Catalysta.org - Do What You Love - Interview with Beth Kempton

Doing What You Love

Lana Kitcher
Image by Lindsay Kreighbaum
Originally published on September 15, 2013
http://www.catalysta.org/paths/Doing-What-You-Love

Beth Kempton is the founder of DoWhatYouLoveForLife.com, an online outlet for e-courses,

inspiration, and a community for like-minded people who want to change the world by doing what they love and sharing their passion. With a recent website overhaul, numerous new courses, and an ever-growing team, Catalysta had an opportunity to ask Beth how she does it and to tell us about the origins of her business. Are you ready to "choose your path to change the world?"

Describe your job and responsibilities.

I run Do What You Love, a company founded to give people the tools, inspiration, and confidence to make major changes in their lives and do what they love. For some people this means support to start a new business or reinvigorate an existing one, for others it means a career change. And for some people it simply means support in getting a better balance in their life, with more time for things that make them happy.

How did you get to where you are?

Via a long and winding road through the worlds of major sports events, international development, and time in the Far East. The one thing that ties my unusual career path together is constant quest for adventure, new knowledge, and a desire to help others fulfill their potential.

What do you like about your work?

I love how the courses we have created are actually changing lives. I have met (and received hundreds of emails from) former class participants who are on a whole new trajectory because of what they learned, or due to what they discovered about themselves, during one of our courses. I love it that we are helping women be more financially self-reliant, to see that they have choices, and to become greater role models for those in their lives. I also love the way our global community interacts across countries and time zones, so our members find support and friendship in all corners of the earth.

How did you get started with the website?

In the very beginning Do What You Love started as a blog, with a few pages to advertise our inaugural retreat and flagship course. But then as we grew quickly and added more courses, I felt that the branding was a mess and the messaging confused. Internally we were very clear about how we wanted to support people, but our website did not work in a way which communicated this. A huge amount of valuable content was buried within its pages. I also wanted to find a way to offer a lot more free resources alongside our paid courses. So we decided to rebrand, and design the website in a way which starts with asking people what they need, and then helping them navigate through to find the tools and inspiration right for them.

How does your work relate to the community?

Our ‘community’ is an international one based online. Through the various courses we offer we provide practical tools and guidance to help individuals establish new businesses, or finding new paths for themselves, which allow them to make a greater contribution to society by way of utilizing their skills and talents to do what they love. Through our courses they also establish bonds of friendship and professional support.

How would you improve your contribution to the community?

Each of our classes has its own private community area, which stays buzzing with activity long after classes have ended. We have realized that there is definitely a role for an amalgamated online community of people doing what they love, and we are looking into technological solutions to allow us to provide that space for connection and support.

Our first free resource Zen and the Art of Doing What You Love was downloaded hundreds of times in the first couple of days alone. We will be following it up with a series of additional resources in the coming months.

What is the most satisfying thing about your job and mission?

Seeing people’s sphere of possibility expand exponentially the moment they realize they get to choose how they live their life.

What can you teach to individuals trying to figure out how to get to where you are today?

I’m still on a learning path, but here are some things I have picked up along the way. Get clear on how you want to feel in your life, and make decisions that will help you feel that way. Be committed to your own happiness, and choose to listen to yourself over others sometimes. And very importantly, be prepared to be a beginner. It’s OK not to know everything about something new when you started out, but there is no excuse not to learn! We live in a world where access to information is everywhere, and anyone can learn anything they want to if they commit the time, energy and resources to it – and if it is that important to you, why wouldn’t you?

Do you have any advice or words of inspiration?

Do what you love. It’s better for everyone.

dowhatyouloveforlife.com
Do What You Love Blog
Zen and the Art of Doing What You Love