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Last week, I was lucky enough to sit in on a conference call with Penelope Trunk. She was putting it on for members of Brazen Careerist (Gen Y career-ish oriented blogs) and I was extremely impressed with the overall call. Many people have a visceral reaction to Penelope (if you read through her comment sections, you’ll begin to understand) but despite my disagreements, it always seemed like she was interested in contributing to the overall careers discussion in a positive way. The hour long conference call solidified my feelings on this.Some of the people on the call talked about some of the difficulties they faced in maintaining their blog or understanding the limit between what should be written about and what should be left behind. There was also an in depth discussion on what should be written about an what should be left behind as far as interesting content. It was definitely relatable because I felt those same issues when I started blogging.
One of the things I took away from the call (that wasn’t mentioned but lit up in my head) was the fact that people should write about things that they are good at writing about in order to be successful bloggers. Anybody can write about things in a way that makes them happy. It is a low standard to hit. My first adventure into blogging involved a LiveJournal account that was full of emo lyrics and poorly thought out political stances. This sort of blogging made me happy but nobody cared what I wrote. It wasn’t well executed and writing about things in a way that made me happy turned my blogging into an unfocused disaster.
When you write about things that you are good at writing about (that’s a mouthful), you can hone your skills and actually become successful as a writer. Of course, being successful (usually) makes people happy and that’s what most people want.
Of course, I couldn’t help relating it back to careers. People often pursue (or desire pursuing) the thing in life that makes them happy. They often assume that what makes them happy makes for a good career. That seems entirely unreliable to me. My dad likes working on his 1950 Chevy but he wouldn’t like it as a career (and that would make him unhappy). Doing something you do well is a more reliable way to ensure happiness. It utilizes your strengths and it builds pride in yourself. And to me, that is much more important than following happiness.
Follow success and happiness will follow you.
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Comments
08.19.08
I complete agree, you like to do something on side, doesn't mean you will love working at it full-time. (Especially it only utilize part of my strengths)
I have been teaching math to kids two times a week for a couple of hours for years & I enjoy it.
When they ask 'Why don't you become a teacher?' My reply was : Some people volunteer & I do this.
08.19.08
I completely agree with you as well. I have been contemplating whether I would really be okay with being in an office for the rest of my days with very little outside connections. I like being an Admin. but now I know that I wouldn't be happy if I followed a career as an Admin.
Success and happiness can be confusing and finding your way is an adventure when the two lines seem to always blur.
08.19.08
Let's differentiate. A hobby isn't always your bliss. For your dad, its a distraction from the everyday, his getaway. But when you have found that thing that gets you going everyday, that you know what you want to do... then you should follow it. That doesn't mean you'll never struggle in your life, but it makes a difference when you're doing it for something you believe in. I think that's where many people get stuck is that they're supposed to fight for a job that they don't really care about and they can't figure out why they have no motivation for it.
08.19.08
Bravo...You are right. Do what you are good at and the odds are that you will be happy too. I ran Walt Disney World for 10 years and I loved it so I performed well. Now I write a blog on leadership, management and service excellence and that makes me happy to because I feel like it is a subject that I am good at. I don't do it because I have to. I do it because I want to. There is a big difference....Lee
08.19.08
Great post...I've always felt the trade-off between "doing what you love" and "doing what will make lots of money" could be mostly resolved by simply "doing what you're good at." If you do what you're good at, you'll probably enjoy doing it and you'll also likely be successful at it.
08.19.08
@Ian - Volunteering like that is a perfect example of something that brings you happiness but wouldn't necessarily make you happy as a job.
@Tiffany - That's a good point as well. You may well like your job but how does that translate into long term success?
@Smith - Not all hobbies can realistically be turned into careers though. I love playing guitar and basketball but it is doubtful I could make money doing that and I know I wouldn't be successful. The reason I use it is because being a car mechanic is a viable job alternative and he wouldn't be happy with it long term.
@Lee - There is usually a reason we are good at things, right? It is because we dedicate time and energy to it. And finding what makes you successful seems easier and more consistent than what makes you happy.
@Sean - I think you summed up my point there. Thanks.
08.19.08
Great discussion!
So true that avocations don't always make for a good vocation. The fun gets lost. That's why it's best to first test-drive the avocation as a vocation. You have to be able to at least answer the question, "What if?" If it's not the dream job vs. dream avocation, you just saved yourself a lot of time and money. But if it IS your dream job after test-driving it, then it's worth pursuing further by creating an action plan.
How do you test-drive a job? Volunteer. Work part-time. Get a mentor and create your own mentorship program. There are many ways. And it's worth the time as personal and professional due diligence.
Cheers!
Brian Kurth
President of VocationVacations & Author of Test-Drive Your Dream Job: A Step By Step Guide To Finding and Creating The Work You Love
www.vocationvacations.com
08.19.08
I don't know. There are a lot of things I'm good at that I'd never want to do in a job. Because one is good at something doesn't mean they'd like to make it the major part of their career.
I think doing something you both enjoy and do well will set you on the right path.
11.17.08
Usually, things that I'm good at make me happy. I'm happy when I'm successful and I am successful when I do something I am naturally good at with an infusion of hard work. I always assumed this would hold true for everyone.
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