"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall." -- Emerson
It has been my experience that people who are bored or unsatisfied with life, or become disproportionately upset about how others behave, often place a high value on consistency -- and seldom can explain why.
"At least I am consistent" is the wail of an unfortunate soul.
Finding Your Passion
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DividendGuy
- Posts: 441
- Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 9:58 pm
I'm lucky in that some true passions of mine are writing and investing. I started a blog to chronicle my journey to early retirement via dividend growth investing, and luckily it's caught on and there are some fans. So, I guess the money has followed the passion (to a very limited degree, currently).
I think the key to the whole thing is first figuring out what you're passionate about, engaging in it as much as possible to become good at it, and then at some point monetizing it. There are risks to losing the enjoyment once money is involved...but I'd certainly rather be blogging and managing investments on a full-time basis than working at a car dealership (as I do now) for 50+ hours a week. I guess I'd always be willing to take a stab at turning a passion into a main source of income. The worst thing that can happen is you're still "working" for a living, which you'd be doing had you never followed your passion. Limited downside and unlimited upside, in my opinion. The risk/reward profile of following your passion is extremely attractive.
I think the key to the whole thing is first figuring out what you're passionate about, engaging in it as much as possible to become good at it, and then at some point monetizing it. There are risks to losing the enjoyment once money is involved...but I'd certainly rather be blogging and managing investments on a full-time basis than working at a car dealership (as I do now) for 50+ hours a week. I guess I'd always be willing to take a stab at turning a passion into a main source of income. The worst thing that can happen is you're still "working" for a living, which you'd be doing had you never followed your passion. Limited downside and unlimited upside, in my opinion. The risk/reward profile of following your passion is extremely attractive.
Author and Assistant Professor of computer science at Georgetown advocates not following your passion:
"The problem is that we don’t have much evidence that this is how passion works. 'Follow your passion' assumes: a) you have preexisting passion; and b) if you match this passion to your job then you’ll enjoy that job.
When I studied the issue, it was more complex. Most people don’t have preexisting passions. And research on workplace satisfaction tells that people like their jobs for more nuanced reason than simply it matches some innate interest."
http://www.theminimalists.com/cal/
"The problem is that we don’t have much evidence that this is how passion works. 'Follow your passion' assumes: a) you have preexisting passion; and b) if you match this passion to your job then you’ll enjoy that job.
When I studied the issue, it was more complex. Most people don’t have preexisting passions. And research on workplace satisfaction tells that people like their jobs for more nuanced reason than simply it matches some innate interest."
http://www.theminimalists.com/cal/
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BeyondtheWrap
- Posts: 598
- Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
- Location: NYC
@Dragline: Thanks, that makes me feel better about not being consistent in my own life.
@jzt83: Here is that professor's blog: http://calnewport.com/blog/
@jzt83: Here is that professor's blog: http://calnewport.com/blog/
@Seneca Note the AR and zombie references coupled with the Prius sticker. Other contradictions abound. My wife and I started creating this after a simple surf shop sticker on the underside of the lid at the old, sold house. We laughed that that sticker was one of the most joyful parts of that house. The new occupants got some joy from it too and I think they left it.
I suppose my wife or I have been passionate or at least engaged in some of the follies these stickers represent.
@Dragline you have a fantastic way of explaining thoughts......and you always back it up with a stirring bibliography. Words like you posted above guarantee me that our little toilet room is "all right!"
I suppose my wife or I have been passionate or at least engaged in some of the follies these stickers represent.
@Dragline you have a fantastic way of explaining thoughts......and you always back it up with a stirring bibliography. Words like you posted above guarantee me that our little toilet room is "all right!"
@dragline- awesome!
@sshawn- I love your room there. iIRC, you are in the Bay? Wish we could've hoisted an IPA before I left, I've got lots to talk about with someone that has that sticker collection.
I don't really see my interests as inconsistent if viewed through the lens I was first a mechanic and then a mechanical engineer. But as a contrarian at heart I have fun with the political inconsistencies! Jared Diamond's book Collpase is fantastic, and discusses some of the tension of modern society vs pollution/environment.
@jzt83- I think you bring up an interesting issue. Is passion nature or nurture? I am sure the right answer is Both!, but it's still worth thinking about.
@sshawn- I love your room there. iIRC, you are in the Bay? Wish we could've hoisted an IPA before I left, I've got lots to talk about with someone that has that sticker collection.
I don't really see my interests as inconsistent if viewed through the lens I was first a mechanic and then a mechanical engineer. But as a contrarian at heart I have fun with the political inconsistencies! Jared Diamond's book Collpase is fantastic, and discusses some of the tension of modern society vs pollution/environment.
@jzt83- I think you bring up an interesting issue. Is passion nature or nurture? I am sure the right answer is Both!, but it's still worth thinking about.
@Seneca, we are Hoosiers. We have visited the bay area a few times in the last couple of years mainly through work conferences. One of our combined passions is to make it to a western coastal region however I doubt it will be CA. I am also interested in hearing about how your move to Idaho works out.
wrt to motorcycles. I likely have as much or more passion with my 49cc Yamaha scooter and a bicycle as I did with a CBR 1000rr. Wringing 120 mpg out of the scooter and knowing that I am traveling for pennies or nearly free fuels an ERE/freedom passion.
wrt to motorcycles. I likely have as much or more passion with my 49cc Yamaha scooter and a bicycle as I did with a CBR 1000rr. Wringing 120 mpg out of the scooter and knowing that I am traveling for pennies or nearly free fuels an ERE/freedom passion.
I prefer the translation in the book I have, but unsurprisingly Montaigne has a great essay on inconsistency.
http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_ ... &Itemid=27
http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_ ... &Itemid=27