How to Live Your Passion and Love What You Do: Advice from Career Coach DJ Waldow

Speaker, podcaster and career coach DJ Waldow recently joined us for #bufferchat to discuss living your passion.

See the full Storify recap here.

What does it mean to live your passion?

From DJ:

• “Living your passion: Do What You Love | Love What You Do – This@ugmonk t says it all: http://instagram.com/p/rKOeUPx8k5/“

• “If you are LIVING YOUR PASSION (or know someone who is) I’d love to have you on my podcast http://socialbutterflyguy.com/passion “

Other great insights:

• “Living your passion is doing something you love, that you don’t consider a job. You want to wake and be excited!” @inboxtheapp
• “Living your passion means getting paid but never working a day in your life.” @JoshStAubin
• “You are living your passion when the best of you is surfaced. When you are the happiest and your work reflects that” @Christine_Chen6
• “Living your passion means discovering your purpose & embracing it fully.” @susancross1
• “Feeling like there’s nothing else you could or ever would do—including and especially on tough days. That’s passion.” @ChristinKardos
• “Passion is for the things that make you LIVE.” @TheNameisCasie

How do you find what your passion or calling is?

From DJ:

• “Try new things. What do you keep coming back to? What is the common thread that has been present in all jobs?”
• “Finding your true passion—What do you do in your free time? What gets you JAZZED? What drives you batty? WRITE IT DOWN!”

Other great insights:

• “Starting to believe it just comes to you. It’s all about being open to change, trying new things, and acting on ideas.” @ShannnonB
• “It finds you, and it will find your over and over till you pay attention if you ignore it.” @kymberlaine
• “Found my true passion/calling the old fashioned ways: 1-using Myers-Briggs & 2-my hobbies and extra-curric activ.” @harrisonia
• “Ultimately, though, whatever feels ‘right’ or ‘natural’ often leads to your passion.” @CBarrows
• “Trust your gut and what makes you happy. Try many different things if need be. Never say no to an opportunity.” @jenna_wb
• “I think it’s much like social media marketing. Constantly test, experiment, don’t stand still, and listen.” @LifeofRileyNYC

How can you help others live their passion?

From DJ:

• “Help others live their passion? Encourage. Hold them accountable. Dare I say, COACH them (or hire a career transition coach)”

Other great insights:

• “Promote people’s strengths.” @HireQ_Inc
• “You can actually support one another by looking at what you love & what you are great at. Then support each other.” @GailDavvis
• “Leading by example. Live YOUR passion and people will get inspired!” @daniel3ub
• “I think @ZigZiglar hit this when he said, help other people get what they want and you will have everything you want” @TheJonMartin
• “The best way to help others is to be an example yourself. “Put your oxygen mask on before helping others with theirs”.” @camerondare
• “My Social & Life Philosophy is simple.. #ShowUcare Nobody will say you care too much!” @iSocialFanz
• “I love all the answers to Q4 that are around setting an example. So true that enthusiasm and courage are both contagious.” @christinkardos

Where do you go for inspiration and encouragement in your own passion?

From DJ:

• “Where do I go for encouragement & inspiration? Family. Wife. Circle of Trust. Therapist <–everyone needs one!”
• “Inspiration – Get off social media. Meet people face to face. Leave your phone/laptop/device at home!”

Other great insights:

• “Nothing beats time alone, time with my dogs, or time on my horse in the mountains. It helps me refocus when needed.” @kontheinternet
• “For encouragement in my own passion I go to The Mr and a select group of trusted friends.” @YouTooCanBeGuru
• “Plus, setting up regular coffee meetings with people. That’s quite energizing and often very creative!” @swoodruff
• “I find @JerrySeinfeld‘s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee to be inspirational and fun.” @ErikJFisher
• “I’m open to all flavors of inspiration. Truly – it can come from anywhere! Bust out of that comfort zone and explore. BE OPEN.” @madisonjonesHR
• “TED Talks. So many TED Talks inspire and stretch my brain” @sethhinz

What books do you find inspiring or motiving?

• Power of Flow by Charlene Belitz
• The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson
• Everybody Writes by Ann Handley
• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• Outliers by Seth Godin
• Drive by Daniel Pink
• Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau
• Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
• Start with Why by Simon Sinek
• Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
• Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
• The One Thing by Gary Keller
• Secrets of Closing the Sale by Zig Ziglar
• Amazing Things Will Happen by CC Chapman
• Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
• Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
• Live the Life You Love by Barbara Sher
• Act like a Success by Steve Harvey
• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• Oh The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Suess
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• The Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
• The Art of Nonconformity by Chris Guillebeau
• Make Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky
• Design is a Job by Mike Montiero
• The Power of Unpopular by Erika Napo
• Quitter by Jon Acuff
• Start by Jon Acuff
• Platform by Michael Hyatt
• Moment Maker
• The Joke by Milan Kundera
• A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Don Miller
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• On Writing by Steven King
• Die Empty by Todd Henry
• The Power of Starting Something Stupid by Richie Norton
• Switch: How to Change, When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath
• The End of Print by David Carson
• The Dip by Seth Godin
• #GirlBoss by Sophia Amoruso
• Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
• Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith
• The Google Story by David Vise
• One Click by Richard Brandt
• The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
• Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
• Return on Relationship by Ted Rubin
• Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
• Emotional Intelligence by Dan Goleman
• Analysis without Paralysis by B Bensoussan
• Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vee
• The Big Moo by Seth Godin
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T Kiyosaki
• How Google Works by Eric Schmidt
• The Doodle Revolution by Sunni Brown
• Let it Go by Pat Flynn
• Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson
• The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal
• Failing Forward by John C Maxwell
• Thrive by Ariana Huffington
• How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Robert Emmons

Thank you to everyone who participated! Join us each Wednesday at 9 am Pacific/noon Eastern for #Bufferchat!