086: Passions – Rickie

Logo ideas for blog series that's happening next week on my blog to celebrate its blog birthday

Five years ago I started blogging – I’d been trying to find somewhere to release my crazy rambles when I found WordPress and got started (I think it was also procrastination from my dissertation while at university). This week marks this celebration and I thought I’d get some of my friends to share about their passions. Here is blog post number one…..

The first question I asked myself when Hannah kindly invited me to write a guest post is I have so many passions; which do I write about?
Everyone knows my love of writing, music, travel, reading, food in particular coffee & cheesecake (not necessarily together). Everyone also probably knows I have a big thing for customer service along with a need to support the underdog, the independent business or anyone that means well but needs a helping hand.

So what do all these interests that add up to?

The importance of being happy

As Oprah would say it Living Your Best Life (she may have that phrase on ©). My main passion is to be happy every day.

I’m unable to see the point of spending weeks/months/years waiting for something good to happen; how about just doing what you want and appreciating every day that we can do just that in the free world, unlike others who are without our glorious array of opportunities.

Firstly, when I say this to people, I get a lot of excuses as to why they can’t live where they want, go where they want, do what they want. A dictionary definition of excuse is: to explain (a fault or an offense) in the hope of being forgiven or understood. If we’re late, we blame the train (although we could have got an earlier one), if we’re unable to paint our masterpiece, we blame lack of time (although we could watch less TV).

A reason is biological or legal but mostly we make excuses. Other than those two issues, the world is there for the taking and I always have and always will be grabbing it by hands, feet and any other way possible, as long as I can healthily do so. If you live in the western world at least, you have the same opportunities as I do, perhaps more.

I’m often told I’m lucky but it’s not about luck (or money). I do feel lucky because of the people I have met along the way, but living where I want to live, doing what I want to do and travelling where I want to go has little do with luck; it has to do with determination!
Over the years, I have spent more and more of each day doing what I love but it has taken time – and a massive realisation to get right here.

Despite being on my fourth career, I’ve always done what I love so hard work isn’t really hard for me, more often it’s rewarding, being creative and having fun!

One of the most heart breaking situations is when I hear people say they hate their job; something they spend a huge part of their life doing. No-one said it was easy but life is most certainly too short to spend every day doing something you dislike. It may not be the dream job but there are still options to do something you enjoy more.

Oh, and I say career, I don’t consider I really have a career now, I just undertake projects that I love, some I get paid for, others not as much. As long as I have enough to live on, money is secondary; I only need spends for coffee & travelling around the world.

Cupcakes

So, I’m living proof that you can have your cake, and eat it. But share it.

Rickie is a blog writer around her day job. She’s currently writing her first book (which as soon as it gets published will be on my wish list I’m sure!) She regularly blogs about books, movies, music and events that she’s been to near where she lives in Birmingham. You can find her blog here. You can also follow her on Twitter: @rickiewrites.

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