6. If you’re not passionate about what you are doing then go do something you are passionate about!

It is really rather simple! Competition will demand that you are good at what you do. In order to be good you have to enjoy it. You may be thinking that it is unrealistic to expect that everyone in the company is passionate about their work. You may be right, but we aren’t talking about everyone, we are talking about you! We are talking about the leaders of these organizations. If the leaders aren’t passionate about the business then who the hell is?

The choices you make not only affect you. They will also have a significant impact on your employer and your colleagues.

Lose/Lose/Lose or Win/Win/Win

You lose
The world is getting more and more competitive. In most industries customers have greater choice and require better products and services at lower cost. In order to meet these competitive pressures organizations are struggling to drive down costs through achieving greater efficiencies. In short, companies are expecting fewer people to produce more! In essence each of us has to get better and better at what we do. The only way to meet this challenge is to work with something you truly enjoy. If it is not enjoyable you just won’t be able to put in the effort that is required to succeed. It will just be too much like work! If on the other hand you enjoy what you are doing you will perceive the effort you put into it as self-development or even as play.

If are bogged down in a job you are not passionate about you aren’t getting the satisfaction out of you work you deserve. Since we spend so much time at work it is fair to say that you are not getting the satisfaction from you life that you ought to grant yourself.

Your employer loses
If you are on a job you are not passionate about you will not be able to perform at the level of productivity your employer has the right to expect from you. This could ultimately undermine your employer’s ability to succeed in highly competitive markets.


The other guy loses
By filling a position that you are not passionate about you are blocking that position from someone else who may be dreaming of doing your job. They will not get the opportunity to get their dream position as long as you are sitting there (at least not at your company). There may be circumstances in which there just aren’t enough dream jobs to go around, but what a terrible shame if some of these scarce positions are filled by people who don’t appreciate them and who may be secretly dream of doing something else!