How many time have you walked away from a movie on a Sunday night inspired to make a change in your life? You spend the night dreaming big and thinking of how you’re going to change things.  But then what happens? If you’re like most people, your inspiration gets lost when the reality of life rushes in at 8 AM on Monday morning. After countless meetings, too many emails and a frantic rush to meet the deadline for TPS reports, those Sunday night dreams become just that…dreams.

If this sounds familiar, you should check out my friend and fellow Oasis supporter Sam Davidson’s new book called 50 Things Your Life Doesn’t Need.  I’m not getting paid to endorse this and there aren’t any affiliate links.  Sam’s just a good dude and a friend with a book I think will help you clear away the clutter so you can focus on those dreams.  Below he talks about how Jubilee is an example of following a passion without mortgaging the farm and running through the countryside in search of windmills.  Sam is also overly generous with his praise of Jubilee, and we kind of like that.

Jubilee Beer is a Case Study in Passion- by Sam Davidson

When I first met Mark, I found a guy who simply wanted to make great tasting beer. After a few meetings, some coffee, and my first taste of Jubilee, I realized that his story is a passionate one – one that needs telling.

Jubilee Beer (as you well know) is a good beer for a good cause. When you pick up a bottle or six at a local bar or package store, you’re getting a finely crafted ale whose profits support the work of Oasis Center. What you’re not getting is a mass-produced drink by some multi-national conglomerate.

You can taste the passion in Jubilee – both the passion of making good beer and the passion of supporting a good cause. But what lies behind this dark brown liquid refreshment is a stark reality: while beer may be a passion of Mark’s, it’s not his full-time job.

That’s right: your passion doesn’t have to become your job.

I detail this a bit more in my new book, 50 Things Your Life Doesn’t Need. This book is a guide for anyone looking to find and live his or her passion. I help the reader find what’s important by getting rid of everything that truly isn’t. Then, with your life a little freer from clutter, you can hone in on turning your passion into a reality, whether it becomes a career or not. Here’s an excerpt – a warning about passion, if you will:

“Society values those who have turned a passion into a profession. Building a company or starting a business centered on a singular passion seems to be the best and most valuable thing that one can do once a passion is found. This works for some, but is not a good rule of thumb.

A word of warning: if you’re only looking to find and live your passion because you hate your job and you want to earn a living doing what you (think you) love, you may end up no happier. Just because you love something doesn’t mean you need to get paid to do it. Your passion may only be meant to be a leisurely pursuit. Perhaps your passion is only intended to be lived after work each day and on the weekends. Turning your passion into your profession might eventually even leave you resenting it.”

The Jubilee story is a good lesson for us. Find your passion. Pursue it. But be perfectly content in doing each in your free time. You can still do a world of good for yourself and your community.

Sam Davidson is a writer, entrepreneur, and dreamer who believes that the world needs more passionate people.  He is the co-founder of Cool People Care and Proof Branding, and lives in Nashville with his wife and daughter.  Thankfully his daughter takes after her mom.

Buy 50 Things Your Life Doesn’t Need!