“… and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Beautiful. Poetic in its simplicity. Seriously, how amazing a philosopher must Confucius be that everyone, everywhere, is still throwing around this one-liner with great smugness, THOUSANDS of years later?! 

This inspiration presumably resonates with anyone who has ever toyed with doing ‘something else’ (so by that I think I mean… everyone?). Clever Confucius. Indeed I have also seriously toying with precisely this and, I’m thinking, is that how this is going to pan out then? I will love what I do and be free forever more from the pain of ‘work’?!

Here’s what I’ve already gleaned about the practicality of this noble advice following the initial five seconds it took to digest it.

That step one is just that: the initial five seconds (aka the slight con which is the ease of just reading something). You read it, glow inside and feel buoyed with inspiration. Ahh yes, THAT’S it.  I can escape the drudgery and become the master of my domain and… *know* serenity. I can do. What I love.

Except all of that is the wonder of just living inside your head. This you can do quite proficiently whilst doing anything else.  Laundry? Yes. Commuting. Cooking. Cleaning up baby sick. Sitting in a meeting. Maybe even chairing a meeting. All yes.

So then step two: the reality of actually… Putting. Any. Sh*t. Into. Action.

This is the bit I’d never done before but am now actually trying.  Until now, I’ve had a ‘career’ (the working many days in my life), involving commuting, dinner at my desk and everything.  I only dreamed of the other side.  Now – at home to raise a baby – I am attempting action any time the baby naps (aka picking my split ends, conjuring up a new direction for myself whilst he naps): making cakes and pastries, an adventure in baking, perhaps on the path to having a bakery.  Does this feel like work? The truth is, it is genuinely an exhilarating journey so far and I’ve only just started.  I love exploring options and ideas and allowing myself to conceive of being something else.  Outside of the corporate four walls of an office! And it’s true that doesn’t feel like work. BUT here’s another saying we all should know:

“Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. NOTHING.” As no-one once famously said.

And the lack of simplicity and ease means? Yup, a little of what we know to feel like work.

My thought process had been: I know!  I love making and creating all things baking! Cakes! Eclairs?! Macaroons?! All love. Mm, I’ll just bake my cakes and be a baker and find a market stall and off I’ll go. Bake my way to freedom and happiness. Doing what I love. YEAH?!

And I love sharing stuff and reading other people’s stuff online (aren’t I unique…). I will just publish my musings! Yes! I will write it all down and, voila, I’ll have a blog!

BOTH of the above, I have realised in the short space of time I’ve been trying either, take a lot of work (obviously): planning and learning; trial and error; and tears and self-doubt and stagnating and admin.  I’m not saying I’m going to quit, I’m not saying don’t do it or it can’t be done.  I just mean the day-to-day reality of doing “what you love…” will let drudgery creep back in.

I’ve not been exploring baking all that long but, by throwing myself into it, I’ve already had moments when I’m just fed up of baking another cake.  The pre-heat oven, the mixing, the washing up.

I also just cannot believe how slow it has been to get anywhere near starting a market stall.  I’ve researched the markets near me, I’ve asked lots of questions. You have to find one with free space.  You have to get them to want you. Have a list of recipes. List your locally sourced ingredients.  Are they locally sourced?! Have your kitchen registered, inspected, check your insurance, do safety training.  Get public liability insurance.  Get a table, canopy, awnings. Transport.  Packaging.  Practice recipes.  How much to make? It all really does start to become the ‘work a day in you life‘ vibe even if I am still enjoying it WAY more than the work I used to do.

And the blog? There’s tech stuff and put it in some order stuff and photos and editing and things I don’t yet know yet ‘cos I don’t yet know.

So what happens?

Step three: it can start to feel at least a bit like work OR … by doing ‘what you love‘ you might just (in a less poetic, ergo non-existent inspirational meme way) start to love it a little less.  Because it’s work.  Just a slight counterbalance to any dreams of the other side. Which should also beg the question: would that shift be ok? If it doesn’t quite work, will you effectively have given up the joys of a hobby? How do you feel about that? A bit like starting a romance with a friend – is it worth risking the loss of friendship because there’s love to be gained?

As for my friend, ‘baking’? I still love most of it and I’m far more motivated to plough through the dull than with all the corporate I’ve done before; that can well be worth pursuing. I’m also learning so much along the way that DEFINITELY doesn’t feel like work.

So there is truth in the philosophy – who knew the simplicity of it could be flawed. Albeit it’s a lot less poetic to say: “do what you love and it may not reach a level of never feeling like work but will hopefully feel a bit less like working a day in your life than something you can do and like but don’t reeeeally love quite as much as the thing you love“.

Love is… pre-heat oven. And repeat.