It's best to have both, you can only go so far with one. Passion may fizzle out but if you have conviction, you can stay steadfast towards your goals, if that is what you want. You may lose conviction but passion may keep you going strong. Both = intoxicating combination.

With Sarah's Sis Hope, what a truly remarkable example of living your dreams and pursuing what matters. She gives many of us inspiration in that even if you have your life all planned out (often, according to what standards others have set), it is never too late to change your paths to one you actually care for and want. Like how Sarah opted to not go to law school despite it was just about to start.

Prestige and money is useless and full of crap if you are miserable, over-stressed, and depressed. Choosing happiness through your passionate pursuits will provide a much more gratifying life than a powerful, corporate job that you despise. It just makes sense. But like the saying goes, “common sense is often not common.”

Would be fun as hell!

thanks for such a thoughtful comment! I know exactly what you mean about your dilemma. I don't think westernizing the rest of the world is the answer… Especially since the US consumes 30% of the world's resources! As I travel, I'm finding a lot of people who don't like Americans or the American way of life and I'm actually glad about that… haha.

I am definitely brainstorming up a storm at the monastery! and I did email Sarah about the internship btw

Bravo!  Good for you! 

You know, I've always said this: Many people get stuck in the trap thinking, “Well, I've already dedicated so much time to X, so I might as well stick it out.”  They simply hate thinking of their time as a lost investment, and instead, would rather feel like they got their money's worth and live in misery, rather than change things up and say, “Well, sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles.”  But the truth is, the fact that you've already dedicated X number of years doing something that you dislike is already in the past, no matter what you do with the future.  So why dedicate the next X number of years being miserable, too?

There is no reason for us to have to do only *one* thing, be only *one* type of professional, and do it in the way that everyone expects us to.  There are no rules in this game.  Here, the real winner is the one who knows when it's best to cut your losses, in favor of a better quality of life. 

Looks like you've already got that under way.  Really glad you took the time to share your story!  It's stories like this posted here that will in turn help others down the road who are in need of the same type of inspiration.  Thank you so much for joining the discussion.

I had the same type of inner turmoil happening when I was studying for my TESOL masters.  My motivation was to allow me to have a stable job while traveling internationally all over the place, but as I dug deeper into the degree, I started to realize that I was almost at odds with the exact thing I was indirectly promoting by teaching English.  While I love cross cultural communication, most of my students are learning English in order to make more money, as our Western ideals get spread all over the place.  And there was always that inner part of me that just wanted to be like, “Please.  Appreciate and value your beautiful lifestyle for what it is.  More money isn't the solution to everything.”  (Though, in extreme cases it is, but that was never the context that I was exposed to.)

What I've found is that it's best to take that one thing that you just can't stop thinking about–the thing that lights you up inside–the thing that gets you most excited–the thing that you fantasize about—and then legitimize it to yourself.  Once you're really convinced that you can use your passion as a tool to make money, you start brainstorming.  Don't throw out any ideas.  Scribble them out on a mind map.  Draw lines.  Connect things.  Ask yourself, “What value does this bring?” and then, “To whom could this bring that value?”  Connect the dots.  That's the hard part–the dots aren't already connected.  There isn't an established career that will connect the dots for you.  That's where entrepreneurialism comes in.  That's where YOU come in.  You've got to have a vision–those dots connected–and then do what it takes to test it.  If it doesn't work out, you connect some other dots and try, try again.  Because you know what?  In the end, you're all you've got.  So you might as well make the most of yourself.  IT IS WORTH IT. 

Art + social justice.  That reminds me of The Pulsera Project–Nicaraguan children make these beautiful artisan bracelets, and then there's a network–sort of like Avon–here in the U.S. that sells them, and the profits go back to funding those children's education. 

Get brainstorming, lady!

I believe that in general, humans do what's easiest for them, whether consciously or not.  It's one of those things that we must constantly battle, in the name of the reward that comes with hard work & dedication.  But it also requires a certain level of faith–faith that there WILL be a reward worth it at the end of the tunnel.  Perhaps that's where so many of us falter.  Lack of faith = lack of conviction = mediocrity.