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Arnold Schwarzeneggar said it pretty damn well on Reddit: "We can't always do what we are passionate about, but everything we do can move us closer to our pass

Arnold Schwarzeneggar said it pretty damn well on Reddit: "We can't always do what we are passionate about, but everything we do can move us closer to our passion. I was never passionate about construction. But I laid bricks and worked so I could support my passion when I was starting out in bodybuilding. The most important thing is, you need to find your passion. And once you do, put everything into it. Everything." http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/19sjfo/this_inspired_me_and_i_bet_it_will_inspire_you/c8qzryg?context=1 http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/19sjfo/this_inspire...

rglover 13y ago
This is a really great anecdote, thanks for sharing.
jinushaun 13y ago
That is pretty much the unspoken corollary to the "do what you love" mantra. If you love D, you can't just go from A to D. You have to find B and C to get you there. Sometimes B and C are going to college and working a shitty job for a few years. And if you have to work a shitty low paying job, you should at least pick one that helps you get closer to D.
VLM 13y ago
"I was never passionate about construction." Its interesting that HR would never permit him to be hired now a days.
- alextingle 13y ago
  What? As a brickie's labourer? I think strength, and willingness to work hard are quite sufficient qualifications for that job.
  - VLM 13y ago
    We're on hacker news... I think the analogy with pretty much any entry level (or non-entry level) tech job is pretty obvious.
    - ZoF 13y ago
      Except that your comment is completely nonsensical... You can't apply one industries hiring metrics to anothers as if they translate in some way(when they clearly don't). Not being passionate about laying bricks doesn't mean you won't be hired for menial labor, not being passionate about a position in this industry might very well stop your from being hired for a programming job...
      - johnward 13y ago
        but why must you be passionate about software development? What if you aren't really passionate but you are still a good programmer? What's so bad about that? I'm curious because I've never really been "passionate" about any job. In fact I've dislike or downright hated every job I've ever had. I still think I perform well because I have to. Jobs are a means to an end.
        ZoF 13y ago
        Yep, I agree, I wasn't trying to say that the process of determining whether someone is "passionate" is the correct way of doing things.... For an intelligent person the system is easy to identify and cheat anyway... I was just pointing out that a bricklayer won't be vetted for "passion" whereas a programmer very well could be.... Whether a programmer should be(especially given that "passion" is basically an impossible to measure metric) is an entirely different discussion. My apologies for presenting my point in such a confusing manner.
      - VLM 13y ago
        "when they clearly don't" Why? Other than the obvious appeal to authority "ZoF says so" and excluding the obvious passion oriented professions such as appearing to be passionate when being hired as an actor for a formulaic romantic comedy or appearing to be passionate when applying to become a prostitute / escort? Assuming its sane and wise for HR to demand intense feelings of passion when solving fizzbuzz, why shouldn't an otherwise supposedly sane profession like bricklayers apprentice demand gooey steamy firey passion with respect to hauling five gallon buckets of premix thinset mortar around a jobsite? Apparently passion is more important at higher level jobs, so beyond apprentice work, if my journeyman plumber felt intense passion for copper tube compression fittings when he replaced my toilet, I would have a substantially improved bathroom experience every time I flush. And if this is an absolute laughingstock when applied to construction, why is such unprofessional behavior tolerated in the software development hiring process? What it really is, is a test for lying. Can you lie to me well enough to convince me either I'm a really good liar, or so easily seen through that you're never going to pull the wool over my eyes? HR/mgmt assumes you'll by definition be a crook, after all, who claimed 25 years of Scala development on his resume to match the ridiculous job requirements and checkboxes, which were designed so only the guy we already selected could possibly be hired, how did this guy sneak past? Its basically insulting, and seeing how you'll respond to being insulted. Pitifully this is how we select our coworkers.
  - kamaal 13y ago
    >>I think strength, and willingness to work hard are quite sufficient qualifications for that job. No, He will likely be asked about and made to solve pointless problems related to the chemistry behind the chemicals somehow related to brick making.
- jlarocco 13y ago
  The majority of jobs don't even pretend to require passionate employees. Nobody expects the clerk at 7-11 to be passionate.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
tsax 13y ago
Some contrary thinking from the great Cal Newport: 1) http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/10/16/the-passion-trap-how-the-search-for-your-lifes-work-is-making-your-working-life-miserable/ http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/10/16/the-passion-trap-how-t... 2) The book : http://www.amazon.com/Good-They-Cant-Ignore-You/dp/1455509124/ http://www.amazon.com/Good-They-Cant-Ignore-You/dp/145550912...
- psychous 13y ago
  That's ridiculous. People are less passionate about their jobs today because 1) there are many more unfulfilling, essentially unnecessary jobs and 2) people see more opportunities to switch to new, more interesting work (even if they usually don't take the leap, and even if the opportunity isn't really there). Sometimes people end up in these unfulfilling jobs thinking it's their passion, then have an identity crisis when they realize that they aren't "making a difference" - say, the politics example. A decent take on the real issue: http://www.strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/ http://www.strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/
stephengillie 13y ago
Biography on A&E of Schwarzeneggar tells stories of him being in the German armed forces (post WWII, duh), going AWOL to work out at night. And he was studying to be a real-estate agent after his first few acting gigs because he wanted a plan B if his acting career didn't work out.
joonix 13y ago
This kind of advice is simply alien to a large subset of the population. I have no single "passion." I move from interest to interest rapidly, I'm never really interested in mastering anything, rather getting practical knowledge about something then moving on.
rfnslyr 13y ago
He's exactly right. My dream is to run my own kick ass creative agency. I can't just walk out of my job today and begin. Have a goal in mind and treat everything as a temporary stepping stone. I don't get bogged up in corporate culture, because I know this isn't the first day for rest of my life.

rglover 13y ago

This is a really great anecdote, thanks for sharing.

jinushaun 13y ago

That is pretty much the unspoken corollary to the "do what you love" mantra. If you love D, you can't just go from A to D. You have to find B and C to get you there. Sometimes B and C are going to college and working a shitty job for a few years. And if you have to work a shitty low paying job, you should at least pick one that helps you get closer to D.

VLM 13y ago

"I was never passionate about construction." Its interesting that HR would never permit him to be hired now a days.

alextingle 13y ago
What? As a brickie's labourer? I think strength, and willingness to work hard are quite sufficient qualifications for that job.
- VLM 13y ago
  We're on hacker news... I think the analogy with pretty much any entry level (or non-entry level) tech job is pretty obvious.
  - ZoF 13y ago
    Except that your comment is completely nonsensical... You can't apply one industries hiring metrics to anothers as if they translate in some way(when they clearly don't). Not being passionate about laying bricks doesn't mean you won't be hired for menial labor, not being passionate about a position in this industry might very well stop your from being hired for a programming job...
    - johnward 13y ago
      but why must you be passionate about software development? What if you aren't really passionate but you are still a good programmer? What's so bad about that? I'm curious because I've never really been "passionate" about any job. In fact I've dislike or downright hated every job I've ever had. I still think I perform well because I have to. Jobs are a means to an end.
      - ZoF 13y ago
        Yep, I agree, I wasn't trying to say that the process of determining whether someone is "passionate" is the correct way of doing things.... For an intelligent person the system is easy to identify and cheat anyway... I was just pointing out that a bricklayer won't be vetted for "passion" whereas a programmer very well could be.... Whether a programmer should be(especially given that "passion" is basically an impossible to measure metric) is an entirely different discussion. My apologies for presenting my point in such a confusing manner.
    - VLM 13y ago
      "when they clearly don't" Why? Other than the obvious appeal to authority "ZoF says so" and excluding the obvious passion oriented professions such as appearing to be passionate when being hired as an actor for a formulaic romantic comedy or appearing to be passionate when applying to become a prostitute / escort? Assuming its sane and wise for HR to demand intense feelings of passion when solving fizzbuzz, why shouldn't an otherwise supposedly sane profession like bricklayers apprentice demand gooey steamy firey passion with respect to hauling five gallon buckets of premix thinset mortar around a jobsite? Apparently passion is more important at higher level jobs, so beyond apprentice work, if my journeyman plumber felt intense passion for copper tube compression fittings when he replaced my toilet, I would have a substantially improved bathroom experience every time I flush. And if this is an absolute laughingstock when applied to construction, why is such unprofessional behavior tolerated in the software development hiring process? What it really is, is a test for lying. Can you lie to me well enough to convince me either I'm a really good liar, or so easily seen through that you're never going to pull the wool over my eyes? HR/mgmt assumes you'll by definition be a crook, after all, who claimed 25 years of Scala development on his resume to match the ridiculous job requirements and checkboxes, which were designed so only the guy we already selected could possibly be hired, how did this guy sneak past? Its basically insulting, and seeing how you'll respond to being insulted. Pitifully this is how we select our coworkers.
- kamaal 13y ago
  >>I think strength, and willingness to work hard are quite sufficient qualifications for that job. No, He will likely be asked about and made to solve pointless problems related to the chemistry behind the chemicals somehow related to brick making.
jlarocco 13y ago
The majority of jobs don't even pretend to require passionate employees. Nobody expects the clerk at 7-11 to be passionate.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

tsax 13y ago

Some contrary thinking from the great Cal Newport: 1) http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/10/16/the-passion-trap-how-the-search-for-your-lifes-work-is-making-your-working-life-miserable/ http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/10/16/the-passion-trap-how-t... 2) The book : http://www.amazon.com/Good-They-Cant-Ignore-You/dp/1455509124/ http://www.amazon.com/Good-They-Cant-Ignore-You/dp/145550912...

psychous 13y ago
That's ridiculous. People are less passionate about their jobs today because 1) there are many more unfulfilling, essentially unnecessary jobs and 2) people see more opportunities to switch to new, more interesting work (even if they usually don't take the leap, and even if the opportunity isn't really there). Sometimes people end up in these unfulfilling jobs thinking it's their passion, then have an identity crisis when they realize that they aren't "making a difference" - say, the politics example. A decent take on the real issue: http://www.strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/ http://www.strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/

stephengillie 13y ago

Biography on A&E of Schwarzeneggar tells stories of him being in the German armed forces (post WWII, duh), going AWOL to work out at night. And he was studying to be a real-estate agent after his first few acting gigs because he wanted a plan B if his acting career didn't work out.

joonix 13y ago

This kind of advice is simply alien to a large subset of the population. I have no single "passion." I move from interest to interest rapidly, I'm never really interested in mastering anything, rather getting practical knowledge about something then moving on.

rfnslyr 13y ago

He's exactly right. My dream is to run my own kick ass creative agency. I can't just walk out of my job today and begin. Have a goal in mind and treat everything as a temporary stepping stone. I don't get bogged up in corporate culture, because I know this isn't the first day for rest of my life.