Career of Passion?
Joseph Campbell (1904 – 1987) was a foremost US mythologist, writer and lecturer. He is remembered for some wonderful quotes – here are two in particular:
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls”
“Passion will move men beyond themselves, beyond their shortcomings, beyond their failures”
In the first chapter of my Portfolio Careers book, you will be encouraged to follow your bliss and be moved by your passions. We will explore different possibilities, some key benefits and new thinking. You will also be introduced to the 3 Ps concept as exemplified by a ‘magical’ case study.
What is a Portfolio Career?
Let’s start with a definition. If you search on the internet, you will come across various definitions of a portfolio career. However, I have found few that really answer the question in a way that sits comfortably with me. They either mention having ’multiple jobs’, rather than just one job, are just plain vague or veer off into ‘HR speak’. So here is my definition which I use all the time, when asked the question:
“A portfolio career, in simplistic terms, is about deriving income from a number of different sources”. However, consider a portfolio career also:
“It’s about changing your mindset from having a more conventional job to securing an income by using any combination of activities, interests, skills, talents and passions to create the working lifestyle you want. This is what I call working for Passion, Pleasure and Profit, or the 3 Ps”.
Taking things a stage further, a portfolio career doesn’t just have to be about deriving income. It can be a mixture of activities that allows you to be recognised and paid for work undertaken, or time given freely, e.g. voluntary work. For many people the portfolio career is very definitely a lifestyle approach. You will see a range of examples showcasing different aspects of portfolio careers and lifestyles from the case studies throughout the book.
One of the beauties of a portfolio career is that its composition can change; it is not absolute. People can develop their portfolio careers in different ways. Some people use it as their modus operandi forever and for others it’s a transition strategy, one that allows them to shift from one to thing to another. Again you will see a range of examples that showcase different routes and options as you read my Portfolio Careers book.
What is the make-up of typical portfolio careers?
There is no one size fits all approach but your portfolio career could be made up in different ways e.g.:
- Being your own boss and having different strands to your business
- Having multiple businesses focused on different products/services
- A part-time employed job and your own business
- A number of part-time employed jobs doing different kinds of work
- Regular interim or freelance projects alongside other occasional work in different fields
- A full-time employed job and developing your business alongside this
- Any combination of the above or including voluntary work
Interested or intrigued where this is leading?
These are extracts from the opening part of Chapter One of my Amazon bestseller ‘Portfolio Careers – How to Work for Passion, Pleasure & Profit!
This ground-breaking book has received international acclaim and is now challenging people’s thinking across the globe with many readers in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe now following the initial interest generated in the UK.
So, like the many fascinating and inspirational case studies in the book, maybe a career rethink would be just great for you?
Steve Preston is known as The Career Catalyst ®. A leading Career Coach to professionals and executives, the Career Coach’s Coach, MD of specialist Consultancy SMP Solutions (Career & People development) Ltd, motivational speaker and Internationally acclaimed Author of Career and Personal Development books and products, including Portfolio Careers – How to Work for Passion, Pleasure & Profit, Winning through Career Change and Winning Through Redundancy.
