Do you enjoy your work? Are you having fun in your current job? For a large number of people the answer to these questions is sadly 'No'. Their jobs provide them a paycheck and not much else. They wind up miserable and often wonder how they ended up doing their current job. Often times they spend a good portion of their time looking for a better paying job to help improve their life style, but often this doesn't really improve anything. They may get more money, but they will often end up more unhappy than in their previous job.

Is it possible to enjoy what you do for 'work' while at the same time earning a paycheck that can support your lifestyle? Absolutely, but only if you truly love what you are doing. I have heard this question more than once, and I am happy to say that I truly love being a programmer. People don't get how I can stand staring a screen all day long, avoiding sunlight and often times social interaction. I can do these seemingly terrible things because working with computers is fun for me. As my wife will tell you I spend a good amount of time at home working on my own projects, despite having written code for the majority of the day - I come back for more.

What is the secret to finding the job that will make you the happiest? Answer this question: What would you do every day if you weren't getting paid for it? What would you do for free if someone asked you to? Me, I will write web pages and programs all day long without question. The trick to turning your passion into your career is finding a way to make money from it.

Do you truly enjoy playing World of Warcraft for hours on end? Surely that can't make you money - wrong. Hundreds of people sell their passion for World of Warcraft by offering character building for a fee. Do you like making custom jewelry for yourself? Why not make it for other people and sell your stuff on etsy.com? Like drinking beer - become a professional taster for micro brewers. Like With all the resources available to us online these days, there is absolutely no excuse why anyone should have to work in a career that they don't enjoy.

Why did I talk about this particular topic today? I was reminded of the definition of work from 'The Four Hour Work Week' today: Work is anything that you don't want to be doing. If you want to work on accounts receivable, good for you! Otherwise, work isn't fun and you should take a look at your reasons for doing it. If you aren't enjoying yourself, ask yourself why and then come up with a plan to have more fun.