Mike Rowe - Don't Follow Your Passion

[BowhunterNJ]

Pretty good video by Mike Rowe, worth the few minutes to get his "Dirty Truth"

 

[Bill from NJ]

Very good words of wisdom…..

[Haskell_Hunter]

I love Mike Rowe.  One of the smartest people who is in tune with education, jobs and skills.

 

An interview from my favorite libertarian news source.  40 minutes long.  Let it play in the background if you don't want to watch it.

 

 

 

 

[Zipper]

Great post. Love Prager University!

[Kype]

mike rowe 

[Axiom]

I don't know if you should "never follow your passion".. But I do know you should be able to realize when its time to go in a different direction.. I have a nephew who is an aspiring actor.. I'm the family a$$ Hole ( yeah i know thats hard to believe ) because I told him he doesn't have a chance in hell of making it in that industry.. Everyone else encourages him but, His acting sucks, he has no special talent and NO connections... He's doomed to fail.. Its the truth.. And i'm a jerk for not lying to him..  ...Let him dream they say.. I say he doesn't need my or anyone elses permission to dream.. what he does need though is a dose of reality..  Better to give some one what they need rather than just whatever they want is my philosophy... Yeah you can say its just my opinion but really it isn't.. its everyone elses opinion too.. they just wont say it because, that wouldn't be nice..

[buckfever1974]

I don't know if you should "never follow your passion".. But I do know you should be able to realize when its time to go in a different direction.. I have a nephew who is an aspiring actor.. I'm the family a$$ Hole ( yeah i know thats hard to believe ) because I told him he doesn't have a chance in hell of making it in that industry.. Everyone else encourages him but, His acting sucks, he has no special talent and NO connections... He's doomed to fail.. Its the truth.. And i'm a jerk for not lying to him..  ...Let him dream they say.. I say he doesn't need my or anyone elses permission to dream.. what he does need though is a dose of reality..  Better to give some one what they need rather than just whatever they want is my philosophy... Yeah you can say its just my opinion but really it isn't.. its everyone elses opinion too.. they just wont say it because, that wouldn't be nice..

There are plenty actors in Hollywood with no talent.

[Bucksnbows]

Love Mike Rowe, but if you have passion AND skills, then it is perfectly fine to follow that passion, and that is what I would tell anyone.  For me, it "only" took me until I was in my early 40s to figure out what I wanted to be, and then it took another 7 or so years working for a non-profit (Trout Unlimited in my case) to turn that passion into a living.  For me, it all started as a hobby - fly fishing for trout for which I have great passion.  And it wound up steering me to river channel restoration, dam removals, bank stabilization, etc. that I can now use my 30 years of sales experience (first 21 years selling corrugated packaging) to follow my passion.  I only wished I realized earlier in life where I was eventually headed, but no regrets now that I have found it.   

[Rusty]

Great video!! 

[BowhunterNJ]

No question that an intersection of passion and talent is the ultimate success, it's equally important to recognize your talents (or lack thereof) in respect to a given passion.

Bucksnbows has somehow managed to turn his passion for fishing into a career, despite his repeated casts into trees...amazes me to this day that guy, he's determined I tell ya!

 

Truth be told, it's great to see people who can find that intersection in life, many of us (myself included) do what we do because we're good at it and it pays the bills, not necessarily because we are extremely passionate about it.

Personally, and I'm sure many can relate, there are times when my job inspires me and other times when I contemplate dropping everything, moving to a deserted island away from all people and technology, and living off the land!

[Bucksnbows]

Personally, and I'm sure many can relate, there are times when my job inspires me and other times when I contemplate dropping everything, moving to a deserted island away from all people and technology, and living off the land!

 

I can build you a self sustaining trout pond complete with solar powered recirculating pumps and an in-flow stream the trout can spawn in if you go that desserted island route.  Just let me know, our construction schedule is getting busy

[Haskell_Hunter]

Truth be told, it's great to see people who can find that intersection in life, many of us (myself included) do what we do because we're good at it and it pays the bills, not necessarily because we are extremely passionate about it.

Personally, and I'm sure many can relate, there are times when my job inspires me and other times when I contemplate dropping everything, moving to a deserted island away from all people and technology, and living off the land!

 

 

Okay, this may be the one thing we both can agree on.  I only do what I do because it comes easy, and I can make decent money doing this.  Would I rather be doing something other than sitting, staring into computer monitors for 16-18 hours a day?  No doubt!