I was giving a lunchtime talk to a company about some of the core concepts in Simplify Your Life. It was an interesting discussion, because some of the ideas in the book hint at leaving your job once you’ve figured out what it is you’re meant to do in the world. If word gets out that you speak somewhere and everyone quits their job the next day, you’re not likely to get many future bookings.
Ultimately, then, what I highlighted was the notion that for some, our passion needs to become our day job, that there is no truer expression for it. But for some of us, we need to keep our passion a nights-and-weekend pursuit because it’s unrealistic it can become a career or it’s so delicate that spending 40 hours or more a week with it would strain the relationship.
Passion is becoming an oft overused or misunderstood word, and many times I try to reframe the discussion around it. And this is why I like this piece in Harvard Business Review by Oliver Segovia. He challenges readers to abandon the quest for selfish passions in favor of solving problems that affect lots of people the world over.
For many, this is a great idea. Passions tend to look inward: what makes you happy, what you enjoy doing, what gives you the most energy, how you feel most alive. Problems put your focus out there so that you can see what the immediate and future needs of the world are and figure out how to respond.
Better yet, as Segovia notes, problems pay. This may not always be the case with a passion. One of the attendees at my talk that day said his passion was for rugby. He asked how he could build a career around that passion.
I was honest with him. I told him he probably couldn’t. While several jobs exist in the field other than as a rugby player, they’re not in the U.S. So unless he was willing to make a pretty drastic life change and move to New Zealand and work his way up, he may be out of luck. But, his passion could still be fully lived by playing the game with friends on the weekend or keeping up a blog on the subject.
Problems – rather, their solutions – usually come with some kind of way to earn a living. As long as a solution is tied to a funding model (donations or sales) and you can locate a customer base, the pursuit of a problem can be financially sustainable.
The real sweet spot, of course, is to find that job or calling where your deepest passion meets one of the world’s greatest needs (defined as “vocation” by Frederick Buechner). These spots are few and far between, but they’re out there, especially if you chase after your passion with an eye to the horizon looking for problems.
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I do love this post, and the idea of meeting a need of the world. I also think finding a need that you are passionate about is *key*. No, you don’t have to do it full time or even get paid to do it, but finding where those two things meet is the key to happiness.
And I need to add that my dad has always done something with rugby, mostly on weekends as on volunteer basis as a player, team captain, coach and/or tournament organizer. Now he’s retired and he’s in charge of the mowing and marking the fields, for which he receives a small stipend to add to his pension. It absolutely blisses him to be there all the time. He feels lucky everyday and so everyone sees him that way! Sure, maybe the world doesn’t ‘need’ passionate rugby players but there certainly is room for them if they want to pursue that love. And he doesn’t live in New Zealand.
Thanks for the comment, Caroline. You’re right about finding a need you care about. That’s the super sweet spot, if you will – a place where you passion meets a need you’re passionate about.
And, good to know about rugby options in the U.S.! I’ll keep that info handy in case someone asks at my next seminar. Seriously – thanks for sharing.
Dude, this is brilliant, and something i’ve struggled with over the past three years pursuing my own dream. I’ve always thought that no matter the profession (even a garbage collector), if you’re the absolute best person alive at that profession, you WILL be rich. People complain that dream jobs don’t make money but no one has ever looked inward and questioned their own abilities. Great post.
Thanks, John. I agree – those who truly excel have a better chance to earn a great living. And, I think excellence and passion are closely linked. Thanks for weighing in.
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