On becoming so good they can't ignore you

Don’t obsess over discovering your true calling. Instead, master rare and valuable skills. Once you build up the career capital that these skills generate, invest it wisely. – So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

I like this concept.

It means you don’t have to agonize over still not knowing what you’re doing.

Working right trumps finding the right work? I agree. I’ve always lived by believing I can be excellent at almost everything I decide to be work on.

There’s just some danger in this. The same way a hyper-market driven approach (versus product-driven) can be dangerous…

I created my flight-booking business, Location Asia, on this basis

That as long as the market says it needs this, that they’re willing to pay money for me to create this… And I can be good at it (finding great deals, marketing the business, etc.), then I can make a living doing this thing.

Didn’t happen.

I convinced myself that as long as my business impacts people (my clients) and they’re paying the bills… Then that’s enough for me. Despite not really liking the work of flight-booking, etc.

In fact, when I closed Location Asia down, one of them passionately fought me over it, going as far as to ask what SoHelpful is paying me, and asking to match that.

Of course, quitting my business and joining SoHelpful was never about the money.

So, yeah, it can be dangerous.

But for most things, there’s no way to know at the start if you’ll eventually feel passionate about what you’re doing. You have to try different stuff, do the work, and see if you eventually feel strongly about them.

This is so important – loving the work is the only way to live through the boredom some work inevitably require and see something through to success. But until you try it, you can’t know if you’re going to love the work.

It’s similar with love, I think.

I believe there is no ONE right person for you. There are many – not all, of course, but many – people who’d make a good partner for you.

Deciding is the ultimate determining factor. Making the choice right instead of agonizing over making the right choice.

So yeah, being so good they can’t ignore me? Appeals to me very much.

P.S. I know I was terribly unclear in this post. I was just trying to get back into writing. For more information, read “Follow Your Passion” is Crappy Advice.