There’s so much talk about following your passion, finding your purpose, and discovering your life’s work. That all sounds great, and I agree that it is absolutely worth finding and doing work that you love.

But it’s a lot of pressure, isn’t it?

And it can feel like an eternity to uncover this elusive passion, figure out how to make money around it, set up the business, start making money, and eventually support yourself doing it. Especially when you’re antsy to just quit your job/get on the road/make a change already!

Sometimes it’s worth finding an interim solution, a stepping stone, a bridge from wherever you are now to where you want to be.

When, after traveling for nine months, I decided I didn’t want to go back to an office job and wanted to be able to work from anywhere, I didn’t waste time figuring out my life’s work or creating the perfect business. Instead, I founded Nomad Editorial, hung out my online shingle, and got to work.

I didn’t worry about whether editing is my life’s work or if this was the ideal business for me for the rest of my life. Instead, I chose something I’m good at (and, luckily, enjoy doing), in an industry where I have lots of contacts, and that I was confident I could make money doing.

It was the bridge from unemployment (or the threat of returning to an office) to full location independence and a life on the road.

It wasn’t until later, when things were stable and I was ready for something new, that I had the luxury of time and perspective to consider lofty things like “passion” and “purpose” (and, lo and behold, Nomadtopia was born).

If you’re trying to figure out how to get from here to a more nomadic life, and you’re bogged down in discovering your purpose, struggling to turn it into a business, and feeling impatient because you fear it might be years before you can get on the road, give yourself a break. It doesn’t have to happen all at once. Find something you know how to do, that you know you can get paid doing, and that will support the lifestyle you want to create. Start there, and the rest will come.

What about you? Are you taking (or would you like to take) this approach, or are you holding out for your dream business to take off?