There’s a saying that goes around social media pretty frequently that says “If you love what you do you’ll never work s day in your life”.
This sounds wonderful but I don’t think it’s really true. I love my job and the work that I do. I love training horses and teaching lessons. I love being out on the farm every day instead of sitting behind a desk. I love being my own boss. I love what I do.
But I don’t love every single minute of it or every single day. There are days that are honestly just plain work. When it’s time to do the bookkeeping, it’s work. When it’s time to answer emails after a long day at the farm, it’s work. When it’s 10° out and I still have to go to the barn, it’s work. When I’m tired and just want to stay home, it’s work. When I have to check on a sick horse at 10pm or on my day off, it’s work. When I’d rather be spending time with my family, it’s work.
Now that doesn’t mean I don’t love what I do. But it does mean that in order to make a successful career out of doing what you love you do have to be willing to put in some work. Dreams and goals are never accomplished by sitting back and waiting for them to happen. You need to be willing to keep going even when things are not enjoyable and even when you don’t want. There are days that are going to be hard. When you love what you do it makes the hard parts not so bad but there are still going to be days that are just plain hard work, especially in the horse industry.
Sometimes what you love is better left as a hobby, rather than a career, and that’s ok. When something is a hobby you don’t have the pressure to earn enough money to put food on the table. If you don’t feel like riding, you don’t have to. You have a lot more flexibility and you can avoid some off the more unpleasant aspects.
If you do decide to follow your passion know be prepared to work hard for it. Every job will have aspects that you don’t enjoy. But when you love what you do the unpleasant parts are worth it. It’s an amazing experience to follow my passion and bring my dreams to life.
Learn More
Interested in learning more about liberty work? We offer lessons and training at Dover Stables in Waterford, WI and travel throughout the Midwest to do clinics in liberty training. Contact us to start your journey towards a better connection with your horse!
