Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Tag: dan miller

  • Passionate People: Dan and Joanne Miller

    Do you dread Mondays? Are you dragging yourself out of bed to go to work?


    You’re not alone. Dan Miller from 48days.com shared a startling statistic: 84% of American Workers say they would like to change jobs in the coming year.

    Either we have a lot of upwardly mobile people or there’s just a lot of people unhappy or dissatisfied with their jobs.

    That was me a couple of years ago.

    I was fortunate. I met Dan Miller and his wife, Joanne in 2011. At the time, I was deep into reading two of Dan’s books, No More Dreaded Mondays and 48 Days to the Work You Love.  I had a job I loved, but I was losing my passion for it day by day.  I was deep into Dan’s books while on a train heading to a speaking gig. I came across this paragraph:

    As Frederick Buechner said, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Ask yourself: What is the world hungering for right now? How can I use my unique skills and talents to satisfy that hunger? Don’t rest until you find that answer.

    I started filling up spiral bound notebooks with ideas, thoughts, desires, and more. By the end of the train ride back home, I wrote my first book, and have continued to use that paragraph above to bring clarity to my daily life.

    dan miller quote

    I took Dan’s Coaching with Excellence Workshop (highly recommended if you want to add coaching to your services or become a coach or his Innovate workshop if you are a creative) and it was there that I met Dan and Joanne for the first time.

    the millers with karen putz

    Dan is known for his 48 Days podcast, community, and coaching services. He specializes in helping people discover and understand their natural skills and abilities and turn those into profit. His newsletter goes out to over 130,000 people and his podcast is among the top five for careers.

    When it comes to living with passion, Dan and Joanne are a beautiful example of what it means to enjoy life and live it fully. They have instilled those lessons in their children and grandchildren.

    Joanne’s passion is art, and she did not unwrap that passion until long after she was done raising her children. Today, she hosts a weekly art class at The Sanctuary near Nashville and she’s the author of several books, including Creating a Haven of Peace When You’re Feeling Down, Finances are Flat, and Tempers are Rising. She inspires other women in midlife to learn new things and dig in deep to discover their own gifts.

    karen and dan miller

    I always recommend Dan’s events–I am still connected with people that I met at my first event there. Each event is limited to no more than 50 people, so it’s a wonderful chance to get to know others and build relationships. Plus, you get to learn from just about the whole Miller family as well! Check out Dan’s resources and events here:

    48 Days

    Find out what Dan Miller has to say about passion in my upcoming book, Unwrapping Your Passion.

     

  • How Do You Do All That You Do?

    Lately, my bio reads like a gal off in too many directions. One week, I’m in Vancouver doing a presentation for Hands & Voices. Then I’m off in another direction doing a workshop for parents of deaf and hard of hearing kids or “Beyond the Limits” for deaf and hard of hearing students.  Yet another week, I’ll be at the World Barefoot Center (Thanks to my sponsors, ZVRS, Phonak and Tommie Copper) learning how to get up backwards behind the boat or working as a Blog Manager for the site.

    Then there’s BookHands discussions every six weeks, Mentoring with families. I’m a Manager with SendOutCards so I share that resource everywhere I go. I’m a Passion Coach and a Certified Passion Test Facilitator–I help people unwrap their top five passions. I’m an author of three books with several more on the way. When I have a free day, I substitute teach.  I’m also a mom of three teens and a wife.

    Someone recently asked me, “How the heck do you do all that?”

    The answer is pretty simple: when you do what you love to do, you can do so much more in a day. You let the insignificant stuff fall to the wayside because you’re deeply immersed in your passion.

    My friend, Sutton Parks, whom I met at Dan Miller’s Coaching with Excellence (affiliate link to some great stuff!) workshop recently posted a great quote by Kix Brooks on Facebook which pretty much sums it up perfectly:

    “I am definitely working more now,” he says, “but the word ‘work’ is the confusing part of that. People ask me all the time how do you fit all this stuff in, how do you schedule it? The secret is everything I’m doing is something that I really want to do. It’s just like if you go to the beach for the weekend, you’re gonna fit it all in. I want to go here, I want to go to my favorite place to eat, I want to ride go-karts, I want to rent wave runners, and I’m gonna sit here and put my legs up and read a book. You get all that stuff in because you want to. That’s how my life is. It’s like I’m running from place to place and I can’t wait to get to the next one because when I show up, I — for the most part — kind of know what I’m doing. [laughs] It’s all interesting and fun to me, and I just can’t wait to do it all.”

    I probably will narrow all of this down at some point, but right now, I have a lot of overlap. For example, I write when I’m on the plane, I network for SendOutCards/my books/future gigs when I travel, and I’m home the rest of the time hanging with the family.

    How can you do more of what you love in your life? First and foremost, you have to identify what it is you enjoy doing most. What brings you joy? Set your intention–what do you want to intend in your life today/tomorrow/this year? With every action, you are either moving closer to your passion or further away. Choose wisely.