Why Following Your Passion Might Be the Worst Career Advice Ever?
The average age of entrepreneurs in Mexico is currently 33 years. There are certainly entrepreneurs who started their careers at a younger age and others who started their careers later in their lives, yet they achieved success.
However, it's a given that 80% of new projects in today's market are the brainchild of millennial entrepreneurs. "Follow your passion" is the most common piece of advice given to this generation.
Great entrepreneurs know that entrepreneurship and success are not inseparable. Very few people succeed on their first try. The former CEO of Tajín confidently said, “I've bankrupted more companies than I've managed, and I've thought about closing Tajín several times.” However, hard work pays off, and every loss paves the way for future success.
If you have ever thought about starting your own business or wondered how you could start, someone must have advised you, whether your parents, your friend, your teacher, or an expert, to “follow your passion.”
This Is a Very Bad Advice
“Follow your passion” might be the most common advice. However, it can cause the most significant losses. The modern world offers thousands of options, and it is tempting to “follow your passion.” They claim that by doing so, you'll never feel the effort of working a day in your life. Who doesn't want that? However, this claim is not realistic. Many people tried to follow their passion but failed. They no longer feel fulfilled, content, or free, so if they're lucky, they end up working in another industry and using their vacation time to pursue their passion. These are the people who detest the start of the workweek and feel as though they belong nowhere.
Practicing something you are passionate about is important, but more is needed to guide you to success. So, when someone asks for your advice on which field to choose or how to get started, it's not enough to tell them, “Follow your passion.” The correct answer must include the following three steps:
- Identifying your talent.
- Connecting your talent with your passion.
- Learning the details of the job.
Passion is a deep feeling that motivates us, but it has a changing nature like any other feeling. Some days, you'll feel less motivated than others. Just because you like something doesn't mean you're good at it.
Passion Is Not Enough
Some people love to sing, and others’ passion is football, but none of those things alone is enough because you must have talent to succeed. It is our responsibility to develop the innate talents we possess. Talents differ between people, and discovering your talent might be the most important moment in your life. British lecturer and author Ken Robinson also uses the term “the element” to describe where your passion meets your talent. Starting from this point, you have to establish your career or business.
Your talent is the first step to achieving success. You have to pick an area where you excel and can continue to grow with practice or education. It may seem harsh to hear these words, but they must be heard: Even if you have a strong passion for football, you will never be a professional player as long as you stumble. No matter how hard you try, your love of basketball will not get you to the Olympics if you are 1.45 meters tall. So, start by examining yourself, then identify your talents. If you cannot identify them, have someone familiar with you do so. Then, continue to hone them until you are the greatest in this field.
In his best-selling book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell explains that mastering any talent requires 10,000 hours of practice. It is not enough to possess a talent; you must also refine it. It will be painful and a waste of time to devote your time to something you dislike and could be better at.
Investing Your “Element” Economically
Some people choose their profession based on the expectation of financial gain. Successful and affluent people are in every industry, including sports, accounting, law, poetry, dance, education, and writing, so beware of this way of thinking. Your career can become extremely successful in any field you choose to work in. Money is everywhere; what makes a difference is how we incorporate our "element" into our business model.
Therefore, talent and passion are also insufficient. There are genius authors whose works remain unpublished and exceptional vocalists whose fame fades quickly. Therefore, once you've discovered your "element," you need to educate yourself about your chosen career. In addition, you need to learn how to sell and carry out projects, gather and assign tasks, manage work and accounts, and invest your talent to generate money. No one is better at your job than you.
It may only please some, but the following is a fact: Even if there is little or no financial return for your efforts, you still benefit from looking for people and experiences to learn from. Working for free on a project you are not passionate about is undoubtedly exploitation. The best possible reward, though, is the knowledge you will acquire if it falls within the scope of your "element."
For example, suppose you have a gift for cooking and a strong desire to start your own business. In that case, you won't mind working day and night at a restaurant because you understand this is just the beginning of your journey toward mastering the skills you will need later (remember the 10,000-hour rule). If you're passionate about law, even if your first job is transcribing documents, it's essential that you work somewhere where you can learn about the work, how to get clients and hire people, how much they charge, and what risks, issues, and concerns this profession entails. To become a wealthy lawyer, you need to master the art of entrepreneurship and being brilliant.
There are unpleasant aspects of entrepreneurship, like numbers, regulations, taxes, and annoying customers. Therefore, you should know that just because you are following your passion and talent does not mean that everything will be easy and fun. Instead, you must delve deeply into your profession, learn its details, and have a future vision for what you will build, which means investing thousands of hours, making many mistakes, overcoming difficulties, and staying up all night.
There is one certain thing: everything will be much easier if you are working in your "element" scope rather than in a different industry. Discovering and knowing your talents and linking them to your passion will help you advance more quickly and enjoy the journey. Copying others just because they have succeeded will only bring you loss. So, find your way. At the peak of your success, people will marvel at your good fortune. Still, you will know that it is entirely due to finding your talent, honing it, and overcoming the obstacles in developing it into a successful business.
If you're stuck in a career with no future, ask yourself: "Is this my “element”?" If the answer is 'no', stop, look around, and change your path. It is never too late to get to the right place.