Nick James

Ideally you should make money out of your dream, but the purpose of life on earth is for you to be happy. Money becomes less important if you are doing something that you truly love. Yes it's true, happiness is far more important than money and money cannot buy happiness. I am not discrediting money, I LOVE IT, but your happiness should be your number one priority. And the very best result is to be engaged in something you love doing, which also makes you a stack of loot!

Also your dream does not have to be meaningful to anybody but you. That is, if renovating a rundown windmill is what makes you blissfully happy and leaves you feeling that you have 'come home' then that is the only thing that matters. So long as you are happy doing it then nothing else comes into the equation. Don't let other people set the standards for your dream.

I think that it's important to love your work, otherwise it is very hard to make money from it; certainly this is true long-term. You have to enjoy the journey - getting rich is not about slaving over something you despise in order to make a million pounds after ten years. No amount of money can make up for doing something you hate. Plus you will lack enthusiasm and passion in your work and these are the keys to success, without these you are doomed to failure.

Do you know what your dream is? If you do then congratulations, you are very fortunate and you should go after it with all your heart. Most people have no idea what it is that they really want to do in life. Much as I would love to give you all the crucial advice that you need so that you can live a life that you love, I do not have the space here. I would need a book. And I have just the book to recommend that you rush out, buy and read right now. Yes, the key here is to read the book; as its powers only work when you read it, sticking it on the shelf will only serve to annoy you - it's another thing you have to get around to doing.

The book is called: I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was (How To Discover What You Really Want and How To Get It) by Barbara Sher. The ISBN Number is 0-440-50500-3 and is priced at approximately £10, which is only the price of a few beers. This is one brilliant book and its insights will amaze you, and what she tells you to do works. She has also written a book called Wishcraft that I recommend you get as well. All Barbara Sher books are worth reading.

If you're thinking that this is going to be another book that promises the earth and doesn't deliver, then think again. The book is interesting to read, the author knows what she's talking about and the exercises are fun, take only a few minutes and more importantly, bring results.

If you're struggling to find your purpose then don't allow yourself to waste another moment of your precious, irreplaceable life. Life really is too short to spend a single second of it doing something that you hate (if you happen to hate reading, the above book is the one exception!). Congratulations, you are on the first step to a happier and more fulfilling life.