Doing and Being What You Love: It's Still Hard Work
- Brian Duff
- Aug 29
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 1
A good friend recently reminded me of that old adage from Mark Twain, ‘Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life’? I call BS. Over the past year, I have been discovering my passion of coaching, holding space for my clients; their worries, their passions, their greatest achievements, disappointments, and dreams, and I have been falling in love with this work.
I hold great respect for it, the relationships I am forming with my clients, and for the art-science, science-art of coaching. Yet, it is so hard. It is hard to not feel like an imposter. It is hard to listen and not advise, it is hard to keep on top of all of my course work, it is hard to reflect, it is hard to make time for me, my husband, and my gorgeous English Bulldog, Billie. And, I am falling in love with it.
When I look at it through the CUSP pathway I feel this:
Centering:
It is HARD WORK to be fully present and attuned to your client in this moment, and I LOVE witnessing the magnificence of each of my clients.
Uncovering:
It is HARD WORK to receive constant critique (good and bad) on my coaching, realizing the learning is not linear, and I LOVE learning new tools, perspectives, and techniques to be able to go deeper with my clients.
Sourcing:
It is HARD WORK letting go of what doesn’t align with my core values, because those misaligned things have been used to define me all my adult life, and I LOVE discovering this renewed, creative, right-brain part of me.
Propelling:
It is HARD WORK forging forward not fully knowing my destination or my way there, and I LOVE the journey of dead-ends, highways, and traffic-jams I am encountering on this new journey.
So my new perspective on this is that the LOVE for the coach I’m being and the coaching I’m doing is providing me the fulfillment I am craving. And the WORK; the learning, the inner-critics, the outer-critics, the sacrifices, the dead-ends, are all making this arduous work incredibly worthwhile. Maybe Mark Twain wasn’t a coach?
What’s your passion? What is truly the work you need to do to see your passion flourish? If you want to discover this, book a chemistry session with me.
