21DJC Day 2 – If You Are To Do Something For Free For the Rest of Your Life, What Would It Be?

This is Day 2 of the 21-Day Journaling Challenge held in Nov 2011. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.

Empty book for journaling

Hi everyone – Welcome to Day 2 of 21DJC! :)

Yesterday’s question was an age-old question – “What would you do if you have one million dollars?” Many of you had interesting responses. Some of you wanted to buy a nice, large house. Some of you wanted to use it to invest and grow more money. Some of you wanted to renovate your current home. Some of you wanted to start up a charity / NGO / organization that supports a humanitarian cause of your choice. Some of you wanted to travel around the world. Some of you wanted to give a portion to your family and friends, to enable them in their goals.

Whatever it is that you wrote, know that they represent inner wishes that you’ve been wanting to fulfill,  but have yet to do so. Yesterday’s question was actually to draw out these innermost desires and bring them to your awareness.

And the interesting thing is, you don’t have to till you have $1 million before you can fulfill these desires.

What do I mean?

Goals represent your inner desires. One way to satisfy these desires is to achieve the actual goals themselves. However, you can only do that when you have $1 million in your arsenal (since it takes time to manifest). By having a goal that has to be deferred (i.e. you can’t work on your $1 million goals yet because you haven’t achieved $1 million), it’ll only disempower you and prevent you from living in the now.

The more empowering way is to (a) distill to those very desires and (b) find ways to realize them this very moment.

Look at what you wrote for yesterday’s $1 million question. Ask yourself – (a) What desires do these goals represent? (b) How can I realize these desires, right away today?

For example, say one of your $1 million goals is to travel around the world. In reality, you may not be able to travel to any country that you want now because of financial reasons.

However, remember that this isn’t the point. If you look at the desire this goal represents, it possibly reflects a desire to break free and take a breather, due to a prolonged period of not resting. The answer to realizing that then, would be to start taking breaks, even short vacations or just having the weekend off (see Habit #2 of 8 Habits of Highly Effective People). It may reflect a desire to be exposed to new cultures and grow from the multitude of experiences, of which you can already start doing now by getting out there to meet people of other backgrounds.

Another example – Say one of your goals is to allocate $X to your parents, as gratitude for bringing you up. You can already realize that now by sharing $Y every month, where $Y is a smaller amount than $X, adjusted to reflect how much you can spare for this purpose. You can be more generous towards them in your daily life. You can treat them to lunch/dinner/vacations, more so than you’re already doing now. Or if money isn’t a commodity at your disposal, you can do other things like prepare meals for them, write a card, spend more time to them, as acts of gratitude.

And so on and so forth the other $1 million goals.

There’s no need to put life on hold till [X event] happens. That’ll be to put off living. Think about how you can make your desires happen now. This is what it means to live in the now.

3 Important Things To Note Before Continuing

#1. Sign Up First Before You Proceed

Here’s a quick shout out – We now have over 570 official participants!! *whistles and claps* :clap: That’s over 140 new participants registered in the past 24 hours!! To all new participants – Welcome on board!! :D

For those who have not signed up yet, it’s not too late – you *can* still sign up now. Simply hop over to the announcement post, complete the 3 steps to sign-up, and you’ll be added to the list in 24 hours:

Please make sure you’re signed up before you proceed. The comments area for each day’s post is designated only for those who have signed up for the challenge.

#2. Post Your Entries in the Right Thread

Some of you have been erroneously posting your journal entries in the wrong thread. For example, posting your replies to the questions for Day 1 and Day 2 in the announcement post, and so on.

Note that the announcement post is only for sign up registration, while Day 1’s post is for posting your Day 1’s journal entries; Day 2’s post is for Day 2’s journal entries, and so on. I’ll be deleting the entries that are posted in the wrong thread from now on, as it makes it confusing for other readers. Please kindly cooperate and follow the instructions for the benefit of the community – thank you!

#3. Get Your Gravatar

You may have noticed some participants have a nice profile picture displayed with their comments. Most of you have the default PE logo (maroon red with white text), because you have not created your gravatar account.

To set your custom profile picture, visit Gravatar, register your account (Important: Make sure it’s the same email as the one you use in your blog comments) and upload your profile picture. Your picture will automatically be reflected in all your blog comments where you had filled out the same email address as the one in your Gravatar account. This is a great way to spruce up the comments section and individualize yourself! :D

Let’s now move on to the question for Day 2 of 21DJC! ;)

21DJC Day 2

Day’s 2 question is one of my personal favorites:

If You Are To Do Something For Free For the Rest of Your Life, What Would It Be?

Man with arms outstretched

Would you sleep and do nothing? Would you pursue a certain passion? What would that passion be? Would you be pursuing a particular craft? What would that be? Would you be traveling around the world? Would you be blogging? What about? Would you want to pursue a humanitarian cause? What would it be? Would you be writing? What about?

Update: Some readers seem to have some confusion over how to interpret the question. Is the question supposed to mean what you would willingly do without receiving money for? Or is it suppose to mean what you would want to do because it does not cost anything?

My answer? The former. If I were to rephrase the question: “What would you want to do for the rest of your life if you are never paid for this work?” In other words, your life passion. Your life purpose. Hope that helps!

Your Task Today:

  1. Reflect and answer today’s question. There’s no word limit – whether minimum or maximum. Write as few or as many words as you want. It’s all up to what you want to express!
  2. Share your answer. After you are done writing, copy and paste your answer in the comments area and post it there.
  3. Check out other participants’ answers. Other participants will be sharing their answers too, so feel free to read and reply to their answers. This is a group course, so let’s support each other in these 21 days.
Look forward to reading your answers! :D

((Images: Empty book for journaling, Man with arms outstretched))

373 comments
  1. I would become a travel writer/documentary producer (the kind u see on the Travel Channel where the host visits various countries and experiences the place). I love to writer (I’m a journalist by profession), and I love to travel. What better way to do both!

  2. If i would Do Something For Free For the Rest of my Life, i ll surly start up a TH [Trust House]organisation for orphan childrens and who really need help for their life.. this really gives me satisfaction of leading my life.-swathy

  3. I don’t know. That is a really hard question for me to answer. I enjoy doing a lot of things, but pinpointing one is really difficult for me to decide.
    One of my values in life is individual health. I tell others that, “People treat their bodies like shit, and expect their bodies to take it like a little bitch.” When I am 90 years old, I don’t want to be stooped over, and unable to move around, deaf, blind, ignored. My partner tells me that martial artists in China are vibrant throughout life, and pass away quickly when it comes time. In America, people don’t take care of their health when they are young, and in old age are stubborn when it’s obvious they cannot live properly without someone tending to all of their needs.
    I think it is weird that people run around taking care of everyone else except themselves. They say people are important but they forget that they themselves are the important person that other people are trying to ‘save’. For example, I doubt most doctors are the ideal picture of health – healthy diet, great sleep habits, lots of well-rounded exercising. So they ignore themselves, and go out there to save people and teach people how to be healthy, when in reality, those patients don’t make health their top priority either. Start from within and then let the good effects ripple out. Focus on one’s own health, then one’s family’s health, and then outward.
    So I guess after writing this out, I realize if I absolutely had to choose something that was really, really important to me if I were to look back and look forward to in my life, it would be something related to my values of self-health.
    I could see myself doing yoga every day for the rest of my life. Other ideas are martial arts like tai chi, qi gong. Perhaps dancing (I love flamenco!)

  4. I had to choose only one thing that I was passionate about and would love doing the rest of my life, it would be painting. Its something I will never tire of. The feeling itself when I’m holding a brush loaded with paint with a canvas infront of me is incredible, the process of bringing an artwork to life makes my heart pick up pace and the excitement takes hold.

    My life plays back to me in sketches and paintings, every thing I see inspires me to paint and to create. I am always creating, it is in my blood, its part of my soul…its me! so that is what I will do for the rest of my life. :heart: :mrgreen:

  5. acting in a theatre and painting

  6. Pursue organic gardening. I have two jobs with a paycheck, and in my off hours, I like training dogs and experimenting with organic gardening, raising fruits and vegetables. I would love to pass that knowledge and skill to other people, especially low-income people, who may have health and diet deficiences due to lack of proper nutrition. The initial start-up is expensive (good quality ingredients are a must) but the rewards are mental, spiritual and healthful.

  7. If I have one thing that, I would do for the rest of my life, freeee, it would be modeling. I’ve always wanted to be a model. But what I am struggling with now, is the fact that I am 27, and I haven’t even started on this dream yet, cause there was alot of things, that were standing in my way. But when I came here I kinda got inspired, and welling to reach what I havent reached till now. This is the onley thing I have passion for in my life. Thanks

  8. I :heart: to do educating people who r less fortune then us, helping people to improve their life, n learn more to serve more for humanity to make better this world. :D

  9. That would be crafting! Sewing, knitting – various crafts.

    I love making things with my hands. I love designing customized and practical items. I love creating things.

    Choices of crafts may change over time, but it would still be crafting.

  10. Sailor Girl 14 years ago

    If I were to do something for free for the rest of my life, what would it be? This was a difficult question for me to answer. Perhaps I took it too serious, or am just not in tune with myself, I’m not clear!

    After lots of introspection, I realize that I feel best when I am able to share & help people. Feeling that in some small way I have made a difference in someone’s life, if even for just today. I carry gratitude close in my heart & believe that this all ties in together.

    So, If I were to do something for free, that’s what it would be it! Helping people to appreciate , & encouraging people, to be “their” own, whatever that may be. This website comes to mind! It is a selfless site, yet so informative, enriching & valuable!

    Thank you for putting your time, energy & efforts into this Celeste!

  11. Evvie Sands 14 years ago

    I’ve read a lot of comments before writing my own, simply because I wanted to see how others interpret the question.
    I’m not sure everybody got it right, but my interpretation is something along the lines of:
    “Provided you don’t need to work to support yourself, what type of voluntary tasks would you be involved in, if any?”

    In that case, here goes mine:

    If I had enough money to support myself and my family and didn’t need to work for money I wouldn’t stay put and do nothing. I suppose I’d do something artsy and stuff, but mainly, I’d keep on working.
    I love my job, I teach English as a Second Language, and it has been very rewarding so far.
    I’d teach (maybe not just English) for free, either at a women’s prision, or at NGOs devoted to working with women in vulnerable situations. Many of those women who live a much more difficult situation than my own, often living with a meager income and usually uneducated.
    I strongly believe that educating yourself not only helps in getting a better-paid job, but alse improves self-esteem and, above all, is a key to defend your rights.
    And, of course, no education is good without an education in values, too.

    That’s what I’d do, and in fact, plan to do in the near future as soon as I can have a financilly stable situation.

  12. This is a difficult question for me to answer, because I’m not sure that I know what my passion in life is. I’m not sure what one thing I would want to or be able to do for the rest of my life for free. I actually think that there might not be one thing that I could possibly do for the rest of my life for free (as in, I would be getting no money for it), because I don’t have the ability to remain interested in one passion for the rest of my life.

    I do get bored somewhat easily. It’s not that I can’t work hard for sustained periods of time– if I have a goal laid out for myself, I will work as hard as possible to get to it, and can be quite single-minded and focused. That being said, I’ve come to realize that what keeps me focused is often the goal as an entity unto itself, rather than whatever the goal represents.

    I believe this says good things and bad things about me. I think the good thing is that I’m a very hard worker, and that I believe in setting goals and then working toward them, rather than just drifting. On the other hand, I’m still on the journey toward figuring out which goals are truly ones that I’m passionate about, and that will make my life more fulfilling and whole once attained, versus those goals which I want to reach for superficial reasons, or for reasons about which I’m not truly passionate myself.

  13. The first thing that comes to my mind was, “Do something for free? You must be kidding?”
    It appears to me that there always is some form of consideration or motivation behind each act… something we look for in return.

    If I have to do something for free for the rest of my life, it would be to do some simple designing, art and crafts, some interior designing. I like to come up with pretty, beautiful functional things…

  14. I would do what I am already doing for free and that is providing a community service that gives people the choice of bettering their lives.

  15. Hi Dear All,

    I am answering questions a little slower but better late than never. ;-)

    I think when you follow your passion and joy, money comes naturally. This might be a naïve point of view but I do believe it strongly. Every successful person needs thousands hours of practice to master a skill or a craft. Without a pleasure that this action gives them, they would be unable to become the best in their fields. So I think that you need to love your job more than money that comes from it to really grow both professionally and financially.

    My favorite activities are:
    Dancing and sports, especially jogging
    Learning foreign languages;
    Meeting people from around the world;
    Travelling;
    Reading books about human nature, self-development, positive psychology, social issues;
    Writing articles for as to share my joy of life and belief in our strength as human beings;

    I think when the “flow state” (you experience it when performing an action that gives you pleasure, when you lose all notion of time and you are fully absorbed by what you are doing, totally immersed in the present moment) meets our life mission and has some sense, we are truly happy and fulfilled.

    I would like to have a job that will enable me to work “with” and “for” people, in an international, stimulating environment, deal with psychological and sociological issues, which will have both theoretical and practical aspects…

    For example, I would be very happy to work as a consultant for business. I would love to help people become more conscious, more respectful of one another, help them to resolve conflicts in a more effective way, communicate with honesty and respect. My mission would be to create safe, positive and stimulating professional environments when sense and values meet profit, professional goals meet personal, self-development goals, when both individuals and companies grow, where people are respected, where they do a good job that contributes not only to their individual well-being but foremost makes a positive difference in society. It might seem quite surrealistic but I do think that conscious capitalism is possible. I would like to make lots of money in an “ecological” way and let this financial strong energy circulate freely.

    What do you think: a conscious capitalism is a total fantasy or it CAN become our reality? Thanks for your feedback.

    I hope that you are already doing lots of what you truly love on a daily basis and that money will follow quicker than you think! ;)

    Celes, thank you for all your questions. The idea of virtual challenges is just brilliant!

    Love,
    P.

  16. I love learning and I’ll be happy to learn all the time. So I want to continue learning and write what I learn to let people learn somthing from it.

  17. If I were to do something for free for the rest of my life than that would be to learn more and to help other people be their best. I realized that I love learning new things, meeting new people and trying out new things and hence trying to make the best of every opportunity and ensure the people around me do their best. If I were to do something for free for the rest of my life then that would be to be a counsellor to ensure that people live in a peaceful environment and do their best in all their endeavours.

  18. If i were to do something for the rest of my life, i would becoming a traveling teacher. It would combine my two truest wishes, that of traveling without a schedule and that of spreading knowledge and light. I believe that knowledge, technical, social and spiritual goes a long way in healing the society and mending this broken world. I would do “slow travel” from one city to the next, one village to the next, one continent to the next…learning and dispensing knowledge in all areas. I would learn from them, fully aware that i do not know, and will not know everything ever. It would be a knowledge quest filled with humility. At the same time, i will tell them about what others are doing and handling similar issues in life. For example, i could be in Latin America learning about their customs and traditions and seeing how they handle issues like irrigation and water supply and irrigation. At the same time, i could tell them how their counterparts are doing so in Africa or Asia or something.
    I would live off the ground. No fancy stuff for me.
    Along with sharing info, i would focus on developing relationships. I believe that is the most important aspect of life. To foster relationships, and make one’s self open to them. That is my biggest challange in life currently (i think) and therefore i would strive to do that. I’d make tons of real friends, and maintain the relationship with them in the most sincere of manner.
    I would also transfer the idea of leadership, how different leadership techniques are practiced in diff parts of the world, but how in the end it all comes down to character and intentions across the world.
    This travel would focus on world peace. When people realize that others…living accros the world face the same issues, same pains and are so similar to them, they might start loving instead of this continuous war mongering.
    In short, i would travel across the world and spread love!

  19. Gurtej SIngh Aulakh 14 years ago

    I will put all my efforts to eradicate illiteracy, poverty and corruption tfrom the social life to make this earth a HEAVEN for Mankind.

  20. Gurtej SIngh Aulakh 14 years ago

    I will put all my efforts to eradicate corruption, poverty and illiteracy to make our earth a HEAVEN for all.

  21. This has always been a challenging question for me. My husband asked me this years ago, and I still can’t come up with anything. The only thing that I can really think of that was so much fun for me was traveling. I love traveling by plane to different places being above the clouds. Especially traveling by plane in the morning!! To me, it’s the best time to travel!!! It’s absolutely beautiful.

  22. if I were to do something for free for the rest of my l5fe it would be teaching and helping people improve their lives

  23. I would love to be story teller and be instrumental in developing reading habits in children. I would like to start up a Library with my own collection books for the neighborhood children. I would also like to conduct storytelling and reading sessions once a week for them. From there I would like to expand my horizon to reading books and provide my review and recommendations to other reviewers. Eventually would like to be able to write books for children.

  24. Arun Sivaramakrishnan 14 years ago

    Engage in forums for better development and progress of the society.

    Help the under privileged with a hands on experience.

    Engage with more and more people in some meaningful way, in the real and virtual world, on forums such as a blog, social networking, organisations, to bring about desired changes.

    Create cultural platforms for meaningful exchange of ideas and values for better understanding of diverse people.

    Help people gain clarity and be much more conscious in their daily lives.

  25. Oh yes!!! There are so many things I would love to do…Well to start with I would do all the things on my bucket list…adventure sports…scuba diving, jet ski, horse racing, all the sports u name it…and id have done it!

    Would pursue all my passions…Cooking and BAKING…making lovely cupcakes…which are not just lovely but magnificent…splendid…baking cakes…ooo…lovely Hot choco fudge cakes…freshly baked breads with oregano and herbs…yummmm!

    Horse riding…I would love to formally learn horse back riding and winning a tournament in it…you know I often picture myself winning a race sitting on a horses back…the entire crowd cheering for me…and I gloriously and victoriously cross the red line…haaaaaaah whata feeling that would be…!

    Travelling…that’s one things everyone wants to do…so do I…I love travelling and exploring places…but the way I like it would differ from some of the people…I would like to travel with like minded people who are chilled out and yet like planning out things before acting out upon them like for instance someone like Celestine!!! :)

    And then would sip wines, visit exotic places, dress up and all that…
    Would buy lots of gifts for everyone I know…eradicate world hunger by free circulation of food and fruits…and products…

    Thats it for now I guess ;)

    • KnottyNancy 14 years ago

      Sounds like an awesome life! I would love to taste all those wonderful cakes you would bake.

  26. KnottyNancy 14 years ago

    I would move to China and spend my life trying to understand the birth culture of my children. I would love to immerse myself in learning the language, in traveling around the country and experiencing the food, the sights, the sounds. I would like to learn how to cook authentic Chinese food in all the different regions. I would love to sit in tea houses and watch the people. I would like to study Tai Chi and Kung Fu from masters. I would love to sit in a temple on a mountain and absorb the history, the peace, the surroundings. I don’t want to live in the cities, I want to work in the fields along side the farmers. I want to learn how to grow rice the way they do. I want to learn how to choose herbs and fruit and vegetables the way the elders do. I know part of it is wanting more of a simple life which our western society does not encourage. I know part of it is wanting to get away from the emotional demands of my life. But the larger part is wanderlust, is my thirst for knowledge, it is my natural curiosity.

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