When Passion & Career Meet.

As you all know, work travel is a big part of my job.

I work in the travel & Public Relations industries, so therefore I travel. A lot.

Recently, I traveled to Jamaica, (one of many future visits as the company I work for just opened a resort there) and got to experience the REAL Jamaica. I had only visited Jamaica once before. I was probably about ten years old, and we stopped there on a cruise ship, which everyone knows, gives you ZERO time to really discover a place! Boy was I pleasantly surprised!

When I thought of Jamaica, I imagined a total beach vacation. Lounge on those pristine beaches, and that’s about it. Boy was I wrong! There was nonstop action. Blog post on that soon to come…

But the question I get asked ALL. THE. TME. – Do you enjoy it? Don’t you get tired of traveling for “work” when you’re not really enjoying yourself? Is it fun? I decided this question gets asked way to often, and it leads to a much bigger answer/topic, that deserved a blog post.

Well, my answer is and has always been the same for many years now. I absolutely love my “job” or career, industry, line of work, whatever you want to call it. For me, (as it should be for everyone), work is fun! And I live by the quote: "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." If you’re NOT having “fun” at work, which takes up a big part of your life, then you need to rethink what you’re doing.

I know there are a lot of people who see a job as a means to simply pay bills, maintain a lifestyle and support your families, but I disagree. Because a job is going to take up so much of your time, you should absolutely be doing something you LOVE, or at the very least, something you kind of/sort of like! Right? Time is our most valuable possession. Because once you give it away, you just can’t get it back! So, to invest years of your life in “work”- it better be damn fun!

And I have found over the years that when you pursue the things you love, you end up being really good at them, and do them with passion. When those two come together, opportunities arise, doors open and you can in turn, make a living in a field that you enjoy.

I remember my grandfather telling me that when he came from Cuba, he worked all sorts of jobs, just to support my mom and grandma (this included not so glamorous job cleaning toilets at night). But, he eventually stumbled upon the jewelry industry and realized not only did he enjoy it, but he was also really good at working with his hands. Over the years he honed that, and eventually opened up shop in Downtown Miami. I remember going to work with him over the summers and saw how much he LOVED it. And he became so GOOD at it that clients were constantly knocking on his door for all their jewelry and repair needs.

That was the first time I realized, when you are passionate about something, you do it better than others who aren’t- you in turn become the best at it, and the work comes looking for YOU- instead of you looking for the work.

And that for me, I have to say has been the biggest "adult lesson” I have learned (among the many). And let me tell you, I am so happy that I learned it an early age. Because most people spend their entire lives doing work they don't love, coming to a job in a field they are not "passionate" about. And reach retirement having spent their entire life "working" simply to pay bills, live, etc. Not truly LOVING what they get paid to do.

I originally majored in Broadcast Journalism, because I always dreamt of being a TV reporter. I was always fascinated with the news. But, as the word would have it, I accidentally landed in PR and after a few different roles in the PR field, I ended up in travel, and realized my two passions coming together: TRAVEL & NEWS. It was a match made in PR heaven. And I have never looked back.

Working in PR has given me so much, but working in the travel industry has broadened that so much more. It’s really increased my appetite for discovering the world, meeting new people, understanding how other cultures live, adapting to working in international settings (yes, business gets done WAY differently from country to country) and it’s really just taken me to some cool places, and some of my most valued friendships have stemmed from working and professional relationships. So if you’re not loving whatever it is that you’re doing to collect that paycheck, it’s time to rethink things! It might be scary, but you've got to make a change if you're not loving what you do every day!

For me, traveling is my passion. I absolutely want to uncover every inch of this earth until I die. The fact that I get to combine my passion with PR (my other passion), is a blessing, and I am so grateful to that every day.

I’ll be featuring interesting people I’ve met along the way, so stay tuned to learn more about people who’ve also followed their dreams, and turned them into successful careers.

Until next time, it’s time to pack for Jamaica! Yes, again.

Likkle more… PS. That means “later” in Patois

#travel #careers #publicrelations #publicrelations #passion #work #business