‘Do What You Love’ & Other Terrible Career Advice*.

I blame Steve Jobs. He made doing what you love look easy. Like hard work and love is all it takes to go from, ‘just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees’. It’s not just Steve – there are loads of people peddling this find-your-passion-and-pursue it stuff. And, quite honestly, it is making the rest of us look bad.

I am not just being stroppy for the sake of it and I am certainly not a fan of dousing anyone else’s flame. It’s just that I worry. I worry about the people who think it’s as easy as it sounds. I worry about the people who feel guilty for not even knowing what their passion might be, or which of their many passions is the ‘right’ one to pursue. And most of all I worry about the potential for disappointment on an epic scale. Because nothing says ‘Bummer’ quite so loudly than the pursuit of a dream that ends up like a soggy hamburger in a puddle. So, before you jump in with your big heart and both hands it might be useful to remember:

Loving something doesn’t always equate to being good at it. It’s sad but it’s true. Passion alone is no guarantee of success in the field of your choice. Mike Rowe (host of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel) agree’s with me. In a recent essay, he warned graduates that; ‘Like all bad advice, “Follow Your Passion” is routinely dispensed as though it’s wisdom were both incontrovertible and equally applicable to all. It’s not. Just because you’re passionate about something doesn’t mean you won’t suck at it. And just because you’re determined to improve doesn’t mean that you will. Does that mean you shouldn’t pursue a thing you’re passionate about?” Of course not. The question is, for how long, and to what end?’ Mike is more inclined to advise; ‘Don’t Follow Your Passion, But Always Bring it With You.’ And, by staying curious and exploring alternate avenues you might find passion lurking in places you least expected.

Love doesn’t always pay the bills. Even if you are really, really good, at whatever it is that you love, it might not make you enough money as a solo source of income. The ‘good’ jobs are often the ones with the meanest pay cheques, so you might need to consider a second income stream. The side-hustle business has never boomed so loudly since we all started trying to do what we love.

Love is not a job requirement. Although the phrase, ‘Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life,’ has been bandied around since the time of Confucius, the idea that we must love and be passionate about our work is a rather modern day phenomenon. It tallies up nicely with the pervading sense that we are all entitled to happiness. Day in and day out. No wonder anxiety is at an all time high, with those of us that are not continually happy 100% of the time, completely freaking out about why the hell not. 

Credit to the 9-5’ers. I can’t imagine that factory workers, parking inspectors or even podiatrists are leaping out of bed with excitement every morning. Yay, I get to operate machinery all day! Whoo hoo – can’t wait to ruin people I don’t even know’s day today! Back-to-back bunions and verrucas & it’s not even my Birthday! Whether by choice or circumstance, these people have jobs to do. Jobs that need doing. Jobs that feed their families and ensure that we have clothes on our backs and cars to drive and feet free from calluses and corns. So lets not knock the day-to-day. Having a good job and a steady income does not indicate that you are compromising on your dream.

Try flipping the narrative. Maybe we are looking at this equation the wrong way around. Seth Godin, in his bestselling book, Linchpin, argues that maybe it’s simply that our narrative is skew-whiff. He says, ‘Instead of, “do what you love,” perhaps the more effective mantra for the entrepreneur, the linchpin and maker of change might be, “love what you do.” If we can fall in love with serving people, creating value, solving problems, building valuable connections and doing work that matters, it makes it far more likely we’re going to do important work.’

You could end up loving it less. There can often be no quicker way to kill creativity than making it a chore. If doing what you love is also responsible for paying the bills then it technically becomes work and so by default less joyful. Hugh MacLeod, cartoonist and author of, ‘Ignore Everybody: and 39 other keys to creativity‘ sums it up perfectly when he explains how work shifts this relationship between the two; ‘Art suffers the moment people start paying for it. The more you need the money, the more people will tell you what to do. The less control you will have. The more bullshit you will have to swallow. The less joy it will bring. Know this and plan accordingly.’

Dreams can be scheduled out of hours. Whilst there is no question that one of the rules to living a fulfilling life is to find your purpose, you don’t necessarily need to pursue it on Company time. In fact, author and entrepreneur Derek Sivers, says the happiest people he has ever met are the ones who have a well-paid job and pursue their art simply for the love of it. He advises that we, ‘Do something for love, and something for money. Don’t try to make one thing satisfy your entire life.’ By quenching both our need for stability and our love of adventure, Derek’s career prescription ensures we don’t have to sacrifice one at the expense of the other. Heeding his advice, ‘Don’t try to make your job your whole life. Don’t try to make your art your sole income,’ might just nudge you closer to a less poor, more creative life that is truly in balance.

49 Posts later I can testify to the profound effect these words had on me.

This Get Happier post is brought to you by someone who loves pizza, but has yet to find anyone who will pay her to consume it.

* ‘You Go Girl’, when delivered as career advice, is also pretty lame.