Have you ever felt like you have to compromise between making money and pursuing your passion in life?

Maybe it’s led you to make decisions that weren’t in full alignment with you really are—the true essence of your soul. Maybe you feel stuck doing work that no longer lights you up or that you feel aligned with?

I know how you feel; I have been there myself.

I had chosen money over my passion, and I was hiding from my reality by convincing myself that I was happy simply because I could go to nice places and buy pretty things.

As a teenage girl, I saw my older sisters pursue their creative passions but have no interest in making money. My dad always joked that I would be the sensible one and get a “real” job. That joke ultimately turned into my reality.

Despite being a creative at heart and a performer in my soul, I pursued a route of becoming a qualified accountant and led a decade long career in finance, working with global firms closing multi-million-dollar deals. There were a lot of exciting perks that came with it: the big title, six-figure salary, travel and luxury. But the truth was, the actual work was incredibly unfulfilling and the internal politics ridiculously frustrating.

I had chosen money over my passion, and I was hiding from my reality by convincing myself that I was happy simply because I could go to nice places and buy pretty things. All I was really doing was numbing myself to the reality that, truly, I wasn’t happy at all.

So, what do you do when you’re about to enter the next decade of your life and you’re feeling stuck, lost, and unsure of whether you have spent the past ten years chasing some version of success that you didn’t get to define?

You sign up for a spiritual boot camp and commit to the massive discomfort of deep inner work and major self-reflection. At least, that’s what I did. What happened over the following months brought massive uncertainty, judgment from others, and a lot of “WTF am I doing” moments. But in the end, I was guided back into alignment with my true mission in life.

But the truth was, the actual work was incredibly unfulfilling and the internal politics ridiculously frustrating.

So, did I choose my mission over the money?

Spoiler alert: I didn’t have to and neither do you.

The belief that you can’t pursue your passion and be abundantly rewarded for doing what you love, is outdated. In fact, it’s a lie. And we can no longer let our definition of “success” be defined by this lie.

This is something I am incredibly passionate about sharing. I now work with women around the world, supporting them to uncover their unique gifts, lean into their talents, and learn how to monetise their passion so they, too, can build a profitable and purpose-led business.

Below are three areas you can work on to help close the gap between purpose, profit, and building a business that you love.

I know it is easy to skip over this part, but I highly encourage you make the time for yourself to complete this section. Whether you have a desire to start a business or already have a business, I promise you will find incredible value, clarity, and focus from completing this exercise.

So, did I choose my mission over the money? Spoiler alert: I didn’t have to and neither do you.

I recommend that you make a cup of your favourite tea or coffee, grab your journal, get comfortable, and enjoy completing this process!

Step 1: Uncover your unique superpowers

Your superpowers are your unique gifts, talents, and strengths. This is what makes you, you!

1. What comes so naturally to you that you may have overlooked it as a real gift until now?
2. What do you believe you are excellent at?
3. What are you truly passionate about?
4. What is one thing you feel supremely qualified to teach other people about?
5. What do people typically come to you for advice, support, or help with?
6. What do other people say you’re really great at?
7. What are your core personal values in life?

Step 2: Create a bigger vision for your life

1. What type of life do you want to create for yourself?
2. What does your dream life look like? What experiences do you have, who do you spend your time with, and how do you feel each day?
3. How do you want to spend your days? What type of work would you love to be doing?
4. What type of world do you want to live in and what part do you want to play in creating that?
5. What type of impact do you want to have in the world?

Step 3: Create clarity on the type of business you desire

1. Why do you want to start a business?
2. Why should your business exist? Why now?
3. What type of clients do you want to serve?
4. How much money do you want to earn every year?
5. What type of products or services feel exciting for you to offer to your ideal clients?

When you have finished completing this exercise, I invite you to celebrate yourself for doing some powerful reflection work and soul-searching. Most people will never make the time to achieve such clarity, so feel excited that you are already on the path to creating some big changes in your life.