I missed the boat last week but I got to visit Marian and learn her version of “do what you love.”
I’ve been paddling with Marian for over a year, but as it goes, we hop into the boat, paddle, then go our own ways. We both missed the boat last week, and she invited me over to her wood shop for a life-inspiring visit. She made a major career change a few years ago and now loves to talk about the process she went through and her belief that you too can do what you love!
She is busy this week making several hundred koa wood trophies for the Na Wahine O Ke Kai canoe race this Sunday. She says making the trophies (plaques, platters, and boxes) can get repetitious but they pay the bills and allow her time to build furniture and other specialty items. I find Marian a lovely combination of very practical yet also inspired wisdom and certainly one who walks her talk when it comes to living your dreams!
You heard her mention koa wood a lot. Koa is special to us here in Hawai’i. It is a native tree, represents bravery and courage, and is used for canoes, ukuleles, and furniture.
Marian mentioned the DIY Network as one of the ways she learns new things.
Hawaiian words
LÄÊ»au: wood
Loli: change
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Sweet Story. it is beautiful see how passionate she is about manifesting her gifts.
Rox, the iTunes listing has this show listed as #208.
Bummer for our subscribers. I missed the code update. I will ask Secret Cameraman how best to fix this when he comes out of the coding cave. 🙁
thanks Rox and SCM – I tried again and got the right episode. This morning, #209 was video 208… Great interview. Thank you Marian for sharing your inspiring story!
I love you Momma! You have always given the best advice. At the age of 26…I ask myself…what if I did what I loved? Thank you for giving me the freedom to choose…without expectations!
Hi Rox,
I found your site through a link on the Podcast Peer Awards. It was great to find your show as my wife grew up in Hawaii, (Waianae, Oahu). I’m looking forward to sharing your videos with her and also passing the link on to my mother-in-law who is playing ukulele again after being away from the islands for thirty years.
Great shows Rox , the production is tight and the sheer volume of episodes is a-maz-ing! – Bruce
– –
Bruce Murray
Host of the Zedcast
[email protected]
http://www.zedcast.com
Hello Rox:
I love to hear stories about people that do what they love. I always try to inspire people to do the same as me because I work in computers but I love what I do. My dad’s motto was “If you do what you love you’ll never work a day in your life.”
My one problem came up in a conversation with my wife. If everyone did what they loved then some jobs that are necessary but undesireable would be left empty. What are your thought?
As an aside, I did like your friend and built a garage full of saws and woodworking equipment because I watch DIY TV and learned to enjoy it too.
Necessary but undesirable jobs? I have wondered about that myself. I tend to believe though that if we (a) removed the hierarchical judgments about good and bad jobs and (b) had functional managers, that virtually all jobs would find people who are curious about doing them. Just like one’s persons trash is another person’s treasure, so it could be true with jobs.
I don’t believe there are jobs that out there that are totally undersirable. Say someone with a disability that has a hard time finding employment, this person would be so grateful to feel useful and productive. If one takes pride in cleaning a restroom for instance, there is satisfaction there. It’s an internal process, how you look at the job. I have a friend who drives a garbage truck and loves his job, because he is done working about lunchtime everyday and then gets to surf every afternoon. Working in a women’s prison is a chance to love women and teach them a different way of life when they are released or how to better themseleves while locked up to better prepare themsleves for release. If it is a lifetime sentence, they can still learn to garden, learn a new language, and take in the new detainees under their wings. Possibilities are endless.
I found another woodworker’s new video blog:
The Wood Whisperer.