Most people don't have time to "find their passion," so they need to learn how to develop their current situation into their passion. This can happen only if you convince yourself that you must be incredibly good at even what you don't like doing.
Last week, I found myself bored on a four-hour drive, so I downloaded the "TED" app on my phone and listened to some remarkable Ted Talks. While I was completely overtaken by a new fascination with TED, I couldn't fight back the dissonance I felt. It was a dissonance between Passion, Dreams, and Responsibility.
In Steve Jobs' legendary Stanford commencement address, he emphasized that the secret to success and happiness was to find your passion. I suppose you could call that address the "Gospel of Jobs." He didn't come up with the idea, but he definitely popularized the idea into a near-cliche. My Dad's response to this type of talk is always, "Go be a pharmacist, and find your passion outside of work."
Several of the TED talks I listened to mentioned passion and dreams, and a few of them even referred directly to the Jobs' address. One talk spoke about how you will fail to have a great career because you will fail to either find your passion or follow it (mostly because you are scared.)
While the presenters of the TED talks were incredibly inspiring, and undoubtedly successful in their own fields, none of them seemed to acknowledge that most ordinary people simply don't have enough time or freedom to go passion hunting. I found myself saying, "Well, if I could go back to my freshman year of college, I could follow some of this advice." But THAT is the problem. If I could go back in time, I would worry constantly about how to ensure that I still find my lovely wife and two daughters. I sincerely wouldn't give them up for the world. I simply can't believe that I would have developed into the man she fell in love with, had I spent the five years preceding our meeting running about, sampling all the potential passions. I dread the thought that I would have screwed up what is great about my life by trying to replace a good career with my "one true passion."
During high school, I was exposed to virtually everything. From individual sports to the debate team, from shop class to acapella choir. I learned about economics, science, math, cooking, music, and philospophy, but I lacked the emotional maturity and experience to truly evaluate what my passion would be. At one point I thought my passion might be medicine; I wanted to be a surgeon. But how, without spending a single moment as a surgeon, could I know whether that is my true "passion."
Now I have significant family responsibilities. Would Steve Jobs and the TED talkers still recommend I hunt for my passion? How does a full-time professional with a family and other responsibilities have time for such pursuits?
I could commit full-time to statistical research and blogging, to a medical education, or to becoming an announcer at the Olympics. Those things may carry a possibility of being a passion. But they also carry a limited chance at success, combined with a guaranteed sacrifice of a great career and living situation.
Fortunately, my TED listening also introduced me to the Optimism Bias, and the Happy Secret to Better Work. While the Speakers would never dare admit it, they stealthily offered a healthy dose of realism into a syrup of idealism. You can listen to the talks by clicking on the links, but my general impression was that people can control their own passion through their perspective and attitude.
I've spoken with many law-school graduates who are now saddled with debt. Several of them are in good jobs in areas they aren't fond of. A few of them don't have jobs at all. The natural reaction is to say, "I shouldn't have gone to law school. I should have _____." So they spend their days dreaming of what could have been instead of what can be.
An unfortunate reality is that, although your passion can be found within the confines of your choices, the freedom to develop your passion is only granted if you can provide high-quality work in a timely manner. An attorney with no savings is not going to be able to instantly start teaching "law-practice management seminars" for money. He will most likely need to dominate the job he is currently in and develop the skills and connections he needs along the way. This can be negatively referred to as "paying your dues." I like to think of it as "making yourself valuable."
My suggestion, then, is to convince yourself that completing any mundane, dues-paying, rat-race work is actually an essential step to developing your passion. In order to find your passion, run straight through your challenges, instead of looking for a way around them. You will feel proud and accomplished, and your happiness will make you even more effective.
Become an expert in your field, and then carve out your passion.
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