This popular adage suggests that:
1. If you figure out what you love doing, you'll reach career nirvana.
2. If your job feels like work, then you should find something different.
Both those statements sound ridiculous to me. Why do you have to āloveā your job? āLoveā is a very powerful emotion thatās not to be used lightly.
There are so many things I love in life that have nothing to do with work. Exploring new places, dining experiences, partying with friends, meeting new peopleā¦the list goes on.
My work is something that enables me to do the things I love. While I donāt love what I do, I LOVE the outcome of what I do, and thatās complete freedom. I travel most of the year, attend all the fun things I get invited to, wake up without an alarm every dayā¦Iām living the life I designed, and itās awesome.
To be clear, just because I donāt love what I do, doesnāt mean I hate what I do. Thereās enjoyment, but itās nothing to rave about compared to the long list of things I truly adore.
If I only did what I loved, I wouldnāt do anything at all. Being a startup CEO is really, really hard. Most of the work we do is not enjoyable. Itās not possible to love all those tasks. We do it anyway because we have an incredible ability to endure pain.
I donāt enjoy constantly being strapped for resources, having to learn new things all the time because I have no idea what Iām doing, bearing all the consequences even for shots I didnāt call, being obsessed with revenue and expenses, trying so many things that donāt work, having tough conversations, apologizing for things I had no control over, having anxiety dreams most nights, waking up with weight on my shoulders, never knowing if itās all going to be okayā¦etc. etc. etc.
I donāt only do what I love.
I do what Iām great at.
I do whatās required.
I do all this because itās impossible for me to do anything else. I am unemployable.
Career nirvana is not achieved by finding the thing you love working on most. Itās achieved by finding a career thatās completely integrated with the lifestyle you want to live. The life that gives you the most joy.
For me, that meant finding something that gives me the ability to travel full time, work on my own schedule (no live calls or in-person meetings), and generate high financial ROI (relatively low investment vs. potential revenue).
Anything worthwhile is going to take a lot of hard work. That work is going to feel like work for a long time.
You donāt have to love what you do. You just have to be madly in love with the outcome of what you do. ā¤ļø
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I'm Melissa Kwan, 3x bootstrapper with 1 exit. I'm the Cofounder of eWebinar & Host of ProfitLed Podcast.
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This post was originally shared by Melissa Kwan on Linkedin.