why, I suppose we can seem to others to be so scattered in our work and interests–and perhaps feel that way about ourselves. 

An artist is a lover of beauty no matter its form, so we chase it everywhere.

What about you? What forms of art are you attracted to or skilled in? Let me know in comments below!

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by Nathan Coumbe

Grow dandelions or develop software?

My mentor Dan Miller said something profound which I would like to share today:

(I’m paraphrasing) It is better to grow dandelions if that is what you are truly passionate about than it is to learn software development.

What does he mean? Instead of looking out there–into the world and the job market to see what jobs are there–look inward and find what you are both truly passionate about and skilled at doing. Then find a way to generate income with that passion and talent.

If you hate working with computers or can’t stand plugging in thousands of lines of code everyday, why would you spend time and money learning those skills? Simply to make a lot of money?

If you spend 1/3 of your day (and remember you also sleep 1/3) doing something you hate, will money really compensate you for your misery?

It is better to do something simple or common at an uncommonly high level of excellence, and find a way to generate income doing it, than it is to try to fit yourself into something you hate simply for money.

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by Nathan Coumbe

How much is enough?

I asked myself this question a few days ago and elaborated on it in my journal. Specifically, I was asking myself, “How much money do I need to make to feel like I am making enough?”

Honestly, making more money right now would not bring me any more happiness. It’s not money that my conscience is crying out to gain: it is meaning, purpose, the ability to use my God-given talents and strengths to serve and help other people.

The income I make now is actually more than enough to satisfy my needs at this moment. So why am I not doing something that fills my cup?

Have you ever asked yourself what enough is? If you made $40,000 a year, could you live on that if it meant you were doing something you cared about so much and so thoroughly enjoyed you couldn’t dream of doing anything else?

My answer is yes. Yours may be different. At a certain point, making more money is just making more money. Studies tend to cap the increase in happiness that comes from money at about $75,000.

So what goal, idea, or passion is the quest for more money preventing you from pursuing?

Are you, perhaps, an artist who wants to paint? A musician who wants to play and teach? Or are you, like me, a teacher who simply wants to teach?

Ask yourself this question: could you, honestly, make a living knowing the starting or average income that job in your head receives? Could you survive, or even thrive, if it meant you were doing what you felt passionately called to do?

The irony is most of the time when you quit pursuing money and start pursuing passion in the service of others, more money than you imagined comes into your life.

How much is enough? Could you make it doing what you love?

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