Life is all about finding joy and spending your time doing things that make you happy. Unfortunately, in the hustle to “succeed” financially, many of us forget the importance of doing what we love. Here is the story of a woman who does what she loves and loves what she does: 

I am one of the few lucky people taught by their parents to pursue a career doing something they love. For both my mom and dad, achieving happiness was far more important than making money, and it is because of their support that today I earn a living as a creative writer, while almost everybody else I know work jobs they don’t care about just to make ends meet. 

My dad was the first born of four children, and was expected to inherit the family sock manufacturing company when his father retired. But my dad had a deep interest in photography and, despite the pressure from his parents, chose to leave the city he was raised in to pursue a path in the arts. He didn’t set out with big dreams of fame or wealth, he only set out to find what would make him happy. He heard over and over again that one day he would have to “grow up” and “get a real job” and “wear a tie”, but he understood the importance of being happy, and listened to that voice instead. It was in New York that he found his stride as a photographer and then later on a documentary film producer. In his late twenties he found himself very happy with his life and his job that never required him to wear a tie. 

At the same point in time, my mom was settling into her life in New York City, studying psychology at NYU. Growing up, her mother dreamed of her becoming an anchorwoman. It’s hard to say why, but that was the vision my grandmother had for her daughter. When my mom made it perfectly clear to her that she intended to become a psychologist, and had no interest whatsoever in a news-related career, my grandmother didn’t hesitate one minute before saying, “All I want you to do is what makes you happy.” 

As a result, my parents met in New York City, both pursuing subjects they loved. So, needless to say, they encouraged me from a very young age to do the same. 

From what I can tell, my dad was born with the instinct to do what he loved, while my mom learned it from her mother, my grandmother. 
My grandma worked in marketing and merchandising in a time when women were expected to be homemakers. It didn’t matter to her that her peers disapproved, she did what she loved regardless. And when I was born in Los Angeles, she overcame her fear of flying to come visit us almost every month, because it’s what she loved to do. She knew I loved writing (starting at eight years old), and so whenever she visited she brought me gorgeous notebooks and took me to spend long hours at the local library. She reminded me every day that I should always do what I love, and that I was capable of doing anything. “Life is short,” she would say, “If you’re not loving what you do, what are you doing?” 

As it turned out for my grandma, life was long. She passed away on November 17, 2017, at eighty-six years old. Because of her unwavering encouragement and belief in the pursuit of happiness, she died knowing that her daughter and granddaughter love what they do. 

Now that she’s gone and I am missing her terribly, I’m comforted by the thought that for her, doing what she loved meant making sure her loved ones were doing what they loved, and in that way, her life was a huge success. 

Because of her and the values she imparted to my mom and me, I know for a fact that doing what you love and loving what you do in this life is completely possible. The knowledge that it’s possible is the most important key to experience it as a reality, so you can bet this will be the first lesson I teach my future children. 

This story is not to chastise you for not doing what you love in life up to this point. It is merely one example used to prove that it is possible, at any stage in life, to start pursuing what you love. If you’ve heard over and over that the thing you love in life isn’t a legitimate job or won’t pay your bills, remember that this is merely a mindset that many people possess, and you can shake it off whenever you like.