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CAREER

Porsche or Lawnmower?

By Dan Miller
48days.com

CBN.com I’m a practical realist, but I also love to dream. I love to think about things that have never been done and imagine how they could be accomplished. But more than anything I love to help other people find their own dreams – to see the lights come on as someone taps into the unique God-instilled passion that only they can live out.

Here are some quotations to help inspire you today:

"A person with big dreams is more powerful than a person with all the facts." — Dayle Maloney

"When you cease to dream you cease to live." — Malcolm S. Forbes

"All successful people, men and women, are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose." — Brian Tracy

"He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it. Dream lofty dreams and as you dream so shall you become..." — James Allen

Need resources to help you dream?

Get Your Motor Running

If you don’t combine your passion with your work, you will never achieve excellence and fulfillment. I imagine it kind of like having a lawn mower engine in a Porsche. Yeah, it will move along, but it can hardly get out of the way of other traffic and it sure doesn’t give you the thrill and exhilaration that driving a Porsche should. (I took a friend’s Porsche 959 for a spin recently. It had been modified from its original 331hp to 615 horsepower – what a rush!)

Every week I hear from lots of people who are still trying to find their passion. Here are some examples:

"Dan, I cannot think of anything that just supremely stirs my drink. I have no passions or dreams. (I'm in my early 50s.) I mean, there are some "warm" areas. But there is nothing I feel like I want to give my life to. The old cheese has moved, and the old dreams are dead and gone. I'm looking for a new one."

I’m currently working with a high-level financial executive who, after 26 years with the same company, is being “invited” to leave. He’s having to catch up with the new opportunities because for 26 years “I’ve had my head down, and pencil up.”

Today I talked with a 34-year-old who has a history of starting businesses “that have nothing to do with my passion.” And then he wonders why it’s such a struggle to make them work.

I’m also working with a 48-year-old dentist who after years of frustration says, “I just keep getting better at what I intend to get out of.”

What’s blocking you from finding your passion and integrating it into your work? Are you convinced that work is meant to be boring and stifling, only a means to a paycheck? Do you think that fulfilling God’s will always means sacrificing your true passions? Do you believe that if you followed your passions your income would drop dramatically? I believe all of these are false statements.

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog on “Is Your Music Still In You?” The response to that was so overwhelming we now have produced business card-sized magnets with those words on them for a constant reminder to not let that happen.

What’s your reason for not living in your passion? Click through to comment at the bottom of this article on my blog. I’ll choose 10 of the most interesting responses and send you one of the “Is Your Music Still in You?” magnets.

The Talent of Napping Well

I hate to be so late in notifying you that a couple weeks ago, March 12, was National Napping Day. I was probably napping myself when the original notice arrived. Just today, my accountant was here working on monthly reports. I checked with her to be sure I would not be needed for 20 minutes and then disappeared into another room. She was amazed that I just reappeared – all refreshed and ready to go. I find that I function much better if I respond to being tired by taking a short nap – rather than just forcing myself to keep working.

National Napping Day was established “to overcome the prejudicial attitudes that many people have about napping, and to encourage everyone to see that napping as a no cost, no sweat way to improved mood and performance.”

Boston University professor William Anthony, co-author of The Art of Napping at Work is encouraging employers and employees to “promote a 20-minute workplace nap and experience the amazing effects it has on productivity, alertness, and well being.”

Anthony says Brahms napped at the piano while he composed his famous lullaby. Napoleon napped between battles. Churchill maintained that he had to nap in order to cope with his wartime responsibilities. Geniuses such as Edison and Da Vinci napped. Obviously nappers are in good company.

He would like to see us stop using such phrases as stealing a nap, sneaking a nap, going down for a nap, and caught napping. Nappers have naps. They don't take, steal, or sneak naps. Nappers don't go down for a nap; they prepare for a nap. Nappers are never caught napping, because there is no crime to catch. Nappers are merely seen napping.

48 Days Radio

Each week I create a new online radio podcast — that you can hear on Dan’s Online Radio Show.

Each week I create a new online radio podcast  that you can hear on Dan’s Online Radio Show.

Here are some of the questions addressed in the current podcast:

1. How do I find information on starting a nursing agency in GA from my home? And how do I discover what I have passion for? I have been praying on this for at least 10 years now.
2. What is the best way to get into the real estate agent business? I do not have any experience in the real estate field (currently in information technology) and don’t really know how to get started. Should I obtain a real estate license first and then contact a broker/company that I’d like to work for or vice versa?

3. Dan, Should one ever leave a job because it provides no insurance and take a job because it provides benefits, even if it's a job you do well but don't fully enjoy? Any ideas?

4. I was pulled over for DUI in Nashville last November; I live in another state, and will probably be convicted. I travel in my work, so loss of my driver’s license will be devastating. I have been looking at doing something online but am very skeptical about things that I see. Any suggestions?

5. Could you please talk about the pros and cons of having a home office for a small business? What have your experiences been having clients in your home office? What features do you feel are essential for a functional home office?

6. My son is entering his junior year of college and still does not know what to major in or what job he wants. He loves computers. Can you tell me of some test or someone he could see to help guide him to what major he needs to take that will lead him to the job he will love?

Your questions continue to inspire and motivate me. There really are at least good solutions for most any situation. Even if it’s not a perfect solution, you can move through where you are to a better future – if you create a plan of action. Few people are really trapped or stuck.

If you have a question, just click on this 48 Days Online Radio link and you can ask about starting your own business, getting a better job, or finding your purpose in life.

That’s the same place you can listen to this week’s broadcast immediately – no downloading – no wait. 48 Days Online Radio.

Humor: Brothers and Bulls

Jim and Bubba, two brothers from Tennessee, inherit the family ranch. Unfortunately, after just a few years, they are in financial trouble. In order to keep the bank from repossessing the ranch, they need to purchase a bull so that they can breed their own stock.

Jim balances their checkbook, then takes their last $600 out west to another ranch where a man has a prize bull for sale. Upon leaving, he tells his brother, "When I get there, if I decide to buy the bull, I'll contact you to drive out after me and haul it home."

Jim arrives at the man's ranch, inspects the bull, and decides he does want to buy it. The man tells him that he can sell it for $599, no less. After paying him, Jim drives to the nearest town to send his brother a telegram to tell him the news.

He walks into the telegraph office, and says, "I want to send a telegram to my brother telling him that I've bought a bull for our ranch. I need him to hitch the trailer to our pick-up truck and drive out here so we can haul it home."

The telegraph operator explains that he'll be glad to help him, then adds, “It's just 99 cents a word." Well, after paying for the bull, Jim only has $1 left. He realizes that he'll only be able to send Bubba one word.

After thinking for a few minutes, he nods, and says, "I want you to send him the word, 'comfortable'." The telegraph operator shakes his head.

"How is he ever going to know that you want him to hitch the trailer to your pick-up truck and drive out here to haul that bull back to your ranch if you send him the word, ‘comfortable?’"

Jim explains, "My brother went to school in Tennessee. He'll read it real slow."

48 Days Featured Businesses

See your business here.

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Chuck Bowen Coaching - Financial, Career & Business
If your finances aren’t in order, you need to contact Chuck. If you have a business you need to get in order, you need to contact Chuck. Seeking your calling in your career? Call Chuck Bowen Coaching. He trains Dave Ramsey financial coaches and is President of Dan Miller’s 212 Connection. What better proof is there?! Contact Chuck Bowen Coaching now!

Paid 'Featured Business' Disclaimer:
48 Days LLC does not represent the accuracy or reliability of any of the recommendations or promotions shown above...or the quality of any products, information, or other materials displayed, purchased, or obtained by you as a result of an offer in connection with this newsletter... Please...do your own due diligence before purchasing any product or service.

More Recommended Resources

What work "fits" you ?
The most popular product in the 48 Days arsenal continues to be the Computerized Personality Report. Before you begin seeking a better job or self-employment, you need to be sure you are pursuing opportunities that match your personality style and will fulfill and reward you for a lifetime!\

Ready for New Models of Work?
I now have a link to the entire Appendix of No More Mondays. In this you will find updated resources for working from home, starting your own business, and telecommuting.

Heard on Paul Harvey News: "The unemployment rate is still so bad in Lebanon, Indiana. In a post office, a sign was posted: 'WANTED for Armed Robbery'. Twenty-five people responded."

Stay up to date, add your comments, and share your successes at my No More Mondays Blog.

We now offer Free Shipping on all of our products. Just one more feature to help you get the resources you need for success and fulfillment this year. Check out these 48 Days products.

“The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious.” —Theodore Levitt, Author


Dan MillerDan Miller is the bestselling author of 48 Days To The Work You Love and a renowned Life Coach specializing in career fulfillment. His weekly newsletter reaches 70,000 subscribers. Dan’s articles are featured here at CBN every Tuesday, and you can find out more about Dan at www.48days.com.

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