If I could pick one thing that I love to do and do it for the rest of my life, it would be to cook.

I love to cook!

Something about being able to take a bunch of things and turn them into one thing, while trying to balance out their attributes and contributions in such a way that it allows them to complement each other and create something new, as if they were always supposed to be together to begin with, excites me. I flat out enjoy it. I don't look at cooking as a chore or a bother, but rather an opportunity to create, share and sometimes teach. My mom feels the same way, so it could be hereditary.

Whenever I get the chance to cook for others, I get a bit giddy. For example, I have a dinner party that I throw annually in the fall and I plan it out months in advance. From the planting of the vegetables, in order to make everything from scratch or ensure it is organic, to keeping a cache of homemade chicken stock in the freezer, I make every effort to make the meal an experience. The party lasts a few hours, but the preparations start months in advance. I do this out of love and appreciation and not out of showmanship. Regardless, I am a "pleaser", so it's important that people enjoy the time spent together along with the food and both should be memorable.

Here's the catch, I wouldn't want to do it for a living.

If I was given the opportunity to make the same amount of money or maybe a little more to cook all day, I believe I would pass.  I wouldn't want to make this passion in my life into the thing that provides for my family. I do not want to take something that brings me joy and often balance and turn it into something that I may have to force myself to do in the future. Life gives us so few creative outlets that we truly appreciate, without reservation, and it would be a shame to bastardize these opportunities by turning them into something that becomes the source of our financial livelihood or worse; they become mundane. Many careers or things in our lives have become "have to" and we all need something to keep the creative fires burning and help to maintain balance. Life needs more "love to" moments, don't you agree?

"Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life". -Mark Twain.

Mark Twain said find something you "enjoy" doing; he never suggested that you should create a career around your passion. There's a difference between "enjoy" and "passion" and it's important to not get them confused.  I love what I do for a living, but deep down, I show up every day because the checks don't bounce and they afford me the opportunities that feed my passions. My children, my wife, my family, and making marinara from scratch. I would cook a meal for free, but I don't know if I would offer to do free radio for anyone who requested.

Mark Twain had a passion for piloting riverboats (the origin of his pen name) but he paid the bills with a typewriter. One afforded him opportunities while the other gave him balance, life experience, a platform for storytelling and a pen name.

#Tryharder to not get things twisted. It's wonderful to be able to do a job that you enjoy. A job that challenges you or fills certain needs, because nobody wants to spend eight or more hours a day hating life doing something that has little to no value to them.

I believe your hobby or passion needs to remain an outlet that provides a means of escape. A deviation from the grind of life and a place that allows you to repair and possible create in ways you are not able to with your other obligations. We all need to have that "thing" that is ours. Something where we get to control who gets to experience it with us and when we decide to share it with the world.  Something that isn't forced and is only dictated by your own timeline.

Making your life's passion your career might be attractive to you on the surface, but I believe some things should stay yours and yours alone.

Sometimes the thing that makes you memorable is the thing you least expect or embrace.

A close friend of mine is a working actress in NYC. She's been in a ton of stuff that most of us have never seen and spends her days working on her craft and auditioning for parts. She makes a living in the largest market doing the thing she went to school to become. By career definition and accomplishments, she is an actress. She is very successful, but not a household name. Yet.

She also enjoys Argentine Tango.

I have known this woman for about 20 years and I have never had one conversation with her about Argentine Tango. I am confident that the only conversation she and I have ever had about dancing was back when we went to college together and it was probably me asking her if she wanted to two step or something. That's the kind of dancing you did in west Texas, which is where we both went to college. (I'm pretty sure she said “yes” and then criticized my technique the whole time).

When I texted my friend that I was planning on doing a blog about Argentine Tango, her response was "what do you know about Argentine Tango". My response was "Nothing. That's exactly why I'm writing about it".

Actors have a one sheet, traditionally accompanied with a headshot that says who they are what they have done. Most of us have a similar resume, but we don't have to always submit a picture or have a certain "look" in order to work in the mail room. Where we have to list things like "Microsoft word" or "expert in Power Point", actors get to list things like "able to juggle flaming bowling pins" or in my friend's case, "Trained in Argentine Tango".

More often than you would ever expect, people seem to be drawn to ask questions about this line on her resume. Maybe they are dancers as well or they are curious about the style of dance, but it comes up and works as a great ice breaker for her to create a deeper connection with these directors and agents. Taking lessons for years, at $15 a week, has helped to open many doors of communication and has been a cheaper investment than a masters in acting. It is also something she enjoys and gives balance to her career focused life.

After hearing her talk about her love for Argentine Tango on a podcast, I passively spent the next few days looking at images and reading articles on techniques and the names of positions for the style of dance. I have no intention of taking on this hobby, but my love for my friend made me curious. To have known someone for as long as we've known each other and to never have a conversation about it is a funny thing to me. Maybe we have and I just don't remember? Maybe I am a terrible friend with a terrible memory? Haha.

Then again, there are probably things that I enjoy that she doesn’t know about. You may share a lot with the people in your life, but each and every one of us has a “thing” that we keep private or just don’t share (This is not where I come out and expose my love for gangsta polka music).

Some things in life just need to be private. It's important to have things that you love or enjoy that are just for you and maybe a handful of other people. There is nothing wrong about being passionate about something that nobody else will ever know about. You can Tango by yourself and nobody will ever know (wait, what!?). Then, there are those things that open doors that you never expected. They make you unique or possibly give you leverage and opportunities. They "thicken" your personality.

"So you played Cleopatra for six months...so did the lady that auditioned before you".

What makes you more interesting? What makes you different? What makes you someone I want to carry on a conversation with beyond your initial accomplishments or the list of achievements on a resume? These are all simple questions, but you need to know the answer to them if you are finding it difficult to get the job you want.

Life is speed dating.

You only have a few minutes to be memorable and good looks or the big accomplishments you would post on a resume will only get you so far. You want and need to be "sticky" and memorable. If you are devoting your existence solely on one thing (career) you may find that the lesser "qualified" people are getting the promotion (or in some instances, the date) because they are interesting and can offer experience or depth in areas beyond and not related to the job requirements.

In short, I now know more about my dear friend and perhaps we should all #Tryharder to embrace more things that could potentially give us added depth and at the same time balance in our life. It is never healthy to be boring and one dimensional and the little extra things that we add to our persona can certainly open doors we had no idea existed.