Bomp bomp bomp ba bomp bomp
I feel free ....

Let's talk about life, and freedom.

What should I do in life?

On rare occasions, I am asked by persons just starting out in life: "What should I do in life?"

Sounds like an easy question. "What should I do in life?"

Mind you, they are really asking a much more specific question. Should I be a lawyer? Doctor? What they really mean is: what should I do to make money?

Well, that's a mighty interesting question. But it's the wrong question!

I think it should be: "what should I do to make money and be happy at the same time?" But that is not what they're asking. So, since nobody asked, I'll offer my opinion:

I don't know if you should be a doctor, lawyer or anything else. No one can tell you but yourself. Well, you could get lucky with advice; it could happen.

What I do know is that the real question to ask is: "What do you want to achieve?

From this question, all things flow. Because if you have no purpose in life -- or if you've chosen something other than what you really want to achieve, everthing seems to go awry.

So, whatever you choose, make sure it's something that you want to do because, unless you're independently wealthy, you're going to be doing it for a long time. And nothing is worse than doing something you don't like because you have to make money to live. And asking yourself, when you come up for air, if this is really the way life is.

Nope. Maybe the choice was wrong.

Let's clarify that: nothing is worse than trapping yourself into doing something you don't like because you think that's what you have to do to make money to live.

So, if you feel trapped (not free), then at least you can do something about it. And at least you can be the one doing the thinking and the deciding.

Now, if the immediate second question is: how do I make money from doing my chosen passion so I can live?

Well, that's part of the game. You figure it out.

Just don't tell yourself it can't be done.

Diane Vigil
Editor, VigilArts, Inc.
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* Grateful acknowledgement to Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce
and Ginger Baker for the wonderful lyrics and all the music.