Three Examples of Why You Must Do What You Love

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 12:50am by Gina Laverde in Life

Every career counselor, self help book and Oprah episode I watch suggests that doing what you love is the key to happiness and success. So I know there must be truth to it. But still, when I try to relay this genius realization to thick-headed friends… I’m often left feeling like I haven’t made an impact.

It all seems so simple doesn’t it? Perhaps it is simple if you are already doing what you love. Many of us journey through a myriad of flopped trials before we find our career passion.

Here are some examples of flopped trials from my own life, and the lives of people around me, that lead here – doing what I love

Five years ago I decided to sell Mary Kay cosmetics because I was told by a friend that it was a great way to make money on the side (and because I could work for myself). I can count the number of times in my life that I actually wore make-up. Three times. Prom, wedding, and at least one other time. But, nonetheless, I was excited for a new business adventure.

So I went to their make-up meeting and listened to ladies speak about how they were making six figures selling cosmetics and how MK changed their lives for the better.

I heard the word entrepreneur at the first gathering and decided to go back about four more times. I bought the $99 starter kit and signed up for their e-mail campaign. But there was no way I was going to have a make-up party or call every woman I know and rave about how she simply must buy the entire spring lip gloss line.

I couldn’t sell the stuff because I truly didn’t believe in it. I was told that in order to sell Mary Kay I had to have my nails manicured and must always wear a skirt. Rules like that never worked for me either. I love skirts and nail polish but could not be told how to dress. Soon, these women who lured me in with their enthusiasm and motivation were beginning to seem fake.

But it wasn’t really them. They loved every moment of what they were doing. They meant their smiling attitudes and were enjoying pretty good profits. Where I felt guilty or out of place soliciting eye-shadow clients – girls flocked to them begging to buy more.

We all want to buy from happy people. No one wants to get their new nail polish from a chick with crumbly cuticles.

I wound up selling the stuff in my starter kit (which was supposed to make me $500) for just about $100. I gave away what I couldn’t sell and called it quits after about 2 months.

Just after our wedding, my husband was approached by two entrepreneurs who’d just opened a real estate firm in our neighborhood. They met him in a store and said that he simply must work for them – leasing apartments.

He gets this kind of thing a lot so didn’t think too much of it. About 2 weeks later we spotted their storefront, thought it was cool and decided to stop in. They immediately hired him and because of their ultimate enthusiasm for him – he joined their bandwagon.

Well, these guys loved my husband enough at first to help him get a car and insurance right away. They bragged about him to anyone who would listen, and he let this fuel his passion for working for them. He became the top agent in his first month and remained in the top two for a long while.

He came home happy every night for nearly a year, and he was making great money. But things around the office started to change as the business grew. The owners began to hire less qualified people, put up walls in the office, and offer less attention and benefits to their old favorites.

So, my husband’s moral, client referral list and paychecks all took a drastic decline. He always hated sales, he told me. But he stuck around because of how well he was treated.

No matter how hard it seemed that he tried, he could never bring back the momentum he once had. It was as if his new clients sensed the lack of passion for his work.

He had a passion for money and a job that could make it. He never missed a day of work. And, if I can say so — always looked pretty damn good in his suit and tie. Yet, at the end of his time there, he only seemed to be able to rent out the low cost apartments. Or places that took forever to pay their commissions.

I think it’s safe to say that he did not leave on good terms. He stayed too long doing something that he didn’t love, and that left a negative impression on many people.

An old buddy of mine with a knack for taking risks often winds up involved in doomed business ventures. He calls himself an entrepreneur. And he has actually owned his own profitable company – which he closed down.

I cannot tell you what this guy loves to do because I don’t think he knows yet. He’s good with computers. He has a college degree and is very athletic. But none of these qualities are used or obvious in the business choices that he makes.

Old Buddy’s most recent start-up is an entertainment company. I must also mention that this guy cannot sing, dance, or play and instrument. He doesn’t draw, act, paint, pantomime – and he really doesn’t know any actors, directors, or people willing to teach him more about the industry. He doesn’t think this matters.

My friend is semi-organized and has come up with a good looking business plan, gotten some minor investors and set up shop all within the last few months. He has made it quite clear that he is in this for the money and think a lot of cash to be had in the industry.

He was so pumped on the idea in the beginning that all I could do was cross my fingers that maybe he had finally found his niche. And maybe he has. My fingers are still crossed and I do not know the ending to this one. But I notice his motivation sinking. And he doesn’t know how to fill some of the holes in his business.

His lack of experience could be padded with enough passion for the field to want to learn more. He could make up for his naïveté by knowing who to bring to the table. What’s going on for him right now is that there are some tasks that NEED to be done that he simply doesn’t know how to do; there are other tasks that he doesn’t realize need to be done, and he is spending less time trying to grow the business.

The guy is an idea man. He is passionate about creating new things but gets board in the middle of projects. He may be able to keep this company and grow it huge if he gives himself the proper job and finds others to fill in where he is lacking.

But, for him to do that – he will have to decide what he role he should play to best suit the company and he’ll have to commit to it.

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