Why Follow Your Passion Is Bad Advice • A Personal Story
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- Опубліковано 13 лип 2024
- As a person who has followed his passion for years I experienced both the pros and cons of this advice. Unfortunately in many cases, the cons outweigh the pros. Inspired by Cal Newport's book "So Good They Can't Ignore You" and also reflecting about my personal examples and that of people around me in this episode of Journey To Mastery I will explore the subject of why follow your passion is bad advice.
Watch the previous episode of Journey To Mastery, a series which explores mastery through the means of science and critical thinking here: • Why The Importance of ...
#Passion #FollowYourPassion #Mastery
Did you experience the downside of "follow your passion" advice? Did you see others getting burned because of it?
If you want to check out Cal Newport's great book on why follow your passion is bad advice, you'll find it here: amzn.to/2RDhIdQ
Know your passion and put hours and hours to get it like it never enough.
"Follow your passion" is advice often given in circles that ascribe to Magical Thinking. Magical Thinking is the belief that one's ideas, thoughts, wishes, or actions can influence the course of events in the physical world.
I often defeat Magical Thinking by pointing to very young children. A 3-year-old who wants a cookie before bed thinks of nothing else. He or she is solely focused on getting that cookie. Every last ounce of their soul is poured into an all consuming drive to have that cookie. And yet, that gets them no where and they are sent to bed without the cookie. The Secret doesn't work for toddlers. And they believe more fully in their passions than any adult ever could in anything.
That same litmus test could be applied to the advice to "Follow your passion." And I think it would provide similar results to what you describe. One could imagine a 6-year-old boy who loves dinosaurs. This kid is absolutely obsessed. He can name every dinosaur in the big dictionary of dinosaurs he has and tell you all their pertinent stats. He watches shows about dinosaurs on TV all the time. He draws dinosaurs. He has dinosaur sheets. He gets to go on a field trip to a museum and meet a paleontologist. That's what he wants to be. But if he quit 1st grade right then and there and demanded a job in the museum as a paleontologist, he would be rightly laughed at and escorted back out to his mom or dad. You can't tell me that any adults' passion for a job is greater than a 6-year-old dinosaur enthusiast's passion for dinosaurs. But it takes more than passion to make someone qualified, experienced, and ready for a job in any field.
Really awesome arguments and examples!
I really dislike the whole "The Secret" culture and often argue in a similar way as in your example. Too many people it seems want to get what they want without actually going out of their comfort zone and considering that it's all not as straightforward as some would want it to be.
@@Rokasleo I hate the secret culture too because many things: 1) they are materialistics trying to look spiritual, it is always about getting things and pleasures, never about sharing, improving, 2) having a strong will and being naive and childish are not one and the same, 3) as I told you last year I am a person with a severe disability I have to work 10 times harder to get 10 time less so I endure, but because I love my wife, my son and I have to put food on the table. The problem is that they took things and the re shape them to sell them in a way that is false.
This video is bang on. It's not enough to have passion, as passion wanes. It's all about the hours you put in.
I also learned this lesson the hard way. I graduated in Advertising, and was interested in arts and design. I wanted to work with comics and/or concept art. I took lessons in painting, drawing, digital painting. I read books of art theory, design concepts, art history... Until I realized that I needed money and I was nowhere near the level to make a living with art. So I went back to advertising, but the market had changed, smartphones and accessible internet made the print media that we were trained to create obsolete. I got into several crappy jobs that almost didn't pay the bills. Eventually I found a job as a designer, that paid a little better, but my company closed doors. Looking for jobs in either ad or design was impossible - many interviews, but the salary didn't even cover housing prices, and employer even mocked me that "your company went bankrupt because they paid too much for designers!", even tough it was still a crappy salary.
I gave up all my old dreams and started studying IT. I hated math but now I look forward to learning linear algebra and calculus. I'm a programmer now, I have good career prospects and my job pays better than any other job I've ever had, despite having only 3 years in tech vs 12 in design. I'm more happy than ever now.
Don't follow your dreams. Instead of doing what you like, learn to like what you do.
That's an awesome story! Thanks for sharing. Your example would fit in perfectly in "So Good They Can't Ignore You", where Cal also argues that it makes much more sense to "fall in love" with what you do, instead of the other way around.
I "failed" and burnt out of my passion because I followed it. I love art and animation I decided to pursue it While I was not the best in my craft I enjoyed doing it, but perhaps it might've been better if I pursued it as a hobby. It's a long story but it boils down to disillusionment and rejection. I still got my degree in it but now Idk if I still want to pursue it. I won't say I regret taking it for college as it paved way for life long relationships, new skills and new hobbies (including Martial Arts) This could serve as a warning for me in the future to find the balance between what I want and what I am good at. That said we only have one shot in this life so if you really want to pursue your passion then like what you did in your Aikido and MMA journey they have to work hard, calculate the risks and take the leap.
I'm actually interested to hear your story. Would you be open to share more?
Also, right now I am reading this book: amzn.to/33xJzlm I'm still only a couple of hours into it, but the premise of the book that it's actually OK and sometimes even beneficial to have education in various fields, no matter what you decide to do later in the future. I'll make sure to make a video about it in more detail in the future, when I'll digest to book well enough
@BoredJuan : been there, done that. Worked in the Animation industry for 6 years. As a 3d Animator, TL, Anim Supervisor and finally retired as a CG Line Producer.
Currently working as a lecturer of Exer Science.
And within the same industry now exploring more options in Biz., while slowly also testing the waters of finance industry.
I have made sooo many mistakes of just following my passion before. I turned down projects, jobs which I felt were 'not interesting enough'. Turned down clients for PT because I wanted to focus on interesting topics to teach. All the while ignoring the monetary aspect.
I made a grave mistake of getting confused between my hobbies and what we need to do for a living. I did not look into value creation Vs a short term mental high.
Oh well, better late than never.
Check out 'Fire Your Boss'..catchy title as very misleading when you read the content inside. I do not/ cannot practice everything in the book but at least I understand.
@Amit Sardal Thank you for sharing your story! Also for the book recommendation. I resonate with what you are saying too and yet again it makes me think of my current read ("Range") which argues that it's not the end of the world to try out many different fields and gain experience and maybe even more importantly - wisdom from them, which may later lead to much better choices and a more whole rounded understanding of whatever someone chooses to do. I am still halfway through the book, but it's an encouraging study which gives me hope about myself too 😁
Your stories came in a good time. I was really considering "following my passion" for quite some time without thinking the pros and cons 🤝
I think that the sad truth is that most people don't have enough natural talent, work ethic or time to pursue their passion. That leaves most people sad because they will never be as good as a person who did put the time in and had more natural talent in whatever your passion is.
So, Passion is a start, but without hardwork and dedication a person will not achieve their goal.
Passion can be a good advantage, but as Cal Newport argues well in his book, needing a passion to begin with can be a misleading way to go and that it is actually possible to develop a passion for what you do down the road as you become better at it, even if in the beginning it wasn't entirely seemingly your cup of tea
Harness your passion, or find passion and joy in everything you do or pursue would be better advice.
For a few years I fell into a job producing music for multimedia. Music was my passion, or so I thought.
The realities of producing music for people who were paying you did not live up to my idealistic fantasies.
I still love writing, playing, and performing music, but I do something else for a living now. That's ok with me.
Cal speaks really well in his book how passion can be discovered in what you are already doing, vs the need to have a passion for something before that. I think it's awesome to learn to appreciate what we are doing, instead of living too much based on our fantasies
Doing something because you think you are good at it, o because some few say you should do it" is not enough reason to do it. And the obsession over a topic ain't good enough either, since you can know the idea but to actually put it in practice above an average performance takes a lot of practice. Some new ideas to consider aside those 2. Thanks for the video.
I think its very hard to balance these tipe of advises. Many people is not specially good at anything, other people dont feel a "passion" for anything, and im not critisicing that because this is my case.
It would be great Rokas, that you design some "steps" that lead you to a sort of levels of achievents in a specific matter.
For example: if you read in 6 months at least (in your free time) ten books of the topic you want to master, you reach the level of "someone who knows more or less what is he talkimg about".
If you read another X number of books and go to some lectures or conferences..you reach level 2 "prospect master".... this are just stupid examples but I hope you understand what I mean
Instead of "following your passion" dream, maybe we should think about what is really my own passion?, this is because we are very conditioned by culture, by this crap coaching stuff that is very popular on this days, or by the classic "later times where better times". We live in the society of fatigue, work hard, earn low, and your job is your real passion, and all of this is a lie. I can not agree with all of your idea, but is true what your say, that many of us arent following a passion but we are living in the dreams of somebody else. I can understand you Rokas because I thought that become a chinese martial art máster was my dream, but it was impost by my Shifu, althought I really like chinese Martial arts, when I trained mma and bjj, I found that there is another realities to explore, but the true is that I wasted 15 years in this, i'm older, and dont have the enought money to start again, but the true is that my "passion" wasn't mine,and realized this is very hard and painful. What to do if your "follow" your passion is not enought?
Good points. Thank you for sharing
Great advice! Business training is often the missing element from many many many people who follow a passion career...
That's a good insight. If I understood correctly what you mean, I thought about it too, that people, especially who want to work on their own, often start businesses thinking that their skills will be inherently enough. But business is business, as marketing is marketing. Extremely good skills may be recognized on it's own at times, but I think it's better if a project is made on someone's "own shoulders", to invest some energy into understanding how business and marketing work too, since if those elements won't be taken care of, I think it can dramatically decrease the likelihood of success of many projects.
The Journey most definitely! I made many many many mistakes in the beginning. If you own a business you need the firm foundations of how to own and operate business. More then ‘hustle’ or ‘better techniques’ or ‘more passion.’
You need to read the Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell if you haven't already because your journey very much reflects it.
I'd only started and never finished Joseph Campebell's "Hero With a Thousand Faces", but I really am a big fan of the Hero's Journey. Could you share what specifically stands out for you when you compare my journey to Campbell's concept of Hero's Journey?
@@Rokasleo www.google.com/search?q=the+hero%27s+journey&oq=the+hero%27s&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l4.4976j0j4&client=ms-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=52rXz8B41Dgl5M
You were called to adventure, followed your obsession, took on mentors, went through the challenges and temptations of being almost worshipped by your students and then faced the abyss of coming to terms with what you perceived as the 'lie' of Aikido(not a good explanation)..I mean others would have chosen to ignore their failings. Then you transform, atone and returned to your country with a completely new outlook. I think the book would be very cool for you to read. My explanation won't do it justice. It's very psychological and owes a huge amount to the like of Carl Jung and Nietzsche. George Lucad was a massive fan for example..it features heavily in the Star Wars concept. Recommended
Apologies, I am referring to The hero with a thousand faces. Got the name wrong
I got it few years ago. Put aside other career to start filming from the beginning. Than I understood after few years I am unwilling to persue it fully, I prefer my daughter and wife, and I got back to 'normal' career.
Nice! I'm happy to hear you came to that realization.
In order to make sure I don't slip myself again, when I catch myself considering to start something new, I ask myself: "would I be really willing to invest 10 years into this direction?". Very quickly, most of my "inspiring new ideas" fade away 😁
Thank you Rokas, this really frames my current job seeking efforts in a new, much more useful light.
Really glad to hear that 🙏
Wow, you have a second channel!
It's a long story, but yeah 😅 I've did a lot of experimenting on it to see what I want this channel to be about and to realize how I can produce most value through it, but I think I've finally discovered a direction I'm planning to stick to and this video is one of the projects based on this direction :)
I didn't know either. That's great content, Rokas!
Thank you! Will do my best to bring some more good videos 😊 The next one should be interesting too!
Wonderful advice
Thank you
Really glad to hear it was useful 🙏
If we shouldn’t follow our passion, then why would we call it “Pass I On”? 😉
😄
Inspiratif story
Thank you... 🙏
I really like your personal development / book review part of channel.
Would you make a list of books that you recommend to read?
Oh, thank you! That's really cool to hear. I'll put into my list of videos to make one about recommend books 👌
I think Universities are overrated. I worked at coaching center(a place where college students do part time tuition for 6th graders, kind like of an ICU for kids with very low IQ) typing stuff like question papers and daily lessons, I learned more about using and maintaining a PC there than I learned from the Engineering University I was in(one of the top ten private Electronics engineering University in my country), like I had to actually open the casing and look inside to see what's wrong, the University didn't even have a workshop, most "Projects" done by their top students are literally DIY shit bought online or from somewhere else.
I can't say for certain how it is in other countries, but in Lithuania I've heard and witnessed multiple times how universities fill the students up with theoretical knowledge and once they finish their studies, most job places don't take them in since they want people who have practical experience and knowledge. This becomes a crazy situation, since how will they receive practical experience if they won't get the job in the first place. But at least around here, I think it points out to an important problem, that universities don't offer much aside from a diploma
@@Rokasleo yep, that is the perpetual cycle of stupidity that I was stuck in.
Parent: You have to go to a University to get a certificate that says your qualified to get a job.
University(after 2/4 years depending on how slow you are): Congratulations you are now qualfied for these jobs.
Job offerer: Kid we tested you, you do have a decent result on your certificate but you can't do shit for us.
Me: But I've wasted 4 years of my life trying to get this certificate and didn't have time or any kind of support from anybody to get some practical experience, please give me the lowest job, I'll clean stuff, I'll gaurd shit, i'll type stuff.... pay me with litteral peanuts just help me get some experience.
Job offerer: We don't have the time for you kid.... NEXT!!!!
Then I got a job that pay's laughable wage but learned how to type fast and smoothly, using basic shit like word, excell, photoshop etc properly and some hardware maintenance, while all the time being on the verge of getting disowned because I couldn't a decent job with my certificate.
*Much Higher*
- Causmic
Good ear! 😁✋
@@Rokasleo HAHA, No Doubt.
Always Good to Give Credit.
Hey man I am passionate about football and starte captain so should I leave study ?
How good are you at football?
Why i dont have passion to anything ?
That's a difficult question and one which is very much based on circumstances. Cal Newport makes some good arguments about it though in his book. One option is that maybe you haven't yet tried out what you will be passionate about? So it's about trying out new things and experimenting. Another aspect could be that you haven't dove deep enough into an area, which you may find enthusiasm about as you become more competent at it. I'd suggest reading Cal's book, you may find some answers there.
Following your passions doesn't always work out because of capitalism which incentivizes people to work slave wages just to survive and hardly ever manage to move on to something better.
It’s not capitalism, just life. Most people couldn’t follow their passion in any system, before or after capitalism. I grew up in a socialist country where housing, healthcare, childcare, education were all free. But in exchange, people had to do what the government wanted them to do, not what THEY wanted to do. The only way to follow your passion was if you had parents with connection or by paying bribes. Otherwise, forget your passion and do what the government tells you to do for “greater good”. You couldn’t even chose the city where to live, or an apartment within that city. Everything had to be allocated to ensure “fairness”. You graduate with a free degree, granted with a crappy one that was freely available if you didn’t have proper connections (all the good ones were taken by sons and daughters of government officials), and then relocate where government tells you to (again, without connections it will most likely be a very crappy town or village), get a job that the government assigns to you, and live in a free communal apartment shared with other families for 10-15 years waiting in line for your very own free apartment that the government finally allocates to you, usually very poorly built and full of cockroaches. And God forbid to express any criticism or complain, your next domicile will be behind bars in no time. The best job in this society is propaganda leader, infiltrated in every community, watching and listening for every sign of social unrest. They have perks like nobody else - special healthcare, housing, clothing, food, you name it. They are not possible to bribe. And they see your every move. One mistake, and next day another person suddenly shows up in your work place, and nobody can even ask what happened to you. As you can see, no capitalism nowhere near, but not a paradise either, where passion and dreams are crushed as hard, if not harder than anywhere else.
And after all of this, he realized aikido sucks and looks for a mma instructor... :)