Do something you’re passionate about

 
This is the one piece of careers advice we’ve heard, and read, over and over again. We spend far too long at work not to enjoy it, and if you love what you do, you’re far, far more likely to be successful at it. But there’s two takes on this theme: Do what you love…or love what you do.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Do what you love

Do something you’re very passionate about.
And don’t try to chase what is the hot passion of the day’
Jeff Bezos – Founder & CEO of Amazon

Love what you do

‘Your work is going to fill a large part of your life,
and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.
And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.’
Steve Jobs – Co-founder & CEO of Apple

You might be lucky enough to have a passion for something that could earn you a decent living – finance, developing apps, gene therapy…?? But if what you love doing is rather less lucrative (me – swimming (leisurely), cooking (averagely), listening to music (avidly, but so what?))…Then you might have to opt for something else!

So if you can’t do what you love, can you love what you do?

The takeaway from this is to go into an area you enjoy, find inspiring or where you have a genuine interest. You’re much more likely to grow to love what you’re doing and therefore make a success of it. So don’t be seduced into a job just because it sounds impressive/fits what you think you ought to be doing/satisfies family expectations. Follow your own path, pursue what feels right for you. And if you stop feeling it, time to move on.
 
 
Click here for inspiration on contemplating your career, or read our blog on the dreaded question ‘What do you want to do?’ here
 
Mark Swain (Director of Partnerships at Henley Business School) wrote 5 articles about happiness in the workplace. He says, the deciding factors are PRIME – Personality, Resilience, Image, Mindset and Expectation. Here is his first article about Personality – – The Way to Find the Work You Love
 
 
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