Sorry for the self promotion, but I wrote a blog post that is related to this discussion about passion for work. The post is a reflection on my own thought process, as I transitioned from academia to starting my own company (and creating a custom career that I would be passionate about). For convenience, here is some relevant text from my post:
"The way that we choose careers is strange. We often choose a career based on opportunism (e.g., expected salary) or fear (e.g., what family may think). The result is that we end up in a place that’s not fully satisfying. That we pick careers in a haphazard manner is stunning given the fact that we spend nearly 100,000 hours working over our lifetimes.
So if opportunism or fear are not the best ways to choose a career, then what’s a better approach? I believe three main factors should drive a choice of career. The first factor is goals. What are your short-, medium- and long-term goals in life? And it’s very important to think about goals beyond just your career. The second factor is pleasure. What activities do you derive real enjoyment from? The third and final factor is skill or expertise. Where do your innate and learned skills and talents lie?
Consider a Venn diagram comprised of these three factors — goals, pleasures, and skills — and a fulfilling career likely resides at the center.
Finding a career at the center of this Venn diagram is simple in theory, but difficult in practice. The first challenge is to overcome inertia, moving beyond opportunism or fear as your selection criteria. The second challenge is managing and balancing other commitments in your life, such as financial or family obligations. The third challenge is to know yourself deeply. It’s surprising how few people take the time to truly understand their goals, pleasures, and skills. The fourth challenge is to identify a career that aligns to these three factors. Many careers will satisfy one factor, some two, but few will satisfy all three. For some people there may be no established career path that aligns to all three factors, which means you have to create a “custom” career.
How does one learn about their goals, pleasures, and skills, and a matching career? Through a process of contemplation, trial and error, and growth. You must contemplate and be deliberate in your actions, but allow your perspective to evolve over time, as you attain more experience in work and life. You must try a lot of different things to learn about yourself and how you respond to different activities and settings. As you hone your understanding of yourself, you must undertake deliberate practice within a specific domain for an extended period to advance your expertise and skill. Imagine starting your working life at the top of a funnel, and as you contemplate, experiment, and grow, you move down the funnel, and towards a better understanding of yourself and an ideal career."
You make an interesting implicit association between passion and satisfaction.
> The result is that we end up in a place that’s not fully satisfying.
For you, you've decided that you want to be passionate about your career, and that would satisfy you. Does that always have to be the case though? Maybe some people would be completely satisfied with their work if they work in a nice and comfortable place, with people they enjoy being with, and not too much stress. They have a pleasant day at work, then get to come home and do whatever they are really passionate about.
I know that here, in the entrepreneur crowd, that someone will suggest that those people need to "figure out how to monetize their passion." Yes, sometimes that's true. Sometimes, I think people just want to enjoy their hobby or whatever, not try to make money at it. If I love model plane building and flying, that doesn't mean I would love to open a hobby shop, or run model plane building classes or whatever.
I think there are a lot of cases where people can be satisfied in their work, in that it is both enjoyable and that it provides for their other passions. I think that's an ok state to reach too.
Comments
Sorry for the self promotion, but I wrote a blog post that is related to this discussion about passion for work. The post is a reflection on my own thought process, as I transitioned from academia to starting my own company (and creating a custom career that I would be passionate about). For convenience, here is some relevant text from my post:
"The way that we choose careers is strange. We often choose a career based on opportunism (e.g., expected salary) or fear (e.g., what family may think). The result is that we end up in a place that’s not fully satisfying. That we pick careers in a haphazard manner is stunning given the fact that we spend nearly 100,000 hours working over our lifetimes.
So if opportunism or fear are not the best ways to choose a career, then what’s a better approach? I believe three main factors should drive a choice of career. The first factor is goals. What are your short-, medium- and long-term goals in life? And it’s very important to think about goals beyond just your career. The second factor is pleasure. What activities do you derive real enjoyment from? The third and final factor is skill or expertise. Where do your innate and learned skills and talents lie?
Consider a Venn diagram comprised of these three factors — goals, pleasures, and skills — and a fulfilling career likely resides at the center.
Finding a career at the center of this Venn diagram is simple in theory, but difficult in practice. The first challenge is to overcome inertia, moving beyond opportunism or fear as your selection criteria. The second challenge is managing and balancing other commitments in your life, such as financial or family obligations. The third challenge is to know yourself deeply. It’s surprising how few people take the time to truly understand their goals, pleasures, and skills. The fourth challenge is to identify a career that aligns to these three factors. Many careers will satisfy one factor, some two, but few will satisfy all three. For some people there may be no established career path that aligns to all three factors, which means you have to create a “custom” career.
How does one learn about their goals, pleasures, and skills, and a matching career? Through a process of contemplation, trial and error, and growth. You must contemplate and be deliberate in your actions, but allow your perspective to evolve over time, as you attain more experience in work and life. You must try a lot of different things to learn about yourself and how you respond to different activities and settings. As you hone your understanding of yourself, you must undertake deliberate practice within a specific domain for an extended period to advance your expertise and skill. Imagine starting your working life at the top of a funnel, and as you contemplate, experiment, and grow, you move down the funnel, and towards a better understanding of yourself and an ideal career."
(http://www.fernstrategy.com/2010/09/18/choosing-your-career/)
You make an interesting implicit association between passion and satisfaction.
> The result is that we end up in a place that’s not fully satisfying.
For you, you've decided that you want to be passionate about your career, and that would satisfy you. Does that always have to be the case though? Maybe some people would be completely satisfied with their work if they work in a nice and comfortable place, with people they enjoy being with, and not too much stress. They have a pleasant day at work, then get to come home and do whatever they are really passionate about.
I know that here, in the entrepreneur crowd, that someone will suggest that those people need to "figure out how to monetize their passion." Yes, sometimes that's true. Sometimes, I think people just want to enjoy their hobby or whatever, not try to make money at it. If I love model plane building and flying, that doesn't mean I would love to open a hobby shop, or run model plane building classes or whatever.
I think there are a lot of cases where people can be satisfied in their work, in that it is both enjoyable and that it provides for their other passions. I think that's an ok state to reach too.