There are countless articles written about the importance of doing what you love and it’s how many of us define success. Most successful people I interview recommend “following your passion”, but there’s a dark side that is never discussed. When you love your work, you may perform better and be happier, but it simultaneously becomes addictive and consuming. You trade work for time spent with family and friends. You decide not to go on vacation or do work on vacation. You avoid being present around others because your mind is still doing work. You become burned out after hours, days, months and years constantly working on projects you love. While I have enjoyed the freedom, gratification and passion that has come with my entrepreneurial journey, I realize that there are many tradeoffs to living this life.
When you do work you’re not passionate about, it’s easier to have balance between your personal and professional life. You would gladly stop working on a project after you leave the office because you don’t genuinely care about the result or have a burning desire to improve it. When you stop working, you allocate time to personal activities, friends and family. By loving what you do, there is no balance because you view your work as your hobby. Instead of stopping a project once you get home from work, you continue pursuing it until you wake up the next morning. Of course, if you hate your job, you won’t be happy, healthy and it could create toxic relationships, but loving your job can be unhealthy too!
The old saying “do what you love and the money will follow” isn’t necessary true either. A lot of passions don’t end up turning into a profit. Just because you write a book doesn’t mean you’ll have any readers and people aren’t lining up to advertise on your podcast so quickly. We admire those who can live a life of freedom, yet those who live this life don’t discuss the tradeoffs that occur when pursuing and maintaining it. For instance, I was invited to my friends bachelor party in Austin, but chose to interview Richard Branson in San Francisco over it. If I wasn’t passionate about what I do, I would have chosen the former, which will have enhanced the relationships that matter more than career opportunities.
The first step in being able to manage a passionate career is to recognize work creeping into your personal life and then being able to properly integrate both in a harmonious way. While we block our calendar for work calls, interviews, and meetings, why not do the same for personal activities? When you treat work as your only hobby it can become dangerous. Think of other activities you’ve enjoyed in the past and then put your time, money and attention on them. Instead of falling into the ‘passion trap’, realize that you don’t have to live that way. Start to treat your work as work and not as a hobby and separate your time so you can be happier, healthier and make time for the things that actually matter in life – human relationships!
Arizona Summit Receives WRBLSA Award Arizona Summit was recently awarded the 2016 Black Student Law Association Chapter Award at the
Western Region Black Law Students Association (WRBLSA)'s 48th annual convention held during the
first week of January in San Diego.
Charlotte School of Law AAMPLE®
If a lower LSAT score is hurting your chances of getting into law school, Charlotte School of
Law (CSL) offers the Alternative Admissions Model Program for Legal Education (AAMPLE), a
seven-week online class that helps prospective students prove they are able to handle a
demanding law school curriculum.
Florida Coastal Law's Practitioner Clinics Florida Coastal Law's Practitioner Clinic is an innovative course offering students a chance
to work closely on pro bono cases with a practicing lawyer. Students are often invited to
work on these cases in the practitioner's office off campus, and the Clinics are offered as
two credits with an evening classroom component.
Center for Professional Development Arizona Summit's Center for Professional Development (CPD) is a full-service career counseling
and resource center that supports and assists students in all stages of the career planning
process, while helping employers fill their semester, summer, and permanent hiring needs.
Charlotte Law Compliance Certificate Program
Students with or without a legal background can pursue a career in the rapidly growing
field of compliance and ethics. Charlotte Law is one of the few law schools in the U.S.
offering a Corporate Compliance Certificate Programentirely online. It's an 18-week
platform that prepares students for the Compliance Certification Board exam.
Florida Coastal Law Offers LLM & Certificate in Logistics & Transportation Florida Coastal Law is the first law school in the U.S. to offer an onlineLL.M. Degree or
Certificate in Logistics & Transportation. Students in the 24-credit LL.M. or 12-credit
Certificate program gain expertise in global logistics and transportation law through
cutting-edge courses taught by attorneys and industry professionals online.
