One of the greatest financial decisions you would ever make is to think outside the box and design your life beyond your salary and pension. Design your life around your dreams, gifts and passion. Farrah Gray said: “Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” Design a future that makes you less dependent on salary and pension, and don’t confine yourself to a lifetime of living on someone else’s schedule.

There are two categories of people in life: it is either you’re a ‘pensioneer’ or a ‘passioneer’. The fastest way to prosperity is to follow your passion. Following your passion helps you achieve more freedom (financially, emotionally, socially, and spiritually). Any job that encourages redundancy and doesn’t place a demand on your creativity will eventually deplete your passion and waste away your ‘destiny’! Even if you work for the government, your pension should be an added advantage and must never be the object of your pursuit.

Sir Richard Branson said: “There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions – in a way that serves the world and you.” There are few things in life that bring deep fulfilment and one of them is aligning your passion with your profession. Many graduates have sometimes put this question across to me during trainings: how do you know if a job is not right for you? I have always told them this discerning truth: When a job is stifling and hindering the expression of your passion, then it is not your job. Your real job is finding your passion. Your job gives you an opportunity to make a living while your passion gives you an opportunity to make a difference. Be a ‘passioneer’ and not a ‘pensioneer’!

The illusions of salaries, jobs and pensions had stagnated the pursuit of many for excellence and impactful adventures. Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. In life, you’ll always be found doing any of these two things: either making a living or making a difference. Your job gives you an opportunity to make a living while your passion gives you an opportunity to make a difference.

I have learnt from experience and observation that the surest road map to life’s treasures is in following our passion. The Bible captured it perfectly in Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” You can’t fully live life until you learn to give expression to your passion. What is your passion? It can be music, writing, acting, painting, sports, fashion designing, teaching, arts etc.

Normal Cousin said: “The greatest tragedy of life is not that we die but what dies in us while we live.” Don’t carry your passion to the grave!

Mark Twain said: “Plan for the future because that’s where you’re going to spend the rest of your life”. I am reaching out to the youths to design what I would like to call “A Passion Plan”. Peter Voogd said: “If you don’t have a plan to interrupt your interruptions, your plans will always be interrupted.” In his book, Passion Plan: A Step-to-step Guide to Discerning, Developing and Living Your Passion, Richard Chang asked some heart-touching questions: “Do you spend a lot of time doing things you don’t want to do, in places you don’t want to be, for no other reason than you feel you have to? You have to bring home a pay-cheque, please your friends and family, and meet the expectations society has set for you.”

So many people ask me if it is possible to know the exact time to switch from one’s job to passion. To know the optimum time to pursue your passion, you need to be very sensitive to two critical indicators. The first is inner dissatisfaction. Your dissatisfaction in your present job is a sign of higher calling to pursue your passion. The second is when your job cuts you off from the audience that you’re meant to impact. I have a strong passion for the youths and the only reason why I still enjoy my job as a lecturer is simply because it affords me direct contact with the youths.

At this juncture, I’ll be offering us some professional advice in transiting from your job to your passion, which involves taking assured risks and bold steps.

The first is to eliminate money from the equation and ask yourself the sincere question of what you really love doing even if you’re not going to get paid for it. The second step is to ensure you have a financial base that’ll sustain you for at least five months, regardless of whether there is financial influx or not. This is called a PASSION BANK. It is suicidal to switch from your job to your passion without a strong financial plan that will effectively fund your transition especially if you have a family to cater for.

The third step is to identify your customers-these are the people that will pay you for what you love doing. This is referred to as a Customer Bank. The fourth step would be to look out for a career counsellor to guide you in making some critical decisions, designing a strategic plan, and mapping out your vision, mission, core values, goals and objectives. The fifth step is to look out for a professional mentor, someone who’s already doing what you’re about to do or at least, does something similar. They will eventually become your Passion Lifeline. They will serve as a ‘buffer’ and ‘shock absorber’ to various challenges you’ll eventually encounter on the way, since they’ve been there before.

Don’t be too busy making money that you forget to make a life. Busy people don’t make more money; they actually make more ‘stress.’ Even if you work for the government, your pension should be an added advantage and must never be the object of your pursuit. Don’t be a victim of your job. Don’t allow your life to be paralysed by the uncertainty in the system, design your future! Design a future that makes you less dependent on pension and don’t confine yourself to a lifetime of living on someone else’s schedule. My sincere question to you is this: What is that one thing you’re so passionate about? Follow it and it will lead you to your treasure. Make your passion your profession. Pursue your passion, not your pension!