<p>Really interesting article:</p>
<p>To</a> Find Happiness, Forget About Passion - Oliver Segovia - Harvard Business Review</p>
<p>good grief, this guy is clueless</p>
<p>I love this article and his viewpoint! Sometimes, following one’s passions without regard for how one can make a living and contribute to the world with it is a mistake. How many PhDs/JDs right now regret their decision and wish they hadn’t gone that route at all? </p>
<p>Obviously, on an individual level, the decision to pursue something ultimately depends on how good an he/she is at it. If one is certain he/she will come out on top no matter what (unlikely unless one is genius hard-worker with amazing leadership/social skills and connections), then he/she need not be concerned about the potential fruitfulness of his/her passions. Most people, however, need a proper balance of interests and marketability.</p>
<p>I know of many HS classmates/their tiger parents who emphasized the vocational aspect and ignored the passion side of things. While they all succeeded in gaining highly lucrative and prestigious positions after college/professional school…it ended up blowing up in their faces years down the road. </p>
<p>For that group…a chunk of that money is going to psychotherapists and medical doctors from all the psychological and physical ailments brought on by the stresses and angst of finding out that they took the wrong path because they never bothered to/weren’t allowed to find their true passions. </p>
<p>This kind of hits home with me as one issue I’ve had with one HS classmate I dated recently was how I’ve had to avoid any conversations about our worklives…or else it will be dominated by her long endless rants about how she hates her career as a pharmacist and feels trapped because she felt her college education was such that no one will hire her to do anything else and she will take a substantial paycut. Did I mention she chose her major/field solely for vocational considerations?</p>
<p>One shouldn’t just focus strictly on the marketability of one’s degree either. Being interested in what you do for a living is important, but the article seems to be saying we should redefine altogether how we go about finding what makes us happy. He suggests shifting the approach from one focused mainly on the self to one focused on the world. His view seems to be that work should make us happy not only for the intrinsic joy of the pursuit it but also from the sense of meaning a person can get from it-- meaning that is, more often than not, tied to our sense of how our work is contributing to a greater good in our families, companies, communities, society, and the world. </p>
<p>Whether one can find satisfaction in something without caring for its its potential impact on others is a separate question. If one happens to like doing something that is also something the world needs, then that person is quite lucky. However, somebody who’s pursuing something for the fun of it where there is no demand or there’s an oversupply would be better served finding happiness in something else where his labor would not only be materially rewarded but also make a positive impact on the world. In any case, it is always wise to calculate risk before going for any particular endeavor.</p>
<p>I don’t think I have yet seen a college website that doesn’t remark on “passion,” as in follow it or have it. The more I think about “passion,” however, the more I think of it as something unbounded. To have a passion for something is to become highly absorbed and focuses and wilful – almost to the very exclusion of other influences. Just like a 500 word limit on an essay, where the writing necessarily gets tighter and cleaner over time, a “passion” bounded by real world limitations (job, money, marriage, etc.) creates a better end.</p>
<p>The article is, refreshingly, NOT about ignoring one’s passions and choosing something practical in terms of employability, such as the pharmacist described by corbrat. It is about looking outward and seeing what needs to be done, and finding solutions to those problems, rather than gazing at one’s naval. What one sees as a problem surely is related to one’s value system. Thus, by addressing the outer problem one also addresses one’s passions. I think this is a fantastic lesson, and is especially important for college students.</p>
<p>^Yes, exactly. That captures the essence of the article.</p>
<p>This is a great article. However, some over eager editor assigned a horrible title to it just to get the “read”. The article is not about giving up your passion, it’s about finding your passion within big questions that need solutions. It’s about being happy being the small cog that helps solves outward problems, while still shooting to be the big cog. It’s about not being all about me in your career choices, but rather about channeling your passion towards the greater good.</p>
<p>I agree that this is a terrific article (with a lousy title) because it takes a cliche, ‘pursue your passion,’ and grounds it in the real world. Passion is a wonderful starting point, but what passion does is propel you on a journey that, hopefully, will enable you to make a meaningful contribution with your life.</p>
<p>It’s not hard to have more than one passion in life. Some can make money–others not so much. Called balance.</p>
<p>I feel that the author seems to be searching for his own direction himself and is trying to convince himself that he made the right decisions.</p>
<p>Isn’t this just his version of passion, as is applicable to entrepreneurs such as himself? You know, find a problem, fill it, and while you’re add it makes loads of money from doing so? </p>
<p>The thing is, if some of us aren’t also learning history, or economics, or sociology, or international relations, or biology …the list goes on…what substance are these leaders planning to bring in to fully understand and solve real world issues?</p>
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<p>vicariousparent likes this!</p>
<p>I have never known an unhappy person to improve their outlook by dwelling on themselves - connecting with others, doing for others and feeling useful works wonders for many dissatisfied souls. This article is a well written prescription for what ails many disenchanted people, it is a milestone of growing up to discover that indeed it is not “all about you”.</p>
<p>Starbright said "Isn’t this just his version of passion, as is applicable to entrepreneurs such as himself? You know, find a problem, fill it, and while you’re add it makes loads of money from doing so? "</p>
<p>I’m not familiar with the author, so maybe it makes sense that you took the article this way, but that’s not at all how I took it. I thought he meant look at a big problem like . . . Homelessness, stray cats, or sex trafficking, and work on those issues, rather than staring at ones navel over something academic or trying to make money for personal gain.</p>
<p>^ You may actually be right, and I’m just being cynical (given this is a guy at HBS, writing for HBR, self-identified as entrepreneur, with a book coming out). The latest business school fad-- all about ‘giving back’ (gag). If that is your mission…why business school? Why not policy school? Education? Medicine? Social work? Sociology? </p>
<p>I think my reaction is influenced by the opening of his essay. What is his point here? Pursuing intellectual interests is somehow narcissistic? I tired of the refrain that pursuing your area of intellectual interest is in some way akin to a ‘hobby’, or navel gazing, or ‘finding oneself’. </p>
<p>There is tremendous social worth and value in intellectual pursuit of many domains, even if we do not know exactly how it leads to a job; just maybe we should continue to pursue these interests so we can solve the worlds’ problems. The LAST THING we need are more business school grads (I say this as a business school professor). And how do these supposed leaders expect to solve world problems just by looking around, talkin’ to folks, travelling? Without a solid intellectual grounding in something other than ‘leading’ it seems rather pointless. </p>
<p>Finally, many pursuing an intellectual interest <em>because of</em> its link to solving problems. That might come about from an interest in chemistry, or engineering, political science, teaching, or psychology…the list goes on and on. Far more it seems than those majoring in business.</p>
<p>Apologies…I’m cranky this evening.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, knocking intellectualism and intellectual interests has been one manifestation of a series of culture wars which stretch back to the beginnings of our Republic. </p>
<p>Alexis de Tocqueville covered this to some extent in “Democracy In America” when he discussed the American tendency to privilege practical sciences which could be applied to commercial or industrial ends over the theoretical ones which may not have any apparent applicable links towards those “practical” ends.</p>
<p>The ‘big problem’ referenced by the author could be an intellectual problem, a problem in pure mathematics or science, or in the fine arts. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a ‘practical’ problem.</p>
<p>The message of this article is appropriate for MLKJr Day :)</p>
<p>Also, yes, working towards the greater good doesn’t preclude intellectual inquiry (e.g. finding ways to negotiate through a crisis, developing ethical solutions to problems, etc.)</p>