Do what you love and love what you do, and success will
come? Well, we wish.
come? Well, we wish.
Reality is not as simple as we want it to be. It takes more
than just passion to succeed in anything.
than just passion to succeed in anything.
“I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but
I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.” — Walt Disney
Disney’s words echo with what I’ve recently read – an
article written by Stephen Guise that talks about why
you don’t need passion to succeed. Instead of needing
passion to succeed, he says that you need to care about
succeeding in what you want to do.[1]
article written by Stephen Guise that talks about why
you don’t need passion to succeed. Instead of needing
passion to succeed, he says that you need to care about
succeeding in what you want to do.[1]
Passion is just emotion; care is an action.
Wishing hard and wanting something really badly won’t give
you anything.
you anything.
Passion (NOUN) – “strong or barely controllable
emotion.”Care (VERB) – “Feel concern or interest; attach
importance to something.”
Passion is a “barely controllable emotion”, and emotions
’ not always reliable. Care is different, it implies actions.
’ not always reliable. Care is different, it implies actions.
In today’s world where people always talk about finding
your passion, it still seems vague to many. On the other
hand, if you’re asked to find something you care about,
it’s easier for you to name it.
your passion, it still seems vague to many. On the other
hand, if you’re asked to find something you care about,
it’s easier for you to name it.
You can choose to care anything at any time. When you
care about something, you see that thing as really
important to you and you’ll do what you can to protect it.
care about something, you see that thing as really
important to you and you’ll do what you can to protect it.
I know some of you may then say, “But Steve Jobs said
people with passion can change the world and he really
did change the world with his Apple products!”
people with passion can change the world and he really
did change the world with his Apple products!”
Steve Jobs is undeniably a passionate entrepreneur,
and he’s passionate about making an impact on this
world. But he also had his down times when that
passionate emotion would fade. What’s left in
Steve Jobs when the passion’s not there suddenly?
There’s definitely a lot more than passion in him.
and he’s passionate about making an impact on this
world. But he also had his down times when that
passionate emotion would fade. What’s left in
Steve Jobs when the passion’s not there suddenly?
There’s definitely a lot more than passion in him.
Like it ≠ Good at it
There’s a lot of work to do besides being passionate.
For example, you can be passionate about painting,
but if you don’t have any art sense and painting skills,
you can hardly become an expert in painting.
To become an expert, you need to be always learning
and improving your skills.
For example, you can be passionate about painting,
but if you don’t have any art sense and painting skills,
you can hardly become an expert in painting.
To become an expert, you need to be always learning
and improving your skills.
The perception that you’ll do it well anyway when you
like it is just an illusion.
like it is just an illusion.
Let’s say, I like eating and I eat quite a lot; that doesn’t
mean I can just become a food guru and know how to
analyze the quality of food and write good reviews for
restaurants and dishes. To know how to rate foods, I
have to learn the basic of what makes up good quality o f
food. I need to study the nature of different kinds of food
like seafood, meat and vegetables etc. and understand the
different types of cooking methods. I also have to learn
the word usage and tone when writing a review for public
to read.
mean I can just become a food guru and know how to
analyze the quality of food and write good reviews for
restaurants and dishes. To know how to rate foods, I
have to learn the basic of what makes up good quality o f
food. I need to study the nature of different kinds of food
like seafood, meat and vegetables etc. and understand the
different types of cooking methods. I also have to learn
the word usage and tone when writing a review for public
to read.
Becoming an expert is one thing, becoming successful is
another thing. To succeed, you need a pinch of luck too
besides working hard.
another thing. To succeed, you need a pinch of luck too
besides working hard.
What you do gotta be able to connect
with what the world needs.
To be successful in anything, you need to get to the over
lapped sweet spot of the three aspects: what you care,
what you can do and what the world needs (where a bit
of luck maybe needed).
lapped sweet spot of the three aspects: what you care,
what you can do and what the world needs (where a bit
of luck maybe needed).
Don’t get turned off, luck doesn’t play everything here!
When you do enough research to understand what the
world needs and try to think about how you can utilize
your strengths, you will meet that sweet spot. Making
the seem-to-be uncontrollable factor controllable is
definitely possible.
When you do enough research to understand what the
world needs and try to think about how you can utilize
your strengths, you will meet that sweet spot. Making
the seem-to-be uncontrollable factor controllable is
definitely possible.
Now you understand that merely passion is not enough
to lead you to success, what to do next?
to lead you to success, what to do next?
Make what you care a Focus Foundation.
After you’ve figured out what you care about most, make
that your focus foundation.[2] Being passionate about
something can be a kind of motivation to make things
easier because it helps you focus on what you want and
care about most.
that your focus foundation.[2] Being passionate about
something can be a kind of motivation to make things
easier because it helps you focus on what you want and
care about most.
Passion fuels resilience and provides you with the
ambition to learn and strive to become more
competent at what you do. Most importantly than
anything else, it affords you the ability to focus.
When you’re clear about the very thing you want,
you know what things are actually distractions that
stop you from reaching your goal.
you know what things are actually distractions that
stop you from reaching your goal.
Learn not just what you care about,
but what’s around that too.
When you’ve got your focus, try to map out the skills
you need to get better at that.
you need to get better at that.
Steve Jobs loved design so much that he took a
calligraphy class just for the fun of it. He believed
that the dots would connect in the future, all he did
was to follow his heart to learn and let himself exposed
to all the related stuff he was interested in.
calligraphy class just for the fun of it. He believed
that the dots would connect in the future, all he did
was to follow his heart to learn and let himself exposed
to all the related stuff he was interested in.
To kickstart mapping out the skills you need, try to get
yourself a skill chart. This is suggested in Jon
yourself a skill chart. This is suggested in Jon
It’s easy, you just have to create a table with these columns:
- A column that lists the skills you have to learn
- A column for Research
- A column for Action
- A column for Progress
I changed the table a bit by adding one more column
called “Target” to make the objective even clearer to me:
called “Target” to make the objective even clearer to me:
Research and write down the things you need to do in
the “Action” column and estimate how far you are from
taking up the skill in the “Progress” column.
the “Action” column and estimate how far you are from
taking up the skill in the “Progress” column.
When you have the learning plan ready, apply that course
you need, get yourself the tools required and kickstart
learning and practicing.
you need, get yourself the tools required and kickstart
learning and practicing.
Aspire to make a difference in the world
with your strengths.
When you’ve become really good at what you care about,
you can start to think about the connection between
your strengths and the world’s needs.
you can start to think about the connection between
your strengths and the world’s needs.
You’re good at something and you need the world to know.
The best way to do that is to find out what the world wants
and needs most at the moment and connect that with your
strengths.
The best way to do that is to find out what the world wants
and needs most at the moment and connect that with your
strengths.
Steve Jobs thought the world needed some different
technology to make life easier. Technology used to be
so inconvenient, everything was too big to carry around.
So he created ipod-nano, ipod touch and ipad.
technology to make life easier. Technology used to be
so inconvenient, everything was too big to carry around.
So he created ipod-nano, ipod touch and ipad.
Success is way to go, but you can start
right now.
Passion alone doesn’t guarantee success. But if you’ve
already got your passion, that’s good enough to make
that your foundation and motivation to keep moving.
already got your passion, that’s good enough to make
that your foundation and motivation to keep moving.
Start mapping out the skills you need and take actions.
Instead of passively letting your passion wander around,
be proactive and do something that will push you forward.
Instead of passively letting your passion wander around,
be proactive and do something that will push you forward.
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