Earlier today I was reading over a collection of responses I received from many of you telling me what your biggest struggles and most desired solutions are. I am incredibly touched by your responses. I admire the honesty, courage and vulnerability it takes to share these with me. I’m honored!

What I was struck by in particular is how many of you are struggling with finding work that is truly fulfilling, meaningful, and at the same time allows you to afford the life you want. Others feel clueless about what they are passionate about in the first place, which brings with it a lot of frustration and anxiety about the future. Both struggles are accompanied by this sense that time is running out!

It is too late?

Am I too old?

Will I ever find something (or someone) I love?

I want to figure this out before I have kids.

The catch is that pressure of any type (time, self-expectations, financial worry, etc.) is often the enemy of creativity and authentic action. This believe that “I need to figure it all out in advance” is often what prevents our creative instincts from thriving and our courage from jumping into the driver’s seat of our lives.

Let me ask you: Are you spending more time and energy on trying to predict the future and determining if something makes sense, OR are you spending the majority of your time and energy on exploring and living your passion in your LIFE (not necessarily in your job!).

Here is the deal: Nobody can promise you that your bank account will reach never-before-seen heights if you follow your passion. Nobody can promise you that your passion will lead to abundance and ever lasting freedom of worry. Nobody can promise you that your current passion will stay your passion forever.

Are you waiting for this mysterious promise to finally give yourself the green light to go out there and do what you love?

Don’t reject your ideas, passions, and dreams before you ever even explored them.

Don’t dismiss yourself.

And I am not just taking about your big passions that you are already aware of. I am also talking about small curiosities and those tiny little sparks of interest that can hit you out of the blue. What do you find yourself drawn to? What gives you pleasure? What do you find beautiful? What makes you feel good? Become an explorer of yourself.

If you believe your real passion is writing, for example, you don’t have to quit your job in advertising tomorrow and try to write a best-selling novel. Start with honoring your passion and giving yourself permission to explore it whether or not it will eventually turn into your career. Take a writing class, go to a writer’s meet-up, give yourself 30 minutes in the morning to write, write more letters to those you love… just write! Give yourself permission to dwell in your passion because it’s your passion, not because you will make a living with it.

For those of you who have trouble figuring out what they are passionate about, I have a story for you:

I have a friend who claims that she is not really passionate about anything when in reality she is one of the most passionate people I know: She has an amazing sense for beauty, decor, and small details. She has the ability to visualize how things will harmonize together in the bigger picture and she relentlessly offers the most creative solutions for how to make things work. She CARES more than most people I know about helping her friends, but she doesn’t give herself credit for these things. Sometimes it’s just a matter of looking a bit closer and instead of trying to FIND your passion, be willing to ACCEPT, SEE, and LIVE your passions.

And finally, set yourself free from the limiting belief that life (or love!) travels in a linear, mapped out fashion. It doesn’t. Not when you allow yourself to be fully human, creative, and ever evolving. Life is messy and that’s why it’s so beautiful and surprising: the end product is something you could have never dreamt up in your wildest dreams.

If this all rings true to you, but seems overwhelming, I have two amazing resources for you:

1) This Thursday evening, January 30th at 8pm EST/ 5pm PST my friend and fellow coach Jennifer Racioppi and I are hosting an amazing FREE call called How To Create More Success And Happiness in 2014. We have collected our best materials and most helpful tools to make this call the most supportive and inspiring call you can possibly have. You can join us here.

2) On Sunday night, I watched an inspiring 35 minute documentary called Lemonade, which chronicles the lives of a number of women and men who were laid off from their jobs and decided to look upon their unemployment as an opportunity to do what they love. Many of us are afraid to quit our jobs for our passion (& not that everyone should), but what if the choice to stay at or leave our jobs is no longer ours. Check out what these people came up with:

Lemonade - The Movie from Lorenzo Mendoza on Vimeo.

In the comments below, I would love to hear what you are passionate about. It doesn't matter if this is something you have been passionate about for while or if this is something you have been secretly thinking about. What gives you pleasure? What makes you laugh? What makes you feel useful? What makes you lose track of time?

With love,

Caroline