Remember when we were kids doing things simply because we loved doing them - getting lost in play for hours with no agenda, no worries, no destination - just for the fun of it?
But then we got older. Our imagination, wonder and explorations swapped for rules, edification and responsibilities. We learned that we needed to get the grades, so we could get the degree, so we could get the job, so we could get the money, so we could live the joys we were already experiencing as children.
Money became the principal motivating factor when determining our careers, while we spent the bulk of our time stressing over the lack of it. For that reason, we've settled for jobs we don't relish and standards akin to survival.
Was life meant to be a struggle, until our hair grays and our joints crack, before we're able to enjoy the fruits of our labor? Highly doubtful, though it has certainly become the civilized way, hasn't it?
What would happen if we reconnected with that inner child again; the one that used to sing, dance and draw; the one that made mud pies, build forts and made up silly stories? Would (s)he tell us to remember how to play? Whenever we play, we're doing what we love doing. Do you know what, 'doing what you love' is? Your passion. It's nothing more complicated than that.
Some might argue that we can't support ourselves by making mud pies. Probably not, but here again the focus is on the money. Secondly, is making mud pies really our passion today? Again, probably not. Instead we need to think about what we do now for free, that when we're in the midst of doing it, time seems to fly by. That's a clue, and if there's currently no path for such a skill, perhaps our first task is to forge one.
When we fall in love with the path, we forget about the destination. We're fully engaged and alive in the moment. This seeds our creativity. When we bring this type of enthusiasm to our life's work, every one of those moments will feel like playtime and the riches we reap will far exceed anything money could ever buy.