A Life is More than Just Making a Living

I’m going to share with you one of my favorite quotes of all time.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman (Click To Tweet!)
I love, love, love this quote. It speaks to me at the deepest level.
Maybe because I worked in finance and didn’t feel alive. I went to Harvard for a graduate degree and still felt like a failure. I worked in the food industry in a “promising career” and hated every second of it.

I tried so hard. To make a living, to fill a hole in society, to please my parents.
But I yearned for something more.
After lots of growth, contemplation and miracles – a little thing called Crazy Wild Love was born.
My true calling – how could I help other women just like myself?
It had nothing to do with either of my hard-earned degrees. It had nothing to do with the expectations of my friends, family or society.
It awoke something deep inside of me. Something I knew that I couldn’t quiet no matter how hard I tried.
And guess what, because I’m living out my passion, I am also making a living.
Not only am I making a living, I am making a life! This was truly a novel concept.
A life is not punching the clock. It’s not just doing work, even if we love that work.
Yes, that’s part of it. But a life should also encompass play, love, fulfillment, joy, vitality.
I created a list of my Top 10 Values. Here is what’s on my list, in no particular order.
Love
Work
Spirituality
Family
Play
Health
Peace
Friendship
Community
Beauty
Then, I took those values and thought of tangible things I can do throughout my day to match my core values.
Love – eating dinner each night with my fiancé without any distractions
Work – obvious
Spirituality – a morning and evening meditation
Family – calling my parents and sister to check-in
Play – getting on the floor with my dogs
Health – carving time into my day for exercise
Peace – surrender
Friendship – making a point to hang out with my girlfriends
Community – supporting local farms by signing up for a CSA
Beauty – putting on makeup and dressing myself lovingly each morning
Now, if my day doesn’t somehow incorporate any of these actions, I know that my alignment is off. Usually, it’s because I’m too focused on making a living that I forgot about the rest.
OK, it’s your turn!
Make a list of your Top 10 Core Values. How do these translate into actions? Are you living in alignment with them now?