Should you follow your passion when choosing a career path?

When transitioning from school into the world of work and employment, the question often arises: what direction should I take? I talk to many parents who are unsure how to help their children.

We have interviewed over 200 disabled families and the work world came up often. This is why we created the following playlist [open the top left button to access the list of interviews]:

Sharon’s son wanted a job… so he got the local newspaper to publish a story about him and got… 3 offers! Helen’s son was passionate about training his dog, and after seeing his contribution, the training club overcame its strict rules and created a new rule to accommodate his disability. 

What many of these stories have in common is that when people followed their passion (disabled or not), some magic happens: they become great at what they do, new possibilities open, new ideas evolve, new opportunities are crafted. It is even interesting that some entrepreneurs decide to start their own business to follow their passion. This turn of event is interesting because some people actually do not carry on in the world of self-employment, by choice. This is because sometimes starting their own business actually helps them in other ways. Following her passion simply help them start their working life, build confidence, be seen and this sometimes lead to a job offer... as it has for Kylee!

Our recent work described the active ingredients at work in successful integration of disabled workers in the workplace. Mainstream workplace options are rarely available options to people with communication or social disabilities. This is our signal to provide this group with opportunities to become productive world in a way that allows them to contribute whilst showcasing their talent.

The shortcut to this playlist is: http://tinyurl.com/microbusiness-mentor