Can I Make Money at My Life Purpose?

August 27th, 2010, by Shelley Riutta

“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things”                      Dennis Diderot

I have gotten the question lately “Can I really make money at my life purpose–my passion?”  And my answer is YES!  I remember hearing about a study that compared people who followed a career path to strictly make money vs. people who followed their passion. At the end of their careers the people that had followed their passion made more money overall than the folks who had pursued a career just for the money.

  I remember when I was contemplating what to study in college—my own fears had initially prevented me from pursuing the counseling field because of fears of not being able to make money.  I had watched my Mom struggle financially as a single parent and I did not want to have that same kind of experience. 

 After getting my degree in business–I decided after a long process of soul searching to follow my passion of being a psychotherapist.  Every step of the way since then I have continued to follow my passion–in the face of someone saying I could make more money doing it a different way.

 An example of this is when I was contemplating graduate schools I had 3 choices–getting a degree in psychology, counseling or social work.  Everyone advised me to get my degree in social work because it would be more “marketable” and insurance companies would be more apt to reimburse someone with this degree.  I looked at the content of all of the programs and decided the counseling program was more in alignment with what I was looking for.  It was hands on—with lots of practice counseling.  The social work program didn’t have as much of this and focused more on social policy. 

 I decided to do what felt intuitively right to do and I am so glad I did!  The counseling program that I went to was a perfect fit for me–I loved the program, my classmates and I met one of my most important mentors, Pat Robertson.

 What is ironic now is that the issue of being able to accept insurance is a mute point because I have never directly billed out for insurance.  My practice for the last 10 years has been all self-pay.  I know now that I am making more money now than I ever would have made following my business path–and even if I would have gotten my degree in social work and billed insurance!

 There is something inside of us–in our Authentic Self that is aligned with our true path.  When we follow this we will be supported.  It means keeping ourselves inwardly focused and making decisions on what feels intuitively right to us.  It took me a year of personal growth work after I had gotten my business degree to connect deeply with my Authentic Self.  Once I did and got clear about my path I took action and never looked back.

Here are some tips on how to make money at your Life Purpose:

1. Stay with it and persevere.  If it is your passion you are more likely to hang in there and do the work you need to do to be successful.  And best of all, because it is your passion–it won’t feel like work:)

2. If you have a full-time job and want to pursue your passion start developing it part-time and once you are making enough money with you passion you can quit your job!

3. Be willing to learn from others who are successful doing what your passion is.  If you say—there is no way I could make money at my passion—I bet there is someone out there who is—find them and learn from them.

4. Be willing to invest in your personal growth as you pursue your passion.  The more you let go of limiting, conditioned beliefs the more your career will flourish.

5. Be willing to release limiting beliefs around money.  Read books, take workshops to help yourself be free of beliefs that limit how much money you make.  The only limits are what you place on yourself.

6. Be willing to develop skills as a business person if you are pursuing your passion as a business.  Treat it like a business and learn all the aspects of what it takes to run a successful business.  

7. Be willing to self-promote.  Let people know what your passion is and that you are good at it.  Believe in yourself and your gifts—-you have them for a reason—and that is to share these gifts with others.

8. As your business expands, hire an assistant.  Don’t try to do it all yourself—get support for yourself.

 Here is to you following your passion AND being prosperous!

The Power of Positive Rituals

August 7th, 2010, by Shelley Riutta

We live in a fast paced, hectic world where it is very easy to lose sight of each other and the special bonds we have.  The power of positive, mindful rituals can strengthen our connections with each other and provide on-going ways to stay connected.
 
I just returned from my annual Sister’s weekend–where I get together with my 35 year old sister and 21 year old sister.  It is something I look forward to every summer and it is a guaranteed time that we have together to have fun and deepen the connection we have. 
 
There is something about an extended visit that allows for deeper sharing than typically happens on short visits.  There are things that I find out about my sisters only during these Sister’s weekends—even though we are close and talk a lot during the rest of the year.
 
We spent time trying to figure out how many years we have been doing our Sisters Weekend ritual.  We had fun remembering the goofy times we had and even talked about some hurts that had never been revealed before.  When I reflected on the power of this annual ritual I began to think of all of the other opportunities to create positive rituals in our lives. 
 
Here are some examples of positive rituals that you can create in your life to strengthen your relationships:
 
 1. Hug and kiss your honey mindfully when you part from each other during the day.  Be present and feel your love from them as you kiss.
 
2. Create a weekly date night or family night where you do something special together.  You can take turns planning this.
 
3. Follow rituals you enjoyed from your own family and create new ones that are unique to you and your family
 
4.Think of silly rituals–celebrate an obscure Holiday or an event every year.  I have friends who have a Mardi Gras party every year–which is a fun celebration in the winter in Wisconsin
 
5. Celebrate anniversarys that are important to you.  The day you met your sweetie, the day you stopped drinking.  Think of days you want to honor every year and create a ritual to honor it.
 
6. Release rituals that no longer have meaning for you that you continue because of expectations from other people.  This frees you up to create rituals that have true meaning for you and those you love.
 
7. Create a ritual of fun on one day on the weekend.  It could be afternoons on Sunday are only for doing fun things.
 
8. Create fun rituals in your neighborhood.  I have a neighbors who have a yearly Winter Solstice party that brings the whole neighborhood together to have fun and celebrate.
 
Be creative and think of meaningful or fun ways to celebrate the connection you have with those you love. 
 
I would love to hear about any rituals that you already celebrate in your life. Please post below:)
Hi, I'm Shelley Riutta MSE, LPC a Holistic Psychotherapist in private practice. I specialize in helping people connect with their Authentic selves--and from this create a life that is in alignment with their Life Purpose and filled with Joy. I offer transformational individual counseling, presentations, groups and Workshops. You can get my Free Workbook "What Do You REALLY Want: Finding Purpose and Passion in Your Life" here or contact me at 877-346-1167.