You Don’t Have To Love Your Job

331 million Americans feel that they have a book in them — and should write it — Joseph Epstein

How many ended up doing so? 275 thousand books were published in America in 2013 — I am not good at math, but I’m sure that number should be way more. It means over 90% of people in the US that loved the idea of writing a book didn’t make it. Why is that?

They never actually worked on their book. It just remained in their heads. It is very comfortable to keep ideas tucked away in the mind because it means you will never be disappointed when you find out you don’t have the skills necessary to bring them to life — but this poses a problem (nothing gets done).

Telling People To Do What They Love Is Problematic

Don’t get me wrong — I believe people should do what they love. The problem is in the definition. Some people don’t understand the difference between what they love and what they love the idea of — in simple terms, The Shiny Object Syndrome.

Shiny object syndrome is the tendency to continually chase new ideas and opportunities without evaluating their benefit first or if they actually fit into your skill set

This is where the problem lies. People aren’t doing what they love, they are doing things that catch their attention (even if they don’t actually like it). You see a very skilled pianist playing on say Youtube and before you know it, you start thinking of buying a grand piano.

Did you stop to think that maybe you aren’t actually into playing the piano? Maybe you just liked how the pianist was playing it (because that’s what he is good at). Talent is beautiful and attractive — maybe if you actually focus on doing what you are skilled at, people will look at you doing your thing and go — I WANT TO DO IT TOO!!!

You Don’t Want People To Do What They Love Either

Imagine for a second an aspiring pilot (we will call him Joe). Joe has a lot of passion for becoming a pilot. Now imagine Joe has a very low IQ. He probably wouldn’t make it through flight school (is that what it’s called?) — and for good reason.

You wouldn’t want a person with a lot of passion for flying you to France (for example) to have a low IQ. Needless to say, you might not end up in France — Joe might just drop you in the middle of the deep somewhere.

Joe is not dumb. It just means being a pilot (as much as he loves it) isn’t for him. If he instead focuses his efforts on things he is skilled at, he could be world-class.

Joe might be a genius. But if you judge Joe by his ability to fly a plane, he will live his whole life believing he is stupid

Everything Is A Job If You Have The Necessary Skills

Believe me when I say you can turn anything into a job. I have literally seen a person turn feeding a Seagull into a full-time job. Some jobs are easier than some — all you have to do is find one easy enough for you to do that it doesn’t feel excruciating.

Think about what you are good at that makes you happy. Now think about what can make you money. Where those thoughts overlap is your true job. That is what you should be doing instead of chasing the next shiny idea that pops up on your Youtube feed.

Don’t Do What You Love. Do What You Have To Give

This change in mindset is powerful. This means you should only do what is already within you. You have some core skills you have always been good at. Maybe you can bend your body in weird ways — or your singing can break glasses — or your hearing is phenomenal. All these can be turned into jobs that matter.

If you have a skill that people would want to see or even laugh at, it can be turned into a freaking money making factory. The best part is you already have that skill — it is within you. If you can turn that skill into a job, you will certainly enjoy doing it, and everybody will be able to see it too.

You just have to do some research and hone it to perfection. But if you focus on what you are already good at, you will eventually find your dream job. The rest as we know it is simply history!

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Previously Published on medium

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