Far from his current career as a full-time content creator and mindset coach, Alec Cuenca is a frustrated engineer like me. These seemingly different paths took Alec on a rollercoaster ride of depressions and successes, which defined who he is today. What does it take to find your passion and pursue it no matter what?
His Story
I took engineering because of this one advertisement my mom saw. I didn’t have a backup plan, so I said yes. I was passing my major subjects, but I was failing Math. I started to get insecure and thought that maybe Math wasn’t my strong suit.
In college, Alec continued to pursue engineering. Even though he was failing as a student, he held on because of his long-term relationship. Life had a silver lining, but it also got in the way at the most inconvenient time. When Alec was about to graduate, his girlfriend broke up with him. His first heartbreak caused him to drop out of school, drink every day, and eventually hit rock bottom. Experiencing all these, Alec came to a point where he wanted to end it all.
I said to myself, ‘If I’m going to die today, might as well give life another chance. So I opened my phone, and I was overwhelmed with the messages I got. And when my mom called asking me to come back home, that’s when I snapped out of it.
Because of everything he had experienced, he decided to change it all up and hit the reset button. Alec decided to start his journey towards self-improvement. Along the way, he found his bliss in podcasting.
He found his passion in motivating and coaching people because he wanted to inspire and help people who have gone through his experiences.
How did Alec find out his passion? How can you find out yours?
1. Have that mentality shift that you are the main character of your life. Take control of it.
-What else do the main characters do? Live the best life ever! We play the leading role in our lives, and we have to channel that energy into our daily activities.
2. Try things out. You won’t know what you’re good at or what you love doing the most if you haven’t tried anything at all.
-We have always believed that it is not okay to try and fail—we were conditioned to believe it. But, the perfection we try to seek will not lead us to contentment and happiness but frustration. In the real world, people who try hard learn the most. They improve the fastest.
I first tried vlogging, then blogging, then podcasting. I tried these different things and learned what I love during the process. You won’t know what it is that you love doing if you don’t try things out.
3. Add more knowledge into your life.
-With the information bank available online, it is easy to look for anything online. Be open to a lot of things, opportunities, and growth.
Passion vs. Purpose
Passion is something that brings you joy, something you’re good at, and something you’re willing to suffer for. Purpose, on the other hand, is passion plus service. -Alec
The simple equation for finding your purpose: Purpose= Passion + Service
When we look at our passion, it will always be about what we enjoy doing or whatever we want to do. To use our passion to find our purpose, we must do it for something bigger than ourselves. It could be our families, our friends, or the people around us.
Your purpose right now might be finding your purpose. The journey itself is admirable, enjoyable, and purposeful. Don’t be pressured to find out immediately what your purpose is because it’s seasonal. You will eventually find out yours.
Passion vs. Practicality
When pursuing what we want, we will be at the edge of the cliff when choosing between what we want and what others want us to do. But, the truth is it’s not about both. It’s about finding happiness and peace in whatever you’re doing.
If you’re pursuing your passion but feel drained and unhappy at the end of the day, then why do it?
If you’re doing something just for practicality but don’t find peace in it, why do it?
The answer will be different for everyone. It’s a different story for breadwinners, privileged people, and ordinary people. But what pursuit they should have in common is happiness.
If you could do something out of passion and practicality together, then do it. While working, you can do a passion project and figure it all out later. You don’t have to be so certain all the time. It’s okay to not figure it all out at once.
It’s not too late to pursue whatever you want. As long as you are alive, there is hope, and you have a chance. Don’t be too hard on yourself because you have your timeline.
Just like how we’re always reminded by a famous brand Nike, Just Do It!
Listen to the full podcast here: QLB Episode with Alec Cuenca
Follow Alec on his socials: @aleccuenca_ and @smalltalkpodcast
Follow me on my socials: @coachyanimoya @quarterlifeblisspodcast
Youtube: youtube.com/yanimoya
Website: yanimoya.com
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