The Difference Between a #8216;Job#8217; and a #8216;Passion#8217; Â and How to Find Your Passion

The Difference Between a 8216Job8217 and a 8216Passion8217 and How to Find Your Passion The Difference Between a 8216Job8217 and a 8216Passion8217 and How to Find Your Passion There are three general approaches to work having a job, having a career, and having a passion. I presume that most of us are looking forpassions that can also equate towell-paying careers/jobs.Does finding your passion have to mean finding amillion-dollar job? Not necessarily. Your nightmare job could be another persons passion, and vice versa. Finding your passion isa matter of what you value.For instance, my mother-in-law is the worlds most amazing nurse. She worked hard to become one, and she loves every day of her job. Despite the many downsides (constant re-certifications, the emotional toll it can take when patients dont make it, and the 12-15 hour shifts), nursing is her passion. But for me? Those things would be a nightmare.So, how do you find your own passion? Start by taking these seven elements in to consideration1. Self-AwarenessGet to know yourself. What are the best moments youve experienced at work that really made you love your job? What is it that you value enough to leave your job for? Are you among the 49 percent of employees who feel the need to leave their employers when theyre ready for a aufsteigen?Are you part of the27 percent of employees who would quit a job for a position offering creative freedom?Knowing what you value willprevent you from wasting time onjobs you shouldnt even bother with and point you in the direction of positions you should strive for. If you find it difficult to assess your values, take a career-matching assessment to closely define your personal and professional values. They say you cant manage what you dont measure, and that definitely applies to your career.2. Challenging WorkIf youre stuck performing the same tasks every day, your job will go stale and fast. Giving yourself a challenge every once in a while, on the other hand, can add some much-needed space to your daily grind.Set goals for yourself (or amongyour coworkers, if youre the competitive type)ask to take ontasks in a department youve never worked in (you might find passion in untouched territories) ask your boss if you can start a special project that might give you the gelegenheit to use some of your untappedskills or gather some reading materials on your current position to landsee if theres something you could be doing differently to be a more efficient worker.Whatever it is you need to do to challenge yourself, youll likely be surprised by the results it produces in terms of your passion. If you find yourself hating something you once loved, try conquering something you didnt think you could when you first started the position.3. Environmental VarietyThis element may require some creativity, depending on therestrictions you may face in your role. For example, if your job is pretty stationary, try working on an exercise ball, from the lunch room, o r outdoors if the option is available to you.You dont have to overexert yourselfto bring some feng shui to the workplace. Simply cleaning off your desk and bringing order toyourworkspace could be enough to cleanse your mind.Justhaving a small plant on your desk can boost your productivity by 15 percent.Anything you do to break out of your environmental norms can help freshen your perspective.Maybe finding a new placeto work in will spark innovative thoughts and inspire new ideas. AtRed Branch Media, we change desks every month or so, and it always gets our creative juices flowing.4. A Positive AttitudeIts hard to be optimistic if you allow every obstacle you come across to make you angry. And sure, I could just tell you to become an optimist, but thats hard to do when youre feeling depressed or frustrated at work.Flipping the switch that allows you to reframe these daily hassles as learning experiences is difficult, but adopting a more positive perspective willhave great results. Re member that life is never going to be perfect,and getting upset by setbacks wont change that.Dont dwell on obstacles.Instead, work with them and learn from them. Think rationally, act mindfully, and seechallenging situations for what they arechallenges that give you the opportunity to stretch yourself.5. Providing Yourself With OptionsThe keeping your options open mindset can keep you fromgiving intoanxiety-driven the grass is definitely greener on the other side thinking. Instead of feeling stuck, keep your options open by doingthe followingFrequently update your resume.Keep a list of accumulating accomplishments and achievements.Sign up fora job board newsletter or app that will notify you of new jobs in fields that interest you.Sometimes this emergency kit is all you need to combat the anxiety of feeling stuck at your job.6. Maintaining BalanceJob commitment is attractive to employers, and now that our smartphones and mobile devices allow us to receive emails at all hours of the day, its very easy for us to always be on. Is this okay? Some days, you need to answer that emergency email at 7 PM, but its dangerous and unhealthy to do this on a regular basis.Set parameters for yourself. What circumstances callfor that late-night email response, and which fires can wait for the morning? There are endless benefits ofworking from home, including boosted productivity (reported by 86 percent of those who work from), higher efficiency (30 percent), and lower stress levels (82 percent). All of these factors give us rose-colored glasses that allow us to ignore the cons of workingfrom home.Keep your sanity. Clock your eight hours, take a 30, and respond only to absolute emergencies after hours. Set your parameters and stick to them to maintain that work-life balance everyones all hyped about.7. A Sense of PurposeTwenty-eight percent of workers derive their sense of purpose from work, so youd best make it count. Think about your companys mission. Most of the time, its to help others do somethingeasier, faster, more efficiently, etc. What do you love about that mission? If you dont love your companys bottom line, you might need to start job hunting. In the past, we have had a lot of skilled, smart, talented people on staff at Red Branch Media who just werentthat into B2B marketing. Thats okayHalf of your workplacepassion comes from the company and its values, and the other half comes from you finding your own valuesand leveraging your skills and passions for the companys goals. Find your passion, cater to it, andmake sure you have a job that channels that passion.Maren Hogan is thechief marketing brain atRed Branch Media.

7 simple passive income ideas for busy people

7 simple passive income ideas for busy people7 simple passive income ideas for busy peopleMaking money while you sleep has a nice ring to it. I mean who wouldnt want to be making some extra money while playing with the kids or while watching a game?The only problem is that most passive income ideas that youll come across are truly not passive at all. Since youre already busy with your everyday life you wont want to pick up a 2nd job that you dont have time for. Most passive income ideas require you to put in a lot of work.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreFor example, a lot of people online tout abfluging a blog as a good source of passive income.The only problem is that blogging is a lot of work. I runThe Finance Twins, a growing personal finance blog, and my brother and I easily spend 50-60 hours a week writing, absatzwirtschaft, and researching for new content. Not exactly pass ive.The truth is that to truly generate passive income youll need to make aninvestment into an astischset that produces passive income for you. Unless you are making money the old-fashioned way (inheriting it), youll need to put in some effort.Starting something from scratch will never be passive from the get-go because the act of starting it will be very time consuming and rigorous. And thats okay if you have the time to devote to it.The good news is that you dont necessarily need a new cash outlay either. If you already have an asset that isnt being fully used then that can serve as your investment. Check out the details below to learn more.Today, lets talk about a few passive income ideas if youreready to investand make your money work for you instead of losing value in a bank account.7 Top Passive Income IdeasPassive real estate investingAcquiring an affiliate marketing websiteRenting your primary home via AirBnb or another platformRenting your carInvest in dividend stocksRun a site with anzeige adsRefer friends to great products you already use1. Passive Real Estate InvestingWhen it comes to passive income, talk to anyone whos a landlord and theyll tell you that passive is the last word theyd ever use to describe having to replace a washing machine after a full day of work.However, there are a ton of companies that give you the ability to invest in commercial and residential real estate projects without having to actually do any of the heavy lifting yourself.One example isDiversyFund. Its a private REIT (real estate investment trust) that allows you to invest in professional real estate projects passively foras little as $500. The thing I love about companies like DiversyFund is that they dont make money unless the investors make money since they invest and manage the projects themselves.When incentives are aligned, you give yourself the best chance to win.2. Acquiring an affiliate marketing websiteI already discussed how starting a website from scratch w as no easy undertaking (unless you know what you are doing and have done it before). So why not find an existing site that is already making money from affiliates and take it over?Affiliate marketing is essentially where you get paid a fee for referring new customers to brands. So for example, if you have a site likeContacts Compareor Kayak.com that compares prices, you can earn a commission for referring customers to existing brands.This type of investment can be truly passive if its already generating revenue with very little hands-on involvement.3. Renting your primary home viaAirbnbor another platformI was recently contacted by a long-time reader who had just received her first passive income check in the mail and she was ecstatic. She was a single mom of two daughters and her youngest had recently gone off to college.She had always dreamed of running a bed and breakfast but never had the time to devote to it. But once she became an empty nester, she realized she had two empty b edrooms she could rent out to guests.After signing up forAirbnband jumping through the hoops she was able to rent out her rooms for $50/night each. In fact, she said shes considering moving out to a smaller space and renting out the entire home since its in an in-demand area of Fort Worth, TX. She said she is making enough money to hire a neighbor to handle the clean-up duties, so its as passive as can be.Not bad4. Renting your carCompanies likeTuroand GetAround are making it easier than ever for you to rent out your car when you arent using it. And lets face it, if you live in an area with Lyft and Uber service, theres a chance you might not even need your own car on a daily basis.Youll want to keep in mind that you renting out your car will mean additional wear on your car so your repair bills might increase, but users have said its well worth it for the passive income checks coming in the mail.If you have a 2nd car sitting around that never gets used or you have begun to bike to work and no longer need the car daily, this might just be the absolute perfect way to finally start generating some passive income.5. Invest in dividend stocksDividends are profits that are paid out to owners of stocks. Some companies pay dividends on a regular schedule, which means it can become a solid source of income.Investors who love dividend stocks will talk about the fact that your investment is not only generating dividend income but potentially also appreciating in value. But its good to remember that the opposite can also happen.Dividend stocks are similar to other stocks in the sense that its usually best to buy and hold for a long time.Some people even rely on dividend checks for their regular expenses, which means they must own a pretty large number of shares If you have some extra cash to invest this is probably something worth looking into.6. Run a site with display adsIf youve spent any amount of time on major sites like ESPN, The Weather Channel, Google, etc., then youve seen lots of advertisements on them. If you dont remember seeing ads, then you either have an awesome ad blocker or youve simply learned to ignore them. NiceAs you can imagine, the reason these sites haveads on displayis that they are being rewarded handsomely in order to do so. The key to generating income in this way is to have a site with a lot of users since there is a strong correlation between the number of eyeballs on your website and the amount of income youll be making. Easy enough to understand.If you have a friend with an old site that they never use it might be worth acquiring it if they have traffic. Adding ads to a site is super simple and you could be earning some passive income pretty quickly.7. Refer friends to great products you already useCompanies likeEbates.comhave existing referral programs that pay out cash for every friend you can refer. If you have a lot of friends or social media followers this can be an extremely easy way to earn money.All you have to do is set up an account usingthis link, go to your account settings and click where it says refer and earn to get a link you can send your friends.To find other programs like this its super simple. Nearly any company that delivers food or other products will usually offer something like this. They are called referral programs so a simple search will make it obvious who offers a similar program.The Bottom LineAs I mentioned before, generating truly passive income requires creativity and some initial work to set things up. Especially if you are already super busy. But if you are able to pull it off, youll be the talk of the town because youll be making money while everyone else is breaking their back.This article first appeared on The Money Mix.

How to Use Jealousy to Your Advantage - The Muse

How to Use Jealousy to Your Advantage - The MuseHow to Use Jealousy to Your Advantage I used to proudly broadcast that I wasnt a jealous person. Im confident, successful, and happy, Id think to myself, while flipping my hair over my shoulder and batting my eyelashes (elend really, but you get it). I have no reason to be envious of anybody But, then I quickly realized I was only lying to myself.No, Im not necessarily jealous in the sense that I cant let my husband leave the house for a few hours without feeling the itch to constantly check in- he can grab a few beers with his buddies without me so much as even noticing at times. But, when it comes to my career success? Well, I become downright covetous.To a certain extent, I think thats natural. Our careers are competitive, so its expected that youll turn a little green with envy each time someone else reaches an achievement youve been working toward yourself.But, while a little bit of jealousy is anticipated, its still not necessaril y productive. On the contrary, really- it can serve as a distraction that only slows you down. That is, unless you learn to harness it to give yourself a much-needed kick in the pants.Sound impossible? I assure you, its not. To prove it, herbeie are three times youre sure to feel jealous in the office, as well as how you can use each one to boost your own motivation and reputation.1. When Someone Else Scores a PromotionYour co-worker was just promoted. And, while its not even a position you were in line for, you cant help but to feel a twinge of jealousy at the very thought of her pay increase and shiny new job title.Sure, you respond to that office-wide email thread with a hearty, Congratulations, Ashley and gladly indulge in a piece of that celebratory cake in the break room. But, on the inside? That green-eyed monster is slowly consuming you.When is it my turn? you ponder to yourself as you pack up that leftover cake and stick it in the fridge, I deserve a step up around here, to o How to Leverage Your JealousyTheres nothing that can inspire an intense bout of envy quite like someone else in your workplace getting promoted. It doesnt matter if you werent up for consideration or the new role isnt even in your department- everyone in your office will suddenly feel slighted.But, rather than wallowing in your own self pity and dreaming of the days youll get your own delicious way to go ice cream cake, youre better off analyzing the situation to determine what steps youll need to take to reach that saatkorn milestone.Was that newly promoted person there for a certain amount of time? Did he go above and beyond what was expected of him- such as frequently volunteering for the companys blood drive? Did he recently reach some major achievement that served as the catalyst for this next step?Yes, youre allowed to feel a little envious. But, once youve taken a moment, set those feelings aside and take a good, hard look at the situation to determine what exactly you need to do to follow in those footsteps. 2. When Your Colleague Receives PraiseYoure in a team meeting when your supervisor openly compliments your co-worker, Rebecca, on a job well done. Kudos to Rebecca for churning out such a top-notch report under such a tight deadline, he says in front of your entire team. But, what do you actually hear? Likely a little something like, Rebecca is the greatest employee this company has ever had, and shes putting the rest of you low-life schmucks to shame around here.Whenever someone else in your office receives recognition- be it praise or an official award- its only natural to feel a little envious of her success. But, theres something better you could be doing with your time and energy. How to Leverage Your JealousyFirst things first, make sure you recognize your co-workers hard work as well. You may be jealous, but you still want to be an encouraging team player.What next? Resist the urge to go head-to-head to this person. That type of passive-ag gressive approach will only breed tension, and likely only make you look a little on the crazy side.Instead, your best course of action is to file this person away as a resource who you can lean on when youre feeling stuck or have specific questions. Obviously, Rebecca knows what it takes to not only get a project done- but get it done well. So, rather than resenting her for that, why not learn from her?Do that and youll instantly turn the tables- a situation that previously existed to eat away at your confidence will now actually help you to continuously improve.3. When Your Co-worker Lands a Big ProjectYour department is responsible for handling a ridiculously daunting project, and your boss is keeping his eyes peeled for one of you to spearhead the entire thing. Youre absolutely sure that youll be the chosen one who earns that coveted spot.So, when your boss announces that Jason will be leading the charge, youre understandably surprised. This project is make or break- how could h e possibly entrust it to Jason? What does he have that you dont have?Weve all been there. Even if you didnt particularly want the assignment (it means extra work, after all), you still feel as if your boss shouldve been knocking at your door just begging you to take it on.But, thats not the way things played out. And, now youre left feeling envious of Jason- the one who apparently proved himself worthy enough of such a large responsibility. How to Leverage Your JealousySo, you werent picked to head up the entire project. Yes, thats a bit of a blow to your ego. But, that doesnt mean you cant still be involved and prove that youre a worthwhile member of the team.If the task is truly that important, Jason is likely going to need (and desperately want) some extra help. So, drop those feelings of resentment, step up to the plate, and offer to take on some additional work.Youll strengthen a relationship with your teammate, get to learn some new things, and prove to your boss and co-worker s that youre willing to go the extra mile. With all of that, youll likely be the one gaining some well-deserved recognition soon. We all feel jealous sometimes- particularly in our careers. But, just because its a natural emotion, that doesnt necessarily make it beneficial.So, the next time you feel envy taking over in the office, remember these three situations and do your best to rise above. In the end, youll be much better off.