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I used to wonder about this. There are skills that require hard work and brains. Some people seem to find themselves "in their element" when they are mastering

by hzay 15y ago

I used to wonder about this. There are skills that require hard work and brains. Some people seem to find themselves "in their element" when they are mastering or using these skills (Roger Federer, for example). Some of those skills pay, and some don't. It seems to me like what you love in your life is largely driven by chance, and if your passion happens to be something that will not pay your bills, you are just unlucky, and will be left to do stuff you do not love as much. It sounds like this is obvious, but I've heard "be whatever you want to be but be the best" a lot, and it used to sound like an obviously good idea. Maybe those who are lucky enough find that doing what they love brings happiness and money, and think they have found the answer to umm.. everything?

Mz 15y ago
I'm not convinced that it is as simple as you indicate. I think there are opportunities to make money at things you love, even things that aren't typically lucrative. Most writers and painters are "starving artists" but then you have the JK Rowling's of the world who made big bucks at it. No, not everyone can do that. And, no, the answer is not as simple and straight forward for some people as for others. I have certainly wrestled with that fact personally -- I have long done things I believe in/love and not yet found a way to make them lucrative. I don't think that means it won't ever be lucrative. But, no, the answer for me has not been simple and straight forward. Still, I have no fantasies that merely pursuing self indulgence is likely to get me there. Again: Maybe I missed something in the article, but it sounds to me like that is what the author basically did. Peace.
- barce 15y ago
  Hi, I didn't really expect this great of a response and am working on replying where I can. I'm humbled. The piece is first and foremost a polemic. In order to get Google juice many bloggers present an "if you build it, they will come story." I really believed the same thing about my writing at the time (2002-2003). However, there was a change I was missing. If I had focused more on being a better blogger (SEO, SEM, writing from a provocative passionate point of view) instead of being a better writer, I think I would have made it career-wise. I'm not passionately, "3 months into a relationship" in love with coding but am happily married to it. Thanks for reading!
sliverstorm 15y ago
The way you present it, everyone has one thing they enjoy and it's a crap shoot whether it's marketable. I do not agree with this viewpoint. I have so many things that I enjoy doing... I find it very difficult to believe people are born with the capacity to enjoy only one thing. Those who find themselves out of work because they chose to pursue a tenuous line of work are in that position because they chose, for whatever reason, to pursue that particular work- not because it's the only thing in the world they can enjoy. Lastly, on the subject of luck, I subscribe to an old adage; "Luck favors the prepared".
- prodigal_erik 15y ago
  I have incidental stuff I also enjoy now and then, but only one calling, and I consider myself lucky that it's writing code (and that the market value of my work has increased so much in twenty years) rather than something like http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/100000-toothpicks-used-to-depict-san-francisco-20110427/ http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/100000-toothpicks-u.... Some people have a deep-seated need to do things society hardly values at all, and terrible advice like "follow your bliss and money will take care of itself" would only compound their tragedy. I think the key is to find the smallest gap between what you need to do and what our civilization wants from you, because that gap will be the measure of your dissatisfaction.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]

by hzay 15y ago

Mz 15y ago

I'm not convinced that it is as simple as you indicate. I think there are opportunities to make money at things you love, even things that aren't typically lucrative. Most writers and painters are "starving artists" but then you have the JK Rowling's of the world who made big bucks at it. No, not everyone can do that. And, no, the answer is not as simple and straight forward for some people as for others. I have certainly wrestled with that fact personally -- I have long done things I believe in/love and not yet found a way to make them lucrative. I don't think that means it won't ever be lucrative. But, no, the answer for me has not been simple and straight forward. Still, I have no fantasies that merely pursuing self indulgence is likely to get me there. Again: Maybe I missed something in the article, but it sounds to me like that is what the author basically did. Peace.

barce 15y ago
Hi, I didn't really expect this great of a response and am working on replying where I can. I'm humbled. The piece is first and foremost a polemic. In order to get Google juice many bloggers present an "if you build it, they will come story." I really believed the same thing about my writing at the time (2002-2003). However, there was a change I was missing. If I had focused more on being a better blogger (SEO, SEM, writing from a provocative passionate point of view) instead of being a better writer, I think I would have made it career-wise. I'm not passionately, "3 months into a relationship" in love with coding but am happily married to it. Thanks for reading!

sliverstorm 15y ago

The way you present it, everyone has one thing they enjoy and it's a crap shoot whether it's marketable. I do not agree with this viewpoint. I have so many things that I enjoy doing... I find it very difficult to believe people are born with the capacity to enjoy only one thing. Those who find themselves out of work because they chose to pursue a tenuous line of work are in that position because they chose, for whatever reason, to pursue that particular work- not because it's the only thing in the world they can enjoy. Lastly, on the subject of luck, I subscribe to an old adage; "Luck favors the prepared".

prodigal_erik 15y ago
I have incidental stuff I also enjoy now and then, but only one calling, and I consider myself lucky that it's writing code (and that the market value of my work has increased so much in twenty years) rather than something like http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/100000-toothpicks-used-to-depict-san-francisco-20110427/ http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/100000-toothpicks-u.... Some people have a deep-seated need to do things society hardly values at all, and terrible advice like "follow your bliss and money will take care of itself" would only compound their tragedy. I think the key is to find the smallest gap between what you need to do and what our civilization wants from you, because that gap will be the measure of your dissatisfaction.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]