In our minds, we all have something we would love to do professionally. Maybe we have more than one thing. For example, I love to play golf, I really enjoy drinking coffee, and I have a lot of fun giving presentations and/or public speaking. However, we also have to make a living. Drinking coffee, though enjoyable, doesn’t pay well. Well,
most of the time…
In our work lives, we need to find the intersection between what we love and what will pay us well. We should be compensated for a job well done. It should be as though we look up one day and can’t believe that we are being paid to do what we do. Many authors much smarter than I have written about this topic, from Dave Ramsey to Seth Godin to John Maxwell to Dan Pink and many more. We need to find that place where we actually enjoy our work. We like to do what we do and we look forward to what the day holds in store. But this isn’t enough.
It needs to be something we’re good at. Jim Collins calls this the Hedgehog Concept. We need to figure out what lies at the intersection of these three: what do I love to do, what will pay me well (or at least well enough) and what am I good at?
Being good at something that you don’t love to do doesn’t mean you should do just because it pays the bills. At least not for a long period of time. You’ll be miserable.
If you aren’t the best, find what you can be the best at. If it doesn’t pay well, can you find a way to monetize it?
Love what you do. Become the best in the world at it. Become indispensable. Become great. Find your calling and do whatever it takes to find the intersection of these three things.
If you don’t love it, you have two options: slog through and only look forward to the two-day break after five days of torture OR quit. Find something you love. Or, better yet, create it.
