As you read this issue, think about these insightful words from Bill Strickland:

Real success, genuine success, can't be chosen and chased down. You assemble it, moment by moment, out of the dreams you choose to follow and the values and passions that you share.

In many ways, that seems truly radical. We all know that Doing What You Love is not a course offered by many schools. But the notion that love is the key to discovering multiple parts of ourselves is one really far out message.

There was a time, of course, when it was assumed that a person could be many different things. During the period known as the Renaissance, when the creative spirit was in full bloom, it was not unusual for an individual to be a poet, business owner, artist, soldier, linguist and lover.

Although such thinking fell out of fashion (and with it came less creative thinking), all sorts of people have told me they always suspected they were in possession of a Renaissance soul. I believe we all are and that feeding that soul is an exercise in love.

Love and work sounds like an impossible combination to many people, but it's the starting point of all great (and many small) undertakings. "The real purpose of work," says Claude Whitmyer, founder of the Center for Good Work, "is to give us an opportunity to practice being human-to discover everything we are and all that we can be, both as individuals and as members of a community."

Lately, I've had messages from several frustrated people who feel stuck because they don't know what It is for them. Nothing they've tried seems to satisfy. It's a Limboland I've visited myself and it's not a pleasant place to travel. The passport out of this discouraging state is to step back and give serious thought to purpose. To never stop doing what you love, you have to start doing what you love. Yup, those same puzzling questions that philosophers have discussed for centuries still matter.

The aforementioned Paul knew from early on what his bigger intention was. He explains, "See, my trick in life is to get away from having a job. That's been my guiding light." Not working for someone else may not be the only way to feed our Renaissance soul, but it's the best way I've seen to develop multiple talents.

At the same time all the e-mails of frustration were rolling in, I was also deluged with messages from numerous new entrepreneurs who had a different story to tell. The common thread in each of their accounts was that their business was teaching them new skills or opening them to things they'd been avoiding. One woman said she was finding herself in leadership roles for the first time in her life. Another is doing her first media interviews. Over and over, they told me about discovering the unmapped territory inside themselves. Like everyone who lets love lead, they've discover a surprising bonus: love neutralizes fear.

"When you work," goes the well-known passage from Kahlil Gibran, "you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. To love life through labor is to be intimate with life's inmost secret. All work is empty save when there is love, for work is love made visible." Then never stop doing what you love.

My family and I have been rethinking gift giving ourselves this year. New experiences and encouragement--rather than more stuff--are gaining in popularity with the Winter clan. If you are putting together your own Wish List or have someone you want to encourage on their Joyfully Jobless Journey, here are three great gift ideas.

Making Dreams Happen Now available as a digital download, Making Dreams Happen shares the ideas, insights and inspiration from the 4-day event with Barbara Sher, Valerie Young and me. This is a gift that will not only offer encouragement, it will also invite multiple listenings. I was there and I'm still always astonished when I listen to it again.

Make the Impossible Possible by Bill Strickland is heading for my All-time Top Ten Favorite Book List. "Write something worth reading," Ben Franklin advised, "or live something worth writing." Bill Strickland has done both in sharing his story of going from ghetto to founder of Manchester Bidwell training center and community arts program in Pittsburgh.

Winning Ways newsletter. Over the years, many people have gifted friends and family members with a subscription to my newsletter. It's a terrific vote of confidence that arrives six times a year. You can take advantage (if you hurry) of my first ever sale on subscriptions and send a note (there's a place on the order form to do that) letting me know that it's a gift from you. I'll send an announcement to the recipient as the holidays grow closer. And, of course, you can also gift a subscription to yourself.

Fulfilling My Life's Mission Through TOMS Shoes

If you'd like to get an idea of what's involved, there's a new article at JoyfullyJobless.com from Lynn Woods who spent two months housesitting in Kenilworth, England. Check out Adventures in Housesitting.

With every new Thanksgiving, I find my Gratitude List is longer than it was the year before. At the moment, I'm feeling quite thankful that the next issue of Winning Ways is at the printer, the pine cones are collected so Zoe and I can try our hand at making turkeys, and that this often challenging year is ending on a high note.

And, of course, I am deeply grateful for those who are sharing the Joyfully Jobless Journey with me and adding your support to my journey. Wishing you a happy and blessed Thanksgiving Day.

Barbara