Comments on: Don’t do what you love

By: Michael Blaine

Michael Blaine — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 03:56:24 +0000

Congratulations on Obama’s victory tonight!

He would make an excellent president.

Michael Blaine
http://www.rudelystamped.blogspot.com

By: Michael Blaine

Michael Blaine — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 02:14:17 +0000

Nowadays, anyone with a blog can be a critic!

And, at least in the US, any educated person who saves regularly and invests wisely can become wealthy.

As far as work goes, having pleasant and even interesting and likable colleagues is of extreme importance!

Michael Blaine
http://www.rudelystamped.blogspot.com

By: elainemeyer

elainemeyer — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:56:12 +0000

I’m not advocating in this post that structure=office job, though it may seem that way. I think structure=paid employment. I would say that though I am pursuing something that is more my passion than other things, I in part see it as, like Trunk says, “doing what you are.” In general, writing and editing has always come more naturally to me than other things, so it makes sense to do it as a job. I guess I find what Trunk says a consolation, because I think one will always be dissatisfied with aspects of a job, even if it is something one loves. I do agree too that one should realistically, as you say pursue one’s passion.

By: Jon F.

Jon F. — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 01:36:03 +0000

Food critic?

Seriously, though I agree that for most people. doing “what they love” for money is a pipedream, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to look for the most realistic way to do that. I’m not convinced just taking a job because it gives structure is a solution for many people if they spend at least 8 hours of their day counting down the clock. As someone who’s done such a thing, I agree that structure can be a nice distraction from a semi-major existential crisis, in the end, it’s still only that, a distraction. If you really have a passion, you’re only delaying the crisis by taking an office job that does nothing for you but give you money. It’s probably better to experiment now than to leave your family in financial trouble when you realize at age 45 that you wanted to be a sommelier all along. I’m not saying that everyone is so passionate about something that it warrants them devoting themselves fully and professionally to that (i.e. I agree with you that you should carve out your identity outside of work, like JBish!), but that people shouldn’t be discouraged from trying out things they think they might enjoy more than just falling into a traditional career path. Of course, for some people, being a paralegal is something that they are so passionate about that they will continue doing it way into their fifties (haha). But I’m glad you’re following what you want to do instead of opting for law school like so many others.

As for critics, let’s agree that it’s not really a career path, but a cushy position for lucky journalists/writers to opine on things they usually know very little about (ahem, Michael Bauer). I always think it’s better to create than critique.