Do you have a lot of competing ideas about what you’d really like to do for work? Sometimes you might find the right opportunity to integrate all of your core passions and skills like Jennifer Idol did into one purpose.
She managed to combine her diverse passions of photography, scuba diving and design into one business idea, The Under Water Designer.
She travels all over the country channeling her one purpose to show people the amazing life that exists in their local waterways through her stunning photographs.
This is another fantastic story from my podcast archives. Since I spoke to Jennifer a couple of years ago, she has left her job and has been working on her business full time for the past 18 months!
She has also become the first woman to scuba dive in all 50 states and published a book about her adventures called, An American Immersion.
There are lots of great lessons that come our of our conversation including:
- Importance of building the right community for developing her dive skills.
- Why flying over the fires of the Deep Water Horizon oil spill was a turning point in her life.
- How she managed her energy to be able to work full time and work full time on her side business.
Life Skills That Matter In This Episode
- Self-directed learning.
- Energy management.
- Building community.
- Self-awareness.
- Find your one purpose.
How Jennifer Works and Thinks
- Ideal work environment: Exploring new bodies of water.
- Self-reflection practice: Helping people appreciate their local bodies of water.
- Regains focus by: Working with others doing what she wants to do.
Inspirational Quotes
“I’d always been an artist from the get-go.”
“Very early on I learned that our planned hopes and dreams might not be what they end up being.”
“Pretty much any type of diving you can think of, I’ve done.”
“If you’re worried about the cleanliness of your (drinking) water, we should really take care of it.”
“When I first started out, I was very rigid and planned. . . I’m more open now to accepting opportunities.”
“It’s very scary to let go.”
“It’s important to not just do your project, but to share your project with people.”
“It’s nice to have an area of focus. You can’t be an expert on everything.”
“If you feel bad in your body, that translates into how you work.”
Coaching Advice
If you think you have a crazy idea for a business or a big life goal you never think could come to fruition, Jennifer offers this advice:
1) Do what you love. If you don’t know what you passion is, make a list of everything you enjoy.
2) After you’ve made you list, break it down into actions you can take in your daily life to begin living your dreams.