This is a short segment of a long chat about “following your passion” with my friend Tyler Hurst, who tweets a lot.
Carlos: I‘m trying to stay away from that concept lately. I got it. It’s time to move on.
I talked with my boss today (someone that I truly admire because of her character and because she’s gotten where few women have). She told me that she will probably quit her job in the next couple of years because she wants to “follow her passion”.
And i realized…. we all get it by now. It’s just a matter of fear, and rush.
Tyler: Well, I think we should be following our passions NOW, instead of waiting until we can afford it.
Carlos: I agree, but there’s this mystique about “passions” that I don’t like.
It doesn’t seem realistic.
Life is about problems, that’s all there is, and overcoming those problems.
Passion following seems like a “problem-less” life. It’s not real.
Tyler: Yes, my passion isn’t to go hiking every day in a rain forest or lay on a beach.
I like to teach others and help them solve problems.
Location isn’t all that important.
Carlos: Right, but the problem is that not everyone can see life with that clarity. Either because of fear, denial, stupidity, or whatever.
We are given a recipe for getting lost. “Follow your passion” is too imprecise for people who like safety.
Tyler: Yes. People, as much as they pretend they want adventure, want stability.
People built corporations.
Dreamers didn’t build big business.
Carlos: I‘d say that’s correct with the exception of Steve Jobs and Richard Branson.
Tyler: They didn’t build those businesses, other people did.
Carlos: Yeah, that’s true.
Would you mind if I turn this into a post?
Tyler: Please do.
.
.
.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah maybe a majority of people get the word “passion” confused with luxury or pleasure or laziness, but that’s not what it means. Passion itself is a problem, because first you have to put in the hard work to find what yours is!
To me, I think it’s about: what can you do that provides value to others, that solves a problem, that you can necessarily make a living at, but that you also enjoy doing?
Living your passion isn’t easy—I’d say it’s harder than ignoring the question of what you care about and enjoy doing. It’s a challenge to consciously seek that out and struggle to balance 1) earning your living AND at the same time 2) doing what’s meaningful to you.
If people ever ask me what following your passion truly means, I’m going to tell them to read this comment. Very precise.
Peter Wilt, who was the GM of the Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer and is now CEO of the Milwaukee Wave , sent an email out entitled – 12 Commandments of Soccer Staff Management – from that list
3. Hire department heads that are experts in their field and are better at their job than you would be.
Going back to the point above, you might have a good idea for a business, but chances are, you didn’t build it alone. It may have started off that way, but along that way you found hard working people that helped take your idea and build it into what it is today.
I’m sure we all believe in living our dreams and finding our true calling, but the word passion has been glamorized recently beyond recognition. There are many that are saying that if you discover this one single passion, work stops being work because you are having too much fun. Your whole life will be one big orgiastic party.
That idea of “passion” is like saying you want to be Superman when you grow up. Every job, hobby, or passion is not 100% bliss. I often give the example of eating chocolate. There are many people totally passionate about chocolate, but that doesn’t mean they can eat it for every meal. That would become disgusting to anyone.
Derek Sivers had a good article recently where he said that,
“Wiping someone else’s baby’s bottom feels like work.
Wiping your own baby’s bottom doesn’t feel like work.”
http://sivers.org/notwork
I think that he is missing the point. Does this mean that he has a passion for wiping his baby’s bottom? Of course not. He has a passion for being a good father, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of crappy work that comes along with it. I am sure he is not so fond of the crying in the middle of the night that keeps him from sleeping. Or wiping vomit off of his shirt.
As Carlos says,
“Passion following seems like a “problem-less” life. It’s not real.”
That is precisely the problem. If people think that “passion” is a glamourized perfection, then they will spend their whole lives searching and end up disappointed.
We live in amazingly great times. Life is good by every measure, however that doesn’t mean there are aren’t any bad parts. Follow your passion, just don’t expect your life to turn out like a Hollywood movie.
Yeah, because it won’t. I’m also concerned about how hard it is to find it, and to KEEP it. Passions change, that should be talked about a lot more.
To me, a passion is what makes me feel alive. There are those jobs I call “soulless” because I feel dead there, they’re so mechanical. The bosses won’t talk to me like a human being. Following your passion is definitely not easy at all. In fact, that’s why I’m drawn to follow mine, because not only is it what I enjoy doing, but I’m building my character at the same time. The journey filled with so many challenges makes me feel that much more fulfilled. Of course, only if I defined that journey as worth fulfilling.
People need to change their perception of problems and to think of them as challenges. Problems tend to be looked at as ugly, unwanted things. But problems are here to teach us where we went wrong, what not to do, provided that we choose to learn from them. What’s wrong with challenges, we all like them to some extent don’t we?
I think one of the fundamental problems that people have with problems, is a core belief people have about themselves: Are we naturally good at things or our we beings with infinte potential to grow and learn?It’s the good ol’ nature vs. nurture debate. How you answer this question says alot about how you face challenges. If you believe you can face a challenge and learn and grow from it then you are fit for life. But if you hold the belief that “I’ll never make it. I was born poor. It’s not in my genes. I’m not that type of person.” That type of belief isn’t suited for growth.