Do what you love
One of my favorite online authors, Paul Graham, has a new essay titled How To Do What You Love. He starts off by looking into the paradoxical combination of work and enjoyment. As children, he says, we learn that work is something we have to do, and play is something we want to do. School is something we have to do, and is basically a diluted version of work. Our parents tell us — directly or by implication — that we should enjoy school while we can, because work is much worse.
Graham points out that what our parents should be telling us at this point, is that we need to work our way through the things that we don’t enjoy in order to be able to do the things that we do enjoy. Maybe then we would start to see work as an opportunity or as a path, instead of as a dead end. This is advice I plan on heeding well while my kids are growing up.
Now she has a life chosen for her by a high-school kid.
Many people don’t do what they enjoy, that’s true. Even many of those that claim to enjoy their work are lying about it. Why? Because everybody knows you do better at what you enjoy. It’s more socially proper to say you enjoy your work, because then you’re perceived as being better at it!
This was a revelation to me. Suddenly career discussions I’ve had with many people started making more sense. I wonder how many people believe me, when I tell them that I enjoy what I do?
Graham goes on to discuss different methods of achieving the goal of doing what you love. Maybe it’s a side job. Maybe it’s something that will come after you’ve made it up the corporate ladder a bit. Maybe it’s something you’ve been planning since you were young. But, Graham warns, don’t try to decide what to do when you’re too young, because you just might be wrong.
All told, this was one of the better essays I’ve read lately, and on a topic I really relate to — with a sense of pride. Because I do enjoy my work. I even pass Grahams test: would you do it, even if you weren’t getting paid for it? Yes, I would. And I have. I also believe that my industry has a high percentage of people that do really enjoy what they do. Or… maybe those are just the people I hear about.
Graham’s essay contains good advice for people at all stages in their career, so I recommend it to everybody. If you like this essay, also try reading Graham’s What Business Can Learn from Open Source.