When I talk about doing what you love, some people get really inspired, and some people do a funny kind of snigger and say, “Yeah but I love watching tv and no-one’s going to pay me to do that.” Well actually there are plenty of jobs that will pay you to do that – from specializing in TV law to being an actor on Gogglebox, from being a showbiz blogger to being a novelist doing research for a new book about TV dramas… The point is, you can get paid to do ANYTHING in this world, but sometimes you just need a little more creativity and ingenuity to figure out how.
The trickiest part is that we are often surrounded by doubters, people who love us, but want to protect us from the risk of things not working out and so encourage us to stay safe and small in something THEY understand. But it’s a big wide world out there, full of opportunity (even in a pandemic-hit world), and it’s creative thinkers who will find their way out of this by forging new paths. The doubters can’t see those paths, and they are afraid for us about what will happen if we seek them out. We might get lost in the woods for a while, or follow the path so far away they get left behind, or in walking that path we might shine a light on their own stuckness. If you recognize that, you can be compassionate towards the doubters in your life, without taking their advice. You can love them without listening to them.
Remember, this is YOUR life. You get to choose.
Years ago I remember having that particular conversation about doing what you love and someone said to me, “Well that’s a nice idea, but I love Christmas and no-one’s going to pay me to enjoy that.” I beg to differ, especially today as my book Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year is published in the US and Canada. In a non-pandemic world I’d probably be planning a trip to New York, where my US publisher Scribner is based in the Rockerfeller Center, home of that iconic Christmas tree, marvelling at how I get to do that and call it my job. Instead I am here in England on a stormy day, celebrating with a mince pie and some mulled wine, marvelling at how I get to enjoy that and call it my job.
So, my friend, if the doubters’ voices are ever too loud, you can always hop over and chat with me on Instagram @bethkempton, and I’ll remind you of all the reasons why doing what you love CAN work, and why in doing it you might just inspire those doubters out of their stuckness too.
Beth Xx
PS Here are a few readers’ thoughts about Calm Christmas… I hope you will read it too. Available here!
