Passion – Staying Excited About Your Freelance Work

Through the holiday season, my freelance work waned and my game group did not meet as often because of family events, which was to be expected. What I had not expected was how that would impact my passion for freelancing. Without the continuous pile of freelance projects to work on like the previous six months, or the joy of playing lots of games, the excitement level began to fizzle.  I was left pondering, “Why do I do this? Why take on the extra work as a freelancer? Why am I writing this blog?”. Whatever your job, if you are not passionate and excited about it, then you won’t be as effective. This is especially true as a freelancer in the creative arts. So, how will I remain passionate about freelancing?

4 Tips For Staying Passionate About Your Freelance Work

1. Make The Conscious Choice To Be Passionate – Not every day as a freelancer is going to be glamorous. In fact, some days are going to be downright rotten. Difficult projects. Day job priorities. Impossible deadlines. Downtime between projects. Family issues. Strained relationships. Illness delays. Financial needs. Being a freelancer must be a personal passion of yours so you can work through the challenges to enjoy the successes. Actively remind yourself that you chose to be a freelancer because it excites you. Also, freelancing must be a choice beyond just the money. There are other jobs you could do that will pay more. Choosing a creative job like freelancing has to be a passionate choice.
2. Have A Vision For Your Freelance Career – Whatever your career may be, develop a vision with defined goals. Work hard each day to bring that vision to reality. Striving toward a vision intensifies your passion. Having a vision grants you the energy to work hard toward your goals. Sculptors start with a block of clay, stone, ice, or some other material. They have a vision for what that block can become and strive for it. As the sculpture takes shape, their excitement intensifies because they can see their vision coming to reality. Same goes for your career. As you reach some of your goals, you can see the vision for your career taking shape which will increase your excitement to keep working hard.
3. Surround Yourself With Encouragement – I often speak of relationships being a cornerstone of successful freelancing, and that goes for passion in any career as well. Having family, friends and co-workers who encourage you boosts your passion immensely. Receiving an encouraging email, reading a supportive comment on a blog/social network, or, even more powerful, hearing words of encouragement face-to-face really boosts your enthusiasm for your work and can carry you through a difficult situation especially. Personally, my wife and daughters are some of the greatest sources of my passion for the freelance work that I do. Their constant encouragement and support drive me to be the best freelancer that I can be.
4. Constantly Rekindle The Passion – Find ways to keep rekindling your passion for your work. That could be an auto mechanic attending a car show, a computer programmer playing with Arduino components, a chef trying out a new local restaurant, or a stay-at-home-mom being pampered by her husband and kids for a weekend. As a freelancer in the game industry, that means you need to be experiencing and enjoying games. The topic for this post comes from a comment by my wife about how much I enjoyed a recent event and its impact on my attitude. My wife and I spent this past weekend hosting our second annual W.H.O.A. (Weekend Holiday of Adventure) where we and three of our out-of-town friends spent three days cooking together, talking about life, and playing lots and lots of games. After three days of our own mini-convention, I was physically exhausted but spiritually energized. I am reminded again why I am so passionate about gaming and why I want to help create incredible games!

Whatever your career, ministry or hobby, be passionate about it. Your passion will see you through the difficult times and enhance the joy of the successful times. Your passion will be reflected in the quality of your work and the strength of your relationships.

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
―Albert Einstein Letter to Carl Seelig (11 March 1952), Einstein Archives 39-013