Oprah once famously said “Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do.”
I have a slightly different take on that quote. I say:
“Do what you have to do WHILST you do what you want to do.”
Of course we all have obligations we need to fulfill – pay our bills, look after dependents, etc. and we may need to continue working in a job we don’t particularly like in order to meet those obligations. So, keeping that job would be the “do what you have to do” part.
However, we don’t have to wait until we no longer “have” to that job before we start doing what it is that we say we want to do.
You see, when it comes to living our dreams, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
We all have discretionary time that we can use outside of the obligations that we have.
Just like the most successful and least successful people on the planet, we too get 24 hours in a day. Some of those 24 hours we must dedicate to the “have to do”activities. But the remainder of those 24 hours is discretionary. We get to choose how we spend that time. And we can choose to spend that time pursuing our passions and creating that dream life we say we want or we can chose to spend that time doing things that don’t support us in pursuing our dreams.
It’s all about priorities.
The results that you are experiencing in your life today are a direct reflection of your priorities. So, it stands to reason that if you want to see different results, you need to adjust your priorities.
Yes, there are things you may not have much choice in… the ‘must do’ activities. But you have absolute decision-making authority and power to choose what to spend your discretionary time on.
Take some time out and have a look at the activities you are spending your time on. What are your priorities? Do those priorities support your dreams? Are there any activities that you can re-prioritise so that you can spend time on creating the life that you would love?
We don’t have to wait until the ‘have to’ activities are done before we can pursue the things we want to do. We can do them both. We just have to make them a priority.
