In 2005, Steve Jobs spoke to the graduates of Stanford University. In doing so, Jobs articulated one of the most impactful addresses to a graduating class in history. His parting words included: “And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
I want to focus on the word “love” and define it as the happiness gained from pursuing a passion. Rarely do I see love occur without passion driving such love. Steve Jobs’ “Love” was a multi-billion dollar company that became the largest in the world. His passion was not art, or music where there is rarely a livable wage to be made. Thus, I think it is relatively unfair to tell students to blindly follow your passions by loving what you do when Jobs knows his passion for Zen-meditation was not going to lead him to his wealth, power and status.
Turning away from Jobs, let us consider another “side” of the passion argument. President Obama said “…I promise you, folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree. Now, nothing wrong with an art history degree — I love art history. So I don’t want to get a bunch of emails from everybody. I’m just saying you can make a really good living and have a great career without getting a four-year college education as long as you get the skills and the training that you need.” Obama is attempting to state that maybe an art history degree isn’t something to pursue for a full-time career, even if art history is your passion, due to the lack of career potential; when we attempt to curtail inequality, wouldn’t it make sense to enable people to spend money on degrees that will pay off in the long run? (Note: a rarity in this blog, but my next post will be yet another continuation addressing the drive of money.)
Jobs was the idealist, while Obama was the realist.
In my last post, I commented on the wrongful vested interest that high school guidance counselors have in sending students to college. The belief that counselors attempt to help students choose a college while simultaneously help them pursue their passions seems to be misleading. The American collegiate structure is becoming ever more vocational; therefore, students are attempting to graduate college not for the sake of education, but for the sake of obtaining a job. I am not here to discuss whether this system makes sense, is right, or is just, but I am here to state that the system of college begs students to obtain degrees in fields that can at least partially lead to a stable occupation; therefore, again I believe it is wrong to help guide the youth to embark on futile educational goals of passion.
Cal Newport’s book, So Good They Can’t Ignore You, describes passion at length. The book states three conclusions: 1) careers in a passion are rare 2) passion is not a rapid process in the workplace and 3) passion is part of the ability to master. Newport believes that a successful career is not ground in something that you have a passion for, but that a career develops into a passion if one takes the time to invest in the career. Rather than the Steve Jobs approach, Newport encourages taking a job and working at the job rather than trying to find a job in your passion. (Newport’s does give three caveats of a job to pursue: 1) minimal growth opportunity, 2) a job that is useless in your mind; thus, you won’t try 3) the job forces you to work with people you dislike.)
Newport actually believes that passion pursuit leads to a decrease in the ability to live a happy life. When one graduates, they often have high marks on the type or field of a career they want to obtain. Sometimes, this mark is so high that the probability of falling short is massive; therefore, when people ultimately fail to meet their desired goal, they become less happy. The questions that one asks with the mindset of obtaining a job aligned with one’s passion (i.e. do I love what I do? Is this my plan?) rarely have the simplistic either-or answer of “yes” or “no;” therefore, because of this inability to even answer the fundamental questions at hand, individuals shouldn’t focus on obtaining a career of passion.
My opinion is that passion should be saved for your weekends. I love to read and I would consider it to be my greatest passion, but my reading is not my career. I love to write; therefore, I created a blog and I am beginning a rough outline of a book I want to write, but I am not an author. My friends are musicians, but do not try to be professionals, but they perform at bars, at weddings, and at parks just for the sake of quenching the passion thirst.
I think that at all ages we should teach kids the difference between work and passion. Work is work because it is hard. More importantly, the conflict between work and passion may lead to a disutility due to unequal achievement of one’s goals. Now, like Newport, I do not believe passion should be totally thrown away, but should be the solitude one seeks on the weekend.
thereisnopeak.com 