I was watching a Google Talk given by Cal Newport where he states that one shouldn't follow their passions when figuring how to earn a living. Instead, one should cultivate passion from work.
"There is, however, a problem lurking here: When you look past the feel-good slogans and go deeper into the details of how passionate people like Steve Jobs really got started, or ask scientists about what actually predicts workplace happiness, the issue becomes much more complicated. You begin to find threads of nuance that, once pulled, unravel the tight certainty of the passion hypothesis, eventually leading to an unsettling recognition: 'Follow your passion' might just be terrible advice."
http://www.fastcompany.com/3001441/do-s ... ur-passion
Don't Follow your Passion!
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TheWanderingScholar
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I was reading this guy's blog actually.
Here it is:
http://calnewport.com/blog/page/3/
As for the advice I actually agree with him.
Passion is not something innate but instead something you made.
Here it is:
http://calnewport.com/blog/page/3/
As for the advice I actually agree with him.
Passion is not something innate but instead something you made.
"I shared the details of Steve Jobs's story because when it comes to finding fulfilling work, the details matter. If a young Steve Jobs had taken his own advice and decided to only pursue work he loved, we would probably find him today as one of the Los Altos Zen Center's most popular teachers."
And the problem with that would be...?
And the problem with that would be...?
The book dares to be controversial by making a very bold statement that seems contradictory and then shrouding arguments with semantical wizardry. I think the advice to not follow your passion could mislead some folks into not pursuing occupations related to their passions and to lead people toward jobs that don't really jive with them, but they stick with and delude themselves they've cultivated passion from it.
Steve Jobs had many passions and computers was one of them. But Cal argues that Steve didn't have a grand vision for technology changing the world and for created a mega computer company during his formative years; it is from years working that he cultivated the passion for such a lofty vision. So he dubiously concludes that Steve Jobs didn't follow his passion for Apple during his early years.
Steve Jobs had many passions and computers was one of them. But Cal argues that Steve didn't have a grand vision for technology changing the world and for created a mega computer company during his formative years; it is from years working that he cultivated the passion for such a lofty vision. So he dubiously concludes that Steve Jobs didn't follow his passion for Apple during his early years.
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My_Brain_Gets_Itchy
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FYI, Here is his 30+ min presentation on the subject matter at World Domination Summit.
http://vimeo.com/48041227
Without having watched the presentation or really reading his theory, I was pretty dismissive of it. I remember a while back reading a long thread on a blog where arguements broke out about this topic.
However, after watching his presentation and listening to his arguement, I personally learned a lot from it.
With pretty much any theory though, one size never fits all.
I think both approaches work, but for different types of people, following your passion should only be for the select few, while leveraging skills should be for the rest.
I see the likes of comedians like Jim Carrey and Jerry Seinfeld (and there are examples of many others) who stuck to their passion and ultimately succeeded in a big way after facing a lot of adversity early on.
IMHO, people who follow their passion, must be willing to have the conviction of a starving artist. You have to know what it is you really want to do with so much clarity and purpose, even if you haven't fully developed the skills and know how to get there. It shouldn't be a struggle to figure our your passion, and it shouldn't be something you convince yourself of, just because its a popular belief that following your passion is a precondition to happiness. To me, truly following your passion and suceeding, especially at a younger age, is like choosing the path of threading your life in the eye of the needle. The failure rate is extremely high (i.e. ex, the actors, models, athletes who never make it to the big leagues), and these people may or may not be convinced that following their passion was worth it.
For the rest of us, most of us don't know what we want, and for this, I think this is what Cal Newport addresses. For most people, we don't know what we want, so we try and leverage what we are good at, to help know what it is that we want.
I may be presumptuous in saying this, but this is how I see Jacob's path and MMM's path. They both have tremendously valuable skills, and there are excellent at using them. Now, there are leveraging their skills to do interesting things, things closer to their heart.
http://vimeo.com/48041227
Without having watched the presentation or really reading his theory, I was pretty dismissive of it. I remember a while back reading a long thread on a blog where arguements broke out about this topic.
However, after watching his presentation and listening to his arguement, I personally learned a lot from it.
With pretty much any theory though, one size never fits all.
I think both approaches work, but for different types of people, following your passion should only be for the select few, while leveraging skills should be for the rest.
I see the likes of comedians like Jim Carrey and Jerry Seinfeld (and there are examples of many others) who stuck to their passion and ultimately succeeded in a big way after facing a lot of adversity early on.
IMHO, people who follow their passion, must be willing to have the conviction of a starving artist. You have to know what it is you really want to do with so much clarity and purpose, even if you haven't fully developed the skills and know how to get there. It shouldn't be a struggle to figure our your passion, and it shouldn't be something you convince yourself of, just because its a popular belief that following your passion is a precondition to happiness. To me, truly following your passion and suceeding, especially at a younger age, is like choosing the path of threading your life in the eye of the needle. The failure rate is extremely high (i.e. ex, the actors, models, athletes who never make it to the big leagues), and these people may or may not be convinced that following their passion was worth it.
For the rest of us, most of us don't know what we want, and for this, I think this is what Cal Newport addresses. For most people, we don't know what we want, so we try and leverage what we are good at, to help know what it is that we want.
I may be presumptuous in saying this, but this is how I see Jacob's path and MMM's path. They both have tremendously valuable skills, and there are excellent at using them. Now, there are leveraging their skills to do interesting things, things closer to their heart.
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jacob
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I think the question is easily resolved by acknowledging that it's not an either/or proposal.
Namely, pick something that you enjoy that also makes money.
Don't pick something you hate solely for the money.
Don't pick something you love if it doesn't make any money.
Be reasonable. Be mature about it. Talk to people(*).
(*) Unfortunately, this is hard to do in practice, since most career advisers seem to have a principle agent problem.
Namely, pick something that you enjoy that also makes money.
Don't pick something you hate solely for the money.
Don't pick something you love if it doesn't make any money.
Be reasonable. Be mature about it. Talk to people(*).
(*) Unfortunately, this is hard to do in practice, since most career advisers seem to have a principle agent problem.
One of the most interesting points Cal makes in his book (of which I'm a fan), is that people who have a passion and turn it into a career are usually miserable (for a variety of reasons).
On the other hand, people who are able to train themselves in valuable skills, possess degrees of autonomy, identify niches for themselves are, on the other hand, significantly more happy and successful.
In other words (and perhaps this is an obvious point but I feel the book makes an elegant case): people who work at something intelligently come out on top.
On the other hand, people who are able to train themselves in valuable skills, possess degrees of autonomy, identify niches for themselves are, on the other hand, significantly more happy and successful.
In other words (and perhaps this is an obvious point but I feel the book makes an elegant case): people who work at something intelligently come out on top.