Don’t Find Your Passion, Create It

“Choose a Job You Love, and You Will Never Have To Work a Day in Your Life” — Confucius (maybe)

This is a statement we’ve all heard. Something that drives many people to quit their jobs, take a leap of faith to find their dream job, or the job that they feel so passionate about. Do you agree with this? I DON’T.

For starters, the popular individuals who’ve quit their jobs or dropped out of school to do what they’re passionate about and have become billionaires are a very rare bunch. For the most part, taking that “leap” of faith entails years of research, seed money, and an empty parents’ basement. I’m not diminishing the quality of the decisions they made. In fact, I envy them. I envy them because I lack that courage, that self-confidence, and their strong determination to do what they love.

I do have things that I’m passionate about, too. Since high school, my dream was to be a famous musician. A song writer. A lead singer in a band. I had (have) the musical talent, but I did not pursue it. Instead, I went to business school, and for the past two decades, I’ve been in many roles in a large financial institution. Another dream of mine is to be an author. To publish a book. Be a well-recognized speaker and thought-leader in the leadership and corporate space. Until recently, most of my time has been spent in my day job. Slowly, I’ve been creeping into music by volunteering at church and performing at wedding parties. Also, I’ve carved some time to start writing. I have the framework for two books, and I’ve started blogging again.

Let’s go back to the topic at hand. I don’t believe in merely “finding your passion.” Life is not perfect, and life is not fair. If we fail finding our perceived passion, it can destroy us. It can crush our hopes and dreams, and the will to move forward. What I’m proposing here, instead of finding your passion, is to “create your passion.” Cal Newport, computer science professor in Georgetown University, and author of many New York Times Bestsellers once said in an interview, “Make it a goal to ending up being passionate about your work.”

“Make it a goal to ending up being passionate about your work.” — Cal Newport

What I’m proposing is, work hard to be the best you can be at what you’re currently doing. Find purpose, and make it your passion to be great. Once you get there, you’ll be happy, you’ll find fulfillment, and that state will create an environment where you’re energized and inspired. Being great at your current job may also mean, you’ll be rewarded monetarily for your efforts. This will place you in a position where you will have the resources and the bandwidth to pursue other things. In my case, I can probably afford musical equipment. Or I don’t have to work extra hours to make ends meet, thus giving me time to write my book.

My background is in marketing and advertising. Early in my career, that was my goal. I ended up in the ideal job 10 years later, but I wasn’t satisfied. This is when I realized that no matter what role I’m in, I need to create passion in it. I’ve worked 13 different roles in the company I’m a part of. I’ve been passionate about each and every role, regardless of its function. In each role, I was successful and I’ve made an impact in every engagement.

Whatever you do in life, let’s learn to be passionate about. Be the best you can be by making it a goal to “ending up being passionate about your work.”

Please share your passionate about in the comments below. Also, please share what passion you’ve created for yourself in your current environment.

Originally published at https://donvarela.com on July 9, 2019.