Beth Kempton: interview with ‘Do What You Love’ founder

LET HER INSPIRE YOU TOO – TO LIVE HAPPIER, MORE FULFILLED AND IN BALANCE TOO.

Jo: I hear you had a major setback in your life that led you to found Do What You Love. Tell me about it.

Beth: Yes, a major professional one. I was Head of Legacy Development for England’s bid to host the FIFA 2018 World Cup. My remit was to use the world cup for global good. England’s bid was amazing, so well thought through. We’d got all these national and local sports bodies signed up to implement actions that were going to make a real difference to children’s lives across the world. Then, England’s bid went out on the first round. It was like someone had kicked me in the stomach.

I hear disillusionment in Beth’s voice. It was a turning point. She realised she couldn’t continue to work in an area where good and children’s well-being did not seem highly valued.

Beth: About the same time, I went on a creative retreat in San Jose with 100 other women. I had a creative awakening. I realised I had all this creative energy that I’d pushed down. The thread I saw running through my life was helping people to fulfil their potential. I realised I could do it in a different, new way. The seed for Do What You Love was sown.

I hear something profound and spiritual in how Beth is speaking. She agrees it was so. I had a spiritual experience in 2012 so I relate to what she tells me. We agree that it’s like for a moment in time the Universe, Life, god, God, whatever you want to call it, concentrates down on you. It opens you up. You take in the message, the energy and step out on your new path. We find ourselves agreeing that this experience is available to everyone at any time. We just need to be ready and receptive. And in our experience, it happens more than once; it can keep happening.

Jo: What’s the one belief or quality that enables you to live life on your terms?

Beth: I’m a very adventurous person in the widest sense – trying new things, doing the same thing in a different way and much more. That’s the thing that when I tap into it, I make bold moves and magic happens. And when it’s absent, things go wrong.

I hear that adventure is Beth’s ‘force’ within her, her power, her fuel, her ‘thing’. She agrees.

Beth: I think every person needs to find what their ‘thing’ is. The thing that brings out your best, and it will be different for everyone.

“It doesn’t mean it has to be your job, and I think that’s the mistake many people make. It means putting yourself in a place where you can live with that [thing] in your day to day and be your best self in all areas of your life including in your job”.

“Sometimes it is the case that the thing that brings you alive is also your work and that’s an incredible blessing but you shouldn’t beat yourself up if that’s not how it works out in your particular situation”.

Jo: What advice would you give to professionals in mid-life who are feeling unfulfilled?

Beth: To ask themselves this question “How do you want to feel?” As humans, we know when something’s working as we feel happy. We know when it’s not because we don’t. By asking yourself this question, the feeling becomes the destination and you work backwards from there. Work out what you can do to feel how you want to feel in day to day moments, and also what will bring you that feeling in a longer term way. And then when something doesn’t work out as planned, it’s easier to think ‘Oh that wasn’t the route, I’ll try something different’, rather than believing you’ve failed.

I agree with Beth’s view that many people seem to feel unfulfilled because they believe they are not doing what they should be doing, they haven’t achieved ‘enough’ (whatever that means), or achieved xyz goal. That was me.

Beth: For many people, there’s an element of wanting to feel free. And of course, that means different things to different people. So if that’s your destination, the route matters a lot less than you think as there are many different ways to get there.

Jo: What do you wish you’d known as a young adult?

Beth: It’s the same question “how do you want to feel in your life?” And what follows from that is – it’s okay to do something just because it’s interesting without knowing if it’s going to be good for your career; it really is up to you [what you do]; it’s okay to make mistakes and it’s okay if something doesn’t work out.

“You can be and do whatever you want but the really important thing is you have to work for it,” says Beth.

Looking back, Beth says: “Your career path is a like a treasure hunt of collecting all these interesting people, moments, experiences, skills, understanding about yourself and about the world. At some point, it all comes together into something that only you can do in the way that you can do it”.