Creating the life you want

Over the next couple of blogs I wanted to explore the whole art of non-conformity from the perspective of how you go about creating the life you want.  This whole subject has fascinated me as a direct result of stumbling across a blog created by Chris Guillebeau, and ever since reading his blog I've been thinking deeply about the key traits that help people to really push out of their normal routine and strike forward doing work that they love.
We are conditioned from an early age to 'fit in'.  With this comes a series of beliefs and ideas about how lives 'should' be conducted and lived, and what social norms are acceptable.  All too often the strongest belief that emerges is that in order to get on well in life you must work in a job that you will probably not like and work hard for a living.
The idea of carving out a career in any creative field or subject you love and earning a living in a non traditional way, just invokes feelings of fear.  There are those that find themselves in nurturing and encouraging environments however, and this provides them with a new perspective and belief system that following your passion will create your success.
So what environment and set of conditions, can assist you to get the best results and help you create the life you want?   So far determination and passion are coming up as key traits.  Over the next while though I intend post up some interviews conducted on this subject, to explore how people keep going even through the confines of natural conditioning, to create a life more in sync with who they are.  I will start with Irish comic artists that are carving out a career for themselves in a very specific artistic field, and see where it goes from there.
I see life as a series of tests and opportunities to learn more about the human spirit.  Part of this journey I believe, is connecting to your passion and finding the courage and strength to follow it wholeheartedly.  No one said it would be a walk in the park....or maybe this might simply be another form of conditioned thinking and we're ultimately creating a harder path for ourselves by denying our true calling.
Either way the process of discovery is what the purpose of this blog is about so we'll see where it goes.