2008 January 23 | Virtually Yours Personal Assistants

Jan 23

Posted by vypa at 4:34 pm in Inspiration

Warren Brown is the owner of CakeLove, a bakery with locations in the DC metro area that specializes in creating scratch cakes and pastries. A few years ago, a friend and fellow dessert lover sent me a link to his website and I was instantly smitten. Not so much by the cakes (though within weeks I found myself at the bakery buying far more than I planned to) but by his story.

Warren Brown was a lawyer who found his passion in baking cakes. What I love about his story is that he did what so many people are afraid to do - leave behind a “good job” to pursue his passion. It didn’t matter to him that others would think he was crazy, that he had spent years studying for his degree, or that his future was uncertain. By stepping out on faith he was able to open a successful bakery with 4+ locations, launch a TV show on the Food Network, and gain a loyal following of CakeLovers (I am one of many!!). Here are a few words from Warren Brown on pursuing your passion:

Perhaps you have to be somewhat, well, narcissistic to really indulge your passions. Being passionate is about recognizing what makes you happy, focusing on and learning about it, and, ultimately, doing it in the name of your own satisfaction and pleasure. It’s not self-centered to lead your life in a direction that satisfies you. It’s necessary to feel at peace.

Prioritizing your passion means that you carve out room in your life to explore and understand it. Once you understand yourself and what you care about, you’ll be in closer touch with your life and the others around you. For a while others may see you as aloof, but once you arrive at being in touch with your heart and soul, others will find inspiration in you to do the same.

How did it work for me? I explored my interests, developed them, listened to feedback and kept going. Now my career is my former side interest and I love my job. Sure there is pressure, and the hours are very long, but it’s manageable. I’m expected to create new recipes, share new tastes and flavors, and interact with people - I love that! Once I gave priority to what makes me happy, my life very naturally evolved into CakeLove.