The Radical Power of Doing What You Love

“Do what you love.”

It’s advice we’ve all heard. It's tossed around like a shortcut to happiness, but rarely do people discuss the cost. Doing what you love is not easy. It will test you. It will take your late nights, your weekends, and every ounce of energy you think you have. And yet, if it’s truly what you love, you’ll keep coming back to it.

For me, that love is Community Icons. On the surface, it appears to be a publication. But to me, it’s something much deeper. It’s a mission to celebrate people who rarely make headlines; the ones who devote themselves to lifting others up, often without recognition. This magazine is my way of saying, “I see you. You matter. Your story deserves to be remembered.”

That conviction fuels me. Every draft, every design, every late-night idea is driven by the same thought: these stories need to live. Because once you hear them, they change the way you see the world. They remind you that impact doesn’t come only from money or status. It comes from choosing to act, to care, to give your best even when no one’s watching.

Doing what you love will never be the safe path. It demands more of you than you expect. But here’s the uncommon truth: it also gives back in ways you can’t measure. For me, the reward is knowing that this work can inspire others to look at their own communities differently, to step forward, to volunteer, to believe that they too can be part of something bigger.

Too often, society tells us success is about chasing the spotlight. I believe real success is about where you shine the spotlight. And if Community Icons can shift that light onto the quiet heroes around us, then every ounce of effort will have been worth it.

Doing what you love isn’t selfish. It’s service. It’s aligning your passion with purpose and letting that fuel ripple outward. And when you choose that path, you stop working only for yourself, you start building something that can outlive you.

That’s the uncommon sense.

Join the Movement

If this sparked something in you, don’t keep it to yourself. Please share it. Talk about it. Take a step, big or small, toward supporting the people who keep our communities strong. That’s how impact grows.

— Until next time, keep questioning the common.