Do what you love. Wrong!

~ Live & Learn

skills-cal-newport

When I read the title of this book, my head snapped back.  I believe that “doing what you love” (or pursuing your passion) leads to you being effective and satisfied in your job and leading a satisfying life.  Newport suggests that “following your passion is terrible advice” and that “skills trump passion in the quest for work you love.” I’ve bought the book and I’m starting to dig in.

Amazon’s book summary states that “Newport debunks the long-held belief that “follow your passion” is good advice. Not only is the cliché flawed-preexisting passions are rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work-but it can also be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping…Matching your job to a preexisting passion does not matter, he reveals. Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it.”

There is a worthy start-of-the-week message in the excerpts from 800ceoread’s book review:

…Newport’s search revolved around a very simple, very human question—a question he became obsessed with: How do people end up loving what they do? And he discovered that the prevailing wisdom on the topic—“follow your passion”—is terrible advice…

…research (suggests that) the happiest, most passionate employees were not those who followed their passion into a position, but instead those that who have been around long enough to become good at what they do…

…Newport presents a very helpful distinction between the craftsman mindset, “a focus on what value you’re producing in your job,” and the passion mindset, “a focus on what value your job offers you.” He argues that “regardless of how you feel about your job right now, adopting a craftsman mindset will be the foundation on which you’ll build a compelling career,” and counsels readers to move their “focus away from finding the right work and toward working right,” to eventually build a love for what they do. Newport is not anti-passion so much as he’s passion-agnostic, believing passion “is an epiphenomenon of a working life well lived…”

…It seems that everyone wants to change the world these days, and that’s commendable. But perhaps the best way to do so is by becoming really good at what you do—so good that they can’t ignore you—and building from there…”

 

Sources: 800ceoread; Amazon

37 thoughts on “Do what you love. Wrong!”

  2. This *is* an interesting concept, and one I’d like to learn more about. The notion of the “craftsman’s mindset” is especially interesting to me, as one of my biggest clients is a group of custom furniture makers, the New Hampshire Furniture Masters. http://www.furnituremasters.com. I’ve learned a lot from working with these gifted men over the course of the last eight years, as they believe fervently in what they’re producing and work very hard to perfect their craft. But I’ve always thought that they were “called” to the profession, that they had to love it and be passionate about it, or they’d never be able to labor in obscurity, so to speak, for as long as it sometimes takes to hit their stride/develop a following. Anyhoo, it’s interesting….thx David, for yet another interesting “mind tweak.”

    Like

    Reply

    1. Wonder, Lori, if they initially landed in their craft of furniture making because they loved it – or grinded it out – eventually mastered their craft – and settled in. Be curious. Sounds like grist for a future post…(hint hint)

      Like

      Reply

  3. like our colleagues, i’m interested in this proposition David. the ideas of the craftsman’s eye and a focus on value added are compelling. i do wonder though if they aren’t to some degree simply the vehicle. maybe passion is “merely” the energy that propels the vehicle, but don’t we still require ‘content’ i.e. a compass setting to follow? …

    Like

    Reply

    1. Anake, I think you are on point. I have seen far too many who are at the top of their game, but miserable…and watch years click by. Then they pack it in….shift gears…and could not be happier. We need the content, the compass and the craftsman’s eye.

      Like

      Reply

  5. This is spot-on. Do what you’re good at and take joy in your excellence. Then you can spend time on what you love as a hobby or secondary pursuit and not have that marred by the need to make enough to eat.

    Like

    Reply

  7. Interesting. This actually gives permission to stop searching an be happy and content now, doesn’t it? I continue to struggle with these concepts and wonder if I should be following my passion, but I can’t really find a way to pay my bills and do that at the same time. But an interesting dynamic for me is that what I am good at and what I have devoted my career to sometimes does not feel like my true passion – it just feels like a comfort zone that I keep returning to. Thanks for helping me shift my thinking a bit! Great post.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Jenni, I’m not yet a believer of his recommendations. I think there is a happy medium between doing what you enjoy and mastering the craft. I’ll let you know what I think after I finish the book.

      Like

      Reply

  8. Interesting and thought-provoking post! I have held two jobs doing something that I truly loved to do. The problem I found was that once I became compensated and had the standard professional requirements associated with a job applied to the activity I love, I soon lost my passion for the activity. It was something to do with “having” to do the work, as opposed to “wanting” to enjoy the activity. On the other hand, I am very skilled and enjoy what I do for a living (teaching adults), but I do not enjoy doing it on a volunteer basis.

    I think I may have to give this book a read, because the surface review of it resonates with me.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Interesting (get paid for doing what you love and then losing interest). I can see how this can happen. Let’s compare notes on the book after you read it. Be curious on your opinion. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Dave

      Like

      Reply

  9. Dave, I was thinking about going against the main stream as well and writing a book. The title is, Why Canadians Scare Me. There are things people should know.

    Like

    Reply

    2. Frank, did you even read the post? Did you just awake from your mid-afternoon nap – and decide to drop a random comment on my blog for kicks to aggravate me. You are straddling the blog banishment line. (You’d be the first.) One more Canadian insult…just one more. BTW, why are you surfing the internet at 3:05pm? Do you have a job?

      Like

      Reply

  10. From a Scary Canadian who knows a lot of people in the arts – even doing what you love can get mundane in the dailiness of life. It’s impossible to be joyously, passionately creative 24/7. And contrary to another cliché from a few years back – just because you do what you love, the money doesn’t necessarily follow. The stress of this shouldn’t be underestimated.
    I’m in complete agreement with this post. I love what I’m doing not just because I chose to do what I love, but more importantly, because I’ve worked really hard at it to become good at what I do.

    Like

    Reply

  11. Super post! Couldn’t agree more. Very Jim Rohn’ish point of view. It’s not what you do, but how you do it, that matters.
    Fits also much better into current world economy. Generations in their 20’s and 30’s need to hear it, we are brought up with belief, that we should run for our passion. It leaves a young individual with huge responsibility on their shoulders,that they should figure it out eraly. As it is expected, by themselves and their ” stakeholders” (family, friends)that they need to know what their passion is and start working towards it, as soon as possible (right after high school). Seen many from my generation broken down with anxiety and stress. Pressure.
    In my opinion, it is very unrealistic. Funny, I’ve written post about “finding passion”….will be published tomorrow. Thanks for this one.

    Like

    Reply

  13. Definitely upending…now what do I tell the college students I work with…sigh. Though my mind has to bend, it does make sense…and it’s also really encouraging if there are things you love to do but are relegated to the 5pm-6am hours, instead of the reverse.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Yes, completed upended me. Not sure the college students you work with will listen (at least not most of them.) And it would be ideal if you had things that you love to do from 6am to 10pm every day. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  14. Saw the Steve Martin quote a few weeks back. Very good. Read an article as well (will try to find for you) talking about the same thing as the book. I blocked out it then but now it’s got me thinking.

    Like

    Reply

  15. A great one for the start of the week. Like an earlier commenter, I too made a conscious decision early on life not to purse my passion ( I was an organ scholar at Oxford and read music): instead I went and joined a Brewery. I told myself I didn’t want to have to make money out of the thing I found so inspiring.

    It wasn’t until I was made redundant mid-30’s that I was forced to think again, and I got lucky and bumbled into a second passion – helping others to learn (I’m a business skills trainer).

    Given a second chance would I make the same choice? No. I would have tried to identify my second passion earlier ( and doing Myers Briggs would have helped me with that). Maybe the compromise here is to be greedy; keep your true passion alive by not making it a career, and get as close to a second passion in your work as you can?

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thanks for sharing your “story” Michael. Fascinating. And I think you may be on to something but running your career and your passion on parallel tracks. At times it can be a challenge to balance and juggle both – but there can be a leverage point – your passion bringing satisfaction, peace, calm – and your career bringing accomplishment and food for the table…thanks for sharing Michael.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a Reply