by “Follow your passion!”
How many times has that rousing cliché tumbled forth from stage, page or screen?
There are people doing great work who really have ‘followed their passion’.
Good for them.
But what about when you just don’t know what your ‘passion’ is?
What about those of us who, as kids, never had a ready answer when asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
With no ‘north star’ to follow, do we have to just accept we’ll never leave that 9-5, leave the entrepreneurialism to the passion-chasing crowd and remain directionless forever?
Of course not.
Sure, “follow your passion” can make for great origin stories (sometimes) and Hollywood biopics (sporadically), but as actual practical advice it’s kinda… yawn.
In my work with biz founders of various kinds I’m constantly reminded of the wonderful things that can come from – well, not ignoring your passion exactly, but at least not fully grasping what it is, and trying your hand at something else instead:
Like a path trodden out of half-curiosity until it got interesting (or dangerous)…
Or an experiment…
Or a determination to just… fix… that… damn… thing you stubbed your metaphorical toe on too many times…
All seeds from which impactful businesses, creative ventures and careers have grown.
Each time I work with a new client or partner I get a rush:
A sense of their unique motivation to do work that matters…
It’s fun, energising and inspiring.
But what they have to share with the world rarely started as “following a passion”.
In her advice to young graduates, Angela Duckworth, author of ‘Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance’ suggests we ask ourselves:
“In what way do I wish the world were different? What problem can I help solve?”
Questions which move the focus away from our own thorny sense of self-worth or ‘purpose’, and towards helping other people – a good starting point for any product or service.
That’s why Angela’s double-header is this month’s Clarity Question(s) for you to consider:
“In what way do I wish the world were different? What problem can I help solve?”
You don’t have to be bursting at the seams with ‘passion’ to make a career out of something.
You don’t need to wait for an 100% original idea nobody else ever thought of to show up, either…
As James Webb Young’s influential book ‘A Technique For Producing Ideas’ explained back in 1939:
“An idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of old elements.”
If you can add X to Y and make a useful Z, you’re off to the races.
Prefer the startup generation version? Professor Rollnecks himself, Steve Jobs, said something similar:
Creativity is just connecting things… (creative people) just saw something.
It seemed obvious to them after a while… because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things…
The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.”
That’s been the truth behind so many successful products and services.
It may not sound as alluring as the idea of some bolt-from-the-blue ‘Eureka!’ moment, or the raw, uncontainable passion to create…
But many successes actually come as part of a trial and error process, an accumulation of experiences with no ‘big bang’ to speak of.
As Angela Duckworth reminds graduates in her article:
“Interests are not just discovered, they’re developed.”
After all, not every startup founder or entrepreneur walked boldly onto the right road at the first attempt, guided by some burning inner desire…
Many are experienced people (in the sense Steve Jobs meant) with a whole catalogue of fascinating trial and error / screw-ups behind them, who took years to find the path they’re on now (and may even change again).
When I talk with these folks, I get inspired to help them express their journeys and stories as part of their biz’s unique value…
To focus on their drive to help someone solve a problem – rather than indulging in a particular passion.
So if you’re still not sure what your ‘passion’ really is, whether you should follow it, or if it even matters…
…or you never quite got around to answering that age-old question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”…
Fear not: you’re in good company.
And as long as you keep asking the right questions, answers will come.
