Earning a Joyful Living 1

For the past couple of years, my "day job" has been taking care of my little grandson (now 2 years old) while my daughter is at work. In return, she pays nearly all the household bills. I also continue to do a little webdesign in the evenings and on weekends, mostly for clients I've worked with for years, which pays reasonably well. I also write a newspaper column on "locavore" eating (eating locally grown food as much as possible), which pays very little. I enjoy doing it, though, and I've recently received invitations to speak and teach classes on the subject. Neither of those pay much either, unfortunately.

For most of my life, I've made at least enough money to get by comfortably. I've gone through a couple of periods where I didn't always know how the bills would get paid, and also a couple of periods where I was making enough more than I needed to accumulate savings and even investments. Right now, however, I'd like to be making more than I am. I want to make enough money so I can always do whatever I want, purchase whatever I want, travel wherever I want, go to school again if I want, etc. Retirement age is approaching as well, and I would like to have extra money set aside to cover eventualities.

My immediate goal is to figure out how to earn six figures ($100,000+) annually in the limited amount of time I have to devote to earning a living and doing something that excites and energizes me.


Last night, just before I fell asleep, I was reading a portion of Martha Beck's latest book, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World: Reclaim Your True Nature to Create the Life You Want. I had to remember to take care of myself and get some sleep to keep from jumping up immediately to write about a series of exercises I did related to my earnings goal.

To understand my train of thought in what follows, it might help you to know that I used to be a mental health counselor, first in community mental health centers (operated by county and state governments) and later in private practice. I left counseling to open a New Age bookstore, which at the time I saw as an alternate way of working to improve community mental health with a greater number of people. I recently considered going back into private practice, but licensing laws have changed and it would take a considerable investment of time and money to begin again. Besides that, I really felt I wanted to work with people who were overtly seeking joy and a positive outlook. For that reason I was particularly struck by some remarks by Martha about the difference between a counselor and a coach. Counselors see people with mental illnesses to help them gain mental health. Coaches see people who are basically healthy but want to improve some aspects of their lives. From that perspective, coaching appeals to me.

Now back to the exercises in Martha's book--here's what happened:

The exercises are in a chapter about using your Imagination to solve problems (or "crack puzzles," as Martha prefers to call it). She talks about using metaphors as tools to find the solutions. As an example, she uses something close to what I want to play with: "How can I make a living doing something I love?" Earlier, though, she had made suggestions which helped me hone my goal more precisely to: "How can I earn a living while experiencing more joy and bringing joy to others?"

First, she suggests looking at objects around me and trying to identify how those might be metaphors for the solution to the problem. I see a book and think it is a metaphor for helping people open to new knowledge. I see curtains and the window and think they are a metaphor for helping people open to a new point of view. I see a blank wall and think of it as a metaphor for helping people open space for creativity and color in their lives. (Now, as I write this, I also see this as a metaphor for perhaps providing people an open space to express creativity and color. I'm thinking of the room over our garage.) Finally, I see a pillow as a metaphor for bringing helping both myself and others open to greater comfort, relaxation, and ease.

Already I begin to see a pattern. Virtually all my metaphors have to do with helping people to "openings."

I continue reading through more exercises, most of which relate to ways to continue the metaphor work if I hadn't already had a "Eureka" moment. I felt I already had a glimpse of a possible puzzle-crack, though.

Finally, Martha offered a visualization (free on her website--see Seven League Boots) for clarifying the message. In brief, the visualization leads to finding a place, meeting a guide, and getting a box with something inside. The object inside is a symbol of the solution to the initial question.

When I opened my box, there was an ornate key, and I knew instantly it was the key to opening my heart, which would also be the key to opening the hearts of others.

I think perhaps life coaching or writing may be a good goal for me to pursue. It would be a logical next step for me given my past experience and the fact that several people recently have sought me out to talk about spiritual subjects. It also sounds like work (play) I would thoroughly enjoy. Coaching, workshops, writing--all are possibilities for earning a comfortable living as well.

I will watch my dreams as well as my conscious life for the "key" I know is coming to me. I can feel it coming. I am filled with gratitude and anticipation! This is so exciting!