BLOGS BY ASHOK VASANDANI, MUMBAI, INDIA

MAKE WORK FUN AND SEE YOUR EARNINGS GROW!

“EARNING MORE MONEY”, is a universal need, it is everyone’s need. In fact we are always consumed by this need, irrespective of whether we are rich or poor. We always want to make more money.

Lots of Management Gurus have conveyed one single message in different words – You MUST Find out what you like doing the most; Find out your own passion. Find out what you love doing the most; Find out what you enjoy doing. Start doing that with passion and sooner or later people will start paying you for your passion. You will start making more and more money. They also connect it to “Law of Attraction”.  

Well, it is True, Absolutely True. If you can find out what you love doing the most and make it your profession – You will definitely start making more money.

Question  arises – “For how many people has it come true???” Very Few, Very Few Indeed. In a country of 125 crore –  only handful of them are able to get recognition as top Cricketer; only a handful of Actors are able to reach the Top; and make money by making their Passion their Profession.

Most of us, believe me, most of us land up doing what we may not like. Most of us land up doing the tasks that are not our passion. But we need to do it, because we have to run our families. We need to bring up our children, educate them; provide them with best of the facilities (limited of course by our financial capabilities); we need to nurture them into becoming responsible citizens… And for that, we need money! So we keep doing tasks that we do not necessarily enjoy.

I remember, I had attended one seminar on Spray painting. I noticed one particular guest there. His name is Mr. Wani. He is the Security Guard at our Club’s Swimming pool. I was really surprised to see Mr. Wani. So next day when I went for swimming, I asked him whether he liked the session. He said, “Sir, I enjoyed the session very much.” Thinking that he may not know English, I asked him in Hindi “But Wani saab, aapko samajh me aayaa kya sab? Kyonki session to English mein tha – (But Mr. Wani, could you understand everything because the session was in English?)”.  I was amazed by his answer. He replied in Hindi, “Saab, Painting mera Passion hai. Main shuru shuru mein bahut painting kiya karta tha. Par meri majboori, ki mujhe painting chhod kar watchman bann jana pada – (Sir, Painting is my passion and I used to do lot of painting but because of some compulsions, I had to give it up. And now I am a security guard).”  

So Much for the Passion, and so much for doing what you love.

As you can see, it does not happen with everyone that they are able to live their passion and make money from it. In fact majority of people fall into this category – You and I included. So what should we do? Do we have to keep struggling throughout our lives? Struggling to make money. Or is there any hope for us?

Of course there is. There is a good news for all of us.

We all are doing some job at present and are earning our livings with which we support our families. We need to closely observe the whole content of our work – every task, every activity that we do in our current jobs or professions. Out of all the tasks or activities that we do to achieve results in our appointed jobs – we need to identify those few activities that we like the most. Once we have identified these activities, we have to start doing them with Passion, with enjoyment. That does not mean that we should leave all other activities of our total work content. We have to do those activities also. Because they are the demand of our job.

Now let us compare our situation with those people who are able to do the work of their passion. Those lucky people, they are doing the things they enjoy the most. In fact they are doing only those things that they enjoy the most – that is what we think and believe; isn’t it??

Well, remember the age old saying – “Grass is greener on the other side”. Is it really true, that they are doing only those activities that they enjoy the most!! Ask the painter – his love is painting; his passion is painting; he enjoys doing painting. But he has also to market himself whether he likes it or not. And if he says I do not like marketing, and I will not do the marketing, then how is he going to sell his painting? Just going on Painting – something that he is passionate about and keeping all paintings at home will not solve his need for earning money. He will have to at least put in efforts in finding someone who will market his paintings. He does not like accounts, so will he not maintain accounts and come in trouble with Tax Authorities? No – it does not happen that way. In totality of the Job / Profession, he also has to do other tasks that he does not like.

Take actors for that matter. They enjoy acting. That is their love. That is their passion. Don’t they cope up with Paparazzi? Everyone has to cope up with & do the tasks they do not like, but have to do it in totality of the work.

Let me give you a real life example –

One morning, when I was returning from my Swim, I noticed two small children delivering Newspapers in our society. Newspapers were tied on the carrying rack of the bicycle and these two children were walking the cycle. They were walking the bicycle because the bicycle was bigger than their height and they could not ride it. One boy was holding the handle and pushing the cycle and smaller boy was walking behind the cycle and was ensuring that papers do not fall. I noticed, there were two extra strings also dangling from the carrying rack of the cycle, I did not know for what. I could see it was quite a task for them to hold and drag the cycle, that too with the weight of papers. I was full of pity for them.

But my pity was very short lived. Suddenly I was full of smiles and joy. The boy who was behind the cycle and was holding the carrying rack, suddenly left it and caught hold of those two dangling strings and started singing and dancing with the movement of the cycle – “Chal meri cycle Tik Tik Tik, chal meri cycle tik tik tik – (come on my cycle run – giddup, giddup, giddup).” The boy in front was in a total shock initially that the cycle may fall and newspapers may get spoiled. But he came over that shock in a jiffy and joined in the singing and enjoyment, “Chal meri cycle Tik Tik Tik, chal meri cycle tik tik tik.”

I could see they were enjoying their extremely strenuous task. They had made it a game. They were actually not working to deliver the papers, they were playing.

Believe me, everyone has to take care of both the tasks – what they enjoy and what they do not enjoy.

Only difference is that some people are lucky to find their passion and do that task as their profession and some people have to find something passionate in their work that they enjoy and do it like they are playing.

How often we make our work our game? For us our work is a means to earn money – that is all.  For those boys too, their work was a means of earning money, and they probably needed that money more than what we would ever need for. For them it was a question of earning for their Food, to satisfy their hunger! Whereas in our case it is mostly for satisfying our hunger for ……. (dash-dash-dash – luxuries !!!). If they can do it, why can’t we?

Let us try making our work, a game – of course without affecting the quality of the work – and witness, how it becomes fun.

We must find out those bright spots in our work that we enjoy the most. And do those tasks with added enthusiasm. These tasks will become our Energizers and Motivators and will help us in doing our other connected tasks effortlessly and with ease.

If we can do this – if we can learn to enjoy our work and do it with passion, our visibility will increase, we will get noticed. Once We are noticed and Our Passion for Work is noticed, people around us will be willing to pay more. This will definitely bring Growth & Prosperity and our Income will Increase.

It has increased for everyone, believe me, it will increase for You as well!

I Wish You All The Very Best