By Wayne Huff

Today there is so much news about unemployment and underemployment that as soon as you hear about someone you know resigning from a job they’ve held for several years, it’s easy to go to that negative place and think, "Well I guess he was ‘downsized’." Last month I had that experience, when a friend of mine left his long-held position at a newspaper. I feared that he had been forced to leave.

Immediately upon receiving the information of my friend’s situation, I called him. His phone went straight to voice-mail then, and for days. The only email I had was his company email, so I didn’t think that I should try to communicate that way. For days I was concerned about my friend. Finally, about a week later, I received a call from him. His voice was calm and he sounded in good spirits. I asked if he was okay. His response was calm and confident: "Yes, I’ve never been better." Of course, I just had to know what was going on. I quizzed him: What do you mean? Did you resign on your own? His answer was one of the most refreshing I’ve heard in a very long time.

He said, "Wayne, I’ve been working at a job for years, and now I’m going to do the work I dream about. When I got into the newspaper business, I was hired on as an illustrator. I loved to draw. Then, as those things go, there were other needs at the paper. I wanted to help, so I stopped drawing and helped out in whatever capacity I could. One day I woke up and realized that I’d forsaken my passion and was up to my eyeballs in taking care of problems that had nothing to do with me being the best I could be. I love to draw and paint."

I’ve known Jay Tysver for over ten years, and I never knew that his passion was being an artist. When he told me that, I asked him to please send me an example of his work. As you can see, he is extremely talented. I assured him that his career in painting sports figures would surely prosper--that his paintings were awesome! This is where our conversation really got interesting. Jay explained to me that he had no intention of painting sports figures. Of course, my response was: Are you crazy!!?? You could make a fortune selling those prints!

Hearing a muffled chuckle, I could tell Jay was way ahead of me. I had no idea what he was getting ready to tell me, but I knew it was going to be good. He said, "Wayne, painting sports figures has never made me happy." My response was quick: What does make you happy? He said, "I want to paint individual portraits."

Now, honestly, at this point the businessman in me was screaming. Individual portraits? There’s no way to make much money painting one person, one time, with no long-term print sales involved. So I asked, "Jay, why would you take all of this talent and focus on one person with one painting with no hope of selling thousands of prints?" His answer was a revelation: "Because when I paint a portrait of a person, they’re happy. I’ve worked a long time at a job and have made a paycheck, but my work has never really made people happy. I want to spend my time developing my artistic talent, and do my best to make people smile."

I have to admit I was floored. I told Jay that was one of the most inspirational things I’d heard in a really long time. Then I asked him if I could write a story about it. He agreed.

And Jay and I both agreed that one of the best stimulus packages that could ever happen to America would be a country filled with people empowered to do what they love doing. People realizing their God-given talents and using them to help others.

So my two questions for you today are: "What makes you happy?" and "Are you willing to do it?"