Money is a very important area of life, especially when you bring in the only income as a single mom; however, I decided that I needed to feel successful in all the areas of my life, and go from BLAH to BOLD, living a passionate, joyful, fulfilling life.

As you may have guessed, it was a painfully long process and it required requires tremendous effort, courage, and tenacity. After all the heartaches, failures, and mistakes, I learned many lessons and identified five steps required to live with passion, purpose, and intention.

1. Discover Your Passions. I am a very passionate person, and I thought I knew exactly what my passions were. The truth is, many of our passions are dormant because of fear, negative self-talk, or doubt. Other things that we call passions are simply activities we are skilled at, interests, or hobbies. While I don’t believe we need to stick to just one passion, I do think that not everything we enjoy doing is one of our passions. Your passions are meaningful because they are clues to your purpose.

2. Live Your Passions. When we know something is part of our life blueprint, we must become more proactive and intentional in making it happen in the now . . . not someday. When I took The Passion Test, I found out that “enjoying a loving and satisfying relationship with my eternal companion” is my #3 passion. I made a conscious choice to let go of the denial that hid the fear of being in a relationship again (and the rest is history!) and to be open and willing to take the steps that felt right toward what my soul needs. Living our passions means being committed to align everything we do with our deepest desires.

3. Balance Your Passions. Even when we choose our top five passions, there are so many life demands and daily distractions that it can become really difficult to stay balanced. My definition of balance is that “it’s not about having it all, it’s about enjoying all that matters.” With that in mind, we must forsake perfectionism and rather be in constant check to make sure we set boundaries and say no more often so we don’t get too off track and stay on the path that leads to our ultimate happiness. Your ability to be a master of your time, energy, and resources will determine your ability influence those you love.

4. Monetize Your Passions. Many of us learn disempowering beliefs about money growing up, and it may take a breakthrough to realize that money is a blessing that contributes to a passionate life! Being able to turn your passions into your paycheck and amassing wealth are requirement to living passionately because your God-given gift is intimately linked to your passions and it is meant to give to you abundantly. Your income will be the foundation for your impact.

5. Radiate Your Passions. I believe we were born to shine our light so bright that we inspire others to do the same. Whether the impact you want to make is inspiration, monetary aid, or the gift of your time, you cannot give what you don’t have. And when you have little, you give little–and when you give more than you can comfortably give, you can become resentful.  Radiating your passions is about giving back, and though I am convinced that we can pay it forward from where we are and from what we have, I included it as the last step because as you grow in awareness and abundance, you can make a bigger difference in the lives of others.

Are you ready to start living a life filled with passion?

If you’re struggling in the passion department, take a look at these five steps and spend time in prayer, meditation, and journaling. Start taking simple actions that show commitment to living happy, fulfilled, and satisfied in life. When God sees what you are working on, He will see what you are waiting on!

Start identifying your passions, decide the life you want to live and do what you love every single day, choose to align with your purpose, and declare the way you want to change the world in a positive way. Let God bless your path toward unlocking your divine destiny.

What are some of YOUR passions?

A former desolate, homeless, penniless single mom, Elayna Fernandez is a bestselling author, international keynote speaker, and award-winning success guide, often featured on mainstream media sharing her expertise on how to develop a Millionaire Mom Mindset, BE Positive, and Discover, Live, Balance, Monetize, and Radiate your Passions, in order to create JOY, BALANCE and SUCCESS on your own terms without mommy guilt, struggle, or overwhelm. Her 7p Guerrilla Positioning System™ (GPS) teaches how to turn your passion into your paycheck and elevate your Impact, Income, and Influence.