What’s Wrong With Working In Your Passion?

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Hey, what’s up you! How’s it going?

Apologies for being AWOL mid-week as I was away on our annual company conference with 800 of my colleagues.

It was quite fun actually, a great time for everyone to get together and plan for the year ahead.

Although the key take-out from this 4 day sojourn is that we need to work harder, work longer and work better.

One of the speakers also presented on the WHY.

You know, why do you wake up every day? Why do you do what you do? Why do you come to work?

To…to get paid? 

Now, if you answered to pay the bills, he said he felt sorry for you.

Oh.

You see, you should be waking up early just to come to work, champing at the bit ready to help people and contribute to society every day.

And if you didn’t think like this, then you should find alternative sources of employment elsewhere.

Harrowing stuff to be honest.

Passion

Don’t get me wrong though, the whole passion for what you do argument has been played over and over.

I get it.

But I think there’s a touch of naivety to think that everyone should burst out of bed like a gazelle fresh and ready to help people.

Can you imagine the scene? 800 bankers jumping out onto the streets and forcing themselves onto the unsuspecting public.

My word, there are sexual harassment laws in place just for this occasion.

No, I think that perhaps some element of realism should creep in.

Yes, we go into work wanting to do a good job of it. No, we don’t want to look bad in front of anyone. Yes, we should be doing what we love. No, we often don’t.

Why?

Because we need to pay the friggin’ bills!

Do What You Love

When I was younger, I really wanted to do what I love.

The only problem was that I didn’t know what I loved.

It’s only fairly recently that I reignited my passion for writing (this blog), and hence am “doing what I love”.

Unfortunately, writing and this blog doesn’t pay particularly well – in fact, I’ve been paying IT ever since I started.

Luckily I’ve got my mental mindset tuned in for the long haul.

Because for every blog and writer that “makes it” in a year, there are millions who love blogging but can’t get there.

Or for every LeBron and Leo Messi – there are millions who love playing but can’t make it.

Or for every Jack Ma and Bill Gates – there are millions who love innovating, but just don’t have it.

And that’s because of talent, or fortune, or perseverance or a combination of all.

A Long Game

Sure passion helps, but passion is a long-game.

Passion is what keeps us going during the darkest hours, when after a gruelling day’s work, you have to fire up the PC to punch out another 1,000 words on something (you hope) will be interesting to your readers.

But a job?

It’s to fend off those pesky monthly and quarterly annoyances called bills so you can survive and work on your passion.

Naturally, I want to help people, and don’t mind dealing with numbers and spreadsheets, and enjoy the people I work with, except… I can’t do it all for free.

So let me be the first to say, how much I’m looking forward to this proposed pay-rise we’re all supposed to be receiving at the end of the year.

It will go very handy towards my passion.

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P.S.

Of course, there are the lucky few who love what they do and wouldn’t want to do anything else. If that’s you, good for you! Genuinely I am happy and a little jealous of that! Would love to know what you’re doing and why you love it, leave a comment below!