Inciting Passion in Work and Life
I recently listened to Cal Newport’s So Good They Can’t Ignore You audio book after a friend recommended it on her blog. The author aims to debunk the concept of following your “passion” to achieve fulfilling work, instead of “working hard and creating work” that you are “passionate” about. Newport suggests it is a fantastical idea to follow your passion, because it rarely turns into a career that pays well. His suggestion is to develop a set of skills (career capital) that you like well enough to excel at, to become “so good, they can’t ignore you”. What? Have I been delusional in thinking I required a passion for my job to be fulfilling?
Mind Blown
I visited the authors blog seeking further clarity. In his June 13, 2020 post, Newport refers to the idea that “skills trump passion in the quest for work you love”. He explains that, “ancient wisdom … doesn’t so much prescribe that we follow our passion, as it does that, we approach with passion the trials and responsibilities placed before us.”
This concept blew my mind. I realized that my parents had tried to instill this simple concept into my brothers and I since childhood. You can be great at anything you want, no matter how challenging, if you work hard at it, ergo facing challenge with passion. Passion is just as much about being committed to bettering yourself as it is in liking what you do.
The Path That Once Was
Career capital are the skills you have that are both rare and valuable and that can be used as leverage in defining your career.
– Carl Newport
Over the course of 15 years, I developed skills in proposal development and management. With each project I learned and strengthened my abilities. I must be an excellent proposal manager, for I had as many as five job offers in front of me in 2016. If the principle of getting “so good they can’t ignore you” was ever true, it was validated then.
My fondness for film and art led me to studying photography in college. But I didn’t become a professional photographer after graduating. To reach a level of skill that would yield a reasonable income was overwhelming, and there was always going to be someone who was more skilled than me. Instead, I used these skills to leverage a role in marketing. My recent return to school has reawakened my affection for photography, and I have discovered an interest in video and writing as well. More career capital under development.
Though I have little affinity remaining for proposal work, it is a rare and valuable skill, making it an important piece of career capital. My renewed affection for photography along with my new fascination with video and writing make them excellent candidates for career capital. However, like proposal writing, deliberate practice, time, and hard work are essential to reach the point of being so good, they can’t ignore it.
Being Remarkably Average
In an email exchange with a friend, she points out that it is OK to be remarkably average. “When I sewed futons, I sewed the best futons I could,” she explained. “When I make earrings, I only really enjoy doing them when they are creatively challenging.”
“You already have passion,” she said. “You know what things you enjoy doing, but even the things we enjoy require a considerable amount of grunt work. Passion is about approaching things with gusto, about being fearless in making mistakes, big or small.”
She makes a valuable point. There are things over the years that I have found I enjoy doing. I like watching my plants grow and have had fun trying to do a bit of baking during this pandemic (and I am allergic to cooking). I enjoy taking photos, designing things, shooting video, and journaling. The fear of failure and not being good enough often holds me back though.
The Lightbulb Moment
Instead of pushing through what I have found challenging, I changed directions because of a shortage of self-confidence and the debilitating fear of failure. To gain skills that are both rare and valuable, we need to put in the hard work, no matter how scary it might be.
When our inner voice starts telling us things are too hard, or that there is someone more skilled than us out there, we need to remember that we are capable of great things. As my friend said, “you know you are amazing at many things, but it is only your own validation and permission you require to excel at them and apply yourself to them.”
More important than which skills or how I choose to improve them, is having the determination and self-confidence to get so good, that I can’t even ignore myself!
