Look around you. There's a host of people working in jobs that are, shall we say, less than rewarding. If it were not true, the acronym T.G.I.F. wouldn't exist. The reasons most people give are legion: "I have a family to support"..."We need the benefits"..."This is all I know"..."It's a tough job market, I'm better off staying where I am"..."I've only got a few more years to retirement"..."We couldn't afford a pay cut"..."I'm too young"..."I'm too old"..."I don't know the right people"... and on and on. I argue that these reasons are really more of an excuse to stay in one's comfort zone. They are usually offered up as if another job -- one that taps more into our deeper interests and passions -- could never support a family, provide benefits, or mean a salary increase. And, more times than not, when someone offers up one of these excuses -- I mean reasons -- everyone politely smiles and nods in a way that says, "Yes, this is a very wise and responsible person."

Wise? Responsible? Really?

I believe the key to a truly happy and fulfilled life is spending a good chunk of your time pursuing the things you're passionate about. The things that fire you up. The things you're good at. The kinds of things you'd do whether you got paid or not. The lie is that it's not really work if you're having fun. The truth is that there are more ways to earn a living doing what you're passionate about than you've ever considered.

Interestingly, I have found that when confronted, many people have a difficult time nailing down their passion. They think to themselves that if they can just get through to the next day, the next month, the next promotion, it'll get better. If you're trying to figure out what exactly you should be doing with the rest of your life, I offer this technique I once heard years ago: Think back to what you wanted to be when you grew up. President? Ballerina? Astronaut? This holds a clue as to what you're supposed to be doing now. It helps to look at WHY you wanted to be/do that thing, as opposed to heading straight for NASA. If you wanted to be an astronaut, was it because you wanted to explore new worlds? Were you intrigued by the physics of it all? Or did you like the idea of going really, really fast?

For instance, I dreamed of becoming George Lucas of Star Wars fame. Looking back, I think I was most enamored by how he used his imagination to create characters and worlds and stories to entertain millions of people. Now that I'm all grown up, I can see how through Kim & Jason, I've used my own imagination to create characters and stories to entertain lots of people. (I'm not quite to the million stratosphere yet.)

All that being said, even I was blown away when I came across a quote from a fellow named Arthur Miller. He said, "It is wrong, it is sin, to accept or remain in a position that you know is a mismatch for you. Perhaps it's a form of sin you've never even considered - the sin of staying in the wrong job. But God did not place you on this Earth to waste away your years in labor that does not employ his design or purpose for your life, no matter how much you may be getting paid for it."

Miller's point comes from a religious point of view, but I think it's still a relevant question for anyone to ponder: Are you wasting away your years? As I said at the outset, there are a host of people working in less than rewarding jobs. They're ignoring their passions, shackled by self-limiting beliefs, and they're drowning in a life of mediocrity. Are you one of them?