I was talking to someone today, and they said something that really struck a chord with me. Whilst talking about what I do for a living, find out more here, versus what he does for a living, works a dead-end 9-to-5 job, he told me that, “You shouldn’t like your job, and that if you do like your job, you won’t have it long.” WHAT?!? This made absolutely no sense to me, and for that reason, I’m going to talk about this statement, where it comes from, and how the world has the wrong view of what “jobs” should be.
Where does this thought process come from?
First off, let’s explore where this thought comes from because I believe that, sadly, most people think that the work that you do everyday should be terrible. That you shouldn’t enjoy it, be fulfilled from it, or even like going to it. American society as a whole has beat into the heads of its patrons that you should hate what you do for a living, and that the only reason you should be doing it is because you are getting a paycheck. This mentality exists because many people aren’t willing to take a risk to follow their dreams. They want what is safe, and safe isn’t always what you truly want. Happiness is what you truly want, and the only way to achieve it is to love what you’re spending at least 8 hours a day doing – your job.
Secondly, this mentality comes from people thinking they aren’t smart enough to do what they want and make money doing. Get this idea out of your head now! This is a limiting belief that stops so many people from following their dreams. They think they aren’t smart enough and don’t have the skill set to achieve their goals and dreams. The truth is you’re probably right. You don’t have them right now. What you do have is the ability to learn them. I started my first online business at the age of 15. When I started, I had absolutely no clue how to do what I’m doing today. I didn’t even know what a web host was, but what I did know is that I loved the internet. I loved websites, eCommerce, and passive income. Thus, I set out to learn everything I possibly could about online business. In this search, I found great podcasts such as Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income podcast, the Internet Business Mastery podcast with Jeremy Frandsen and Jason Van Orden, and many more awesome podcasts and resources that taught me online business. I knew absolutely nothing until I went out and learned it. You can do the same. You just have to set your mind to it.
Lastly, the mentality that you must hate your job comes from the mentality that it should be hard and unenjoyable to make money. I’ve heard college professor tell their students that “If you enjoy the job that you do, you won’t make any money doing it.” This was coming from a college professor who is supposed be prepping people for their jobs and careers! Yet, they are telling they should expect to be unhappy if they want to be financially successful. Let me be here to tell you that is not true in anyway, shape, or form. Gone are the days where you have to be a starving artist to do what you love for a living. Now, you can do what you love and be a very well-fed artist. Why is this suddenly possible? Because the internet exist. Now, you can go from promoting what you do to a few people in your town to billions of people online. The internet changed the game completely; use it to your advantage.
What should we be telling people about work?
I think these two Steve Jobs quotes say it perfectly.
Your work is going to full 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. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.
– Steve Jobs
For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
– Steve Jobs
Imagine if everyone took those two mentalities into everything they did with their life. Wow, what a wonderful world we would be living in. We, as an American and global society, need to tell our children, our teenagers, our college students, even our working class citizens that they need to, and still can, follow their dreams. That it’s never too late to start loving what you’re about to do every single day, and that no matter what your passion is, even if you haven’t found it yet, you have to pursue it. That you don’t have a choice but to, and that you can, with persistence and determination, achieve it.
