Oh, how we love a bad boy. Cartoonist Hugh MacLeod of Gaping Void fame is my favorite kind: geeky glasses, rumpled hair, and wicked smart humor. If I find out he’s got a quirky accent, then I’m a goner.
His book, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, is making me laugh out loud and, occasionally, wince.
I’m particularly struck by his tip about “Sex and Cash.” Essentially, Hugh says that everyone wants a job that’s sexy but everyone needs a job that brings in cash. He claims the sooner you accept that and get busy with your cash job, the sooner you’re likely to succeed at the sexy job.
I’m wincing because I’ve been pushing “pursue your passion” over the last few years in my work as a coach. Consider this my official retraction. What makes more sense is “know your passion” and see how you can work it in.
People like the idea of passion but they often don’t really know what their passion is. The shocking thing is that it can take relatively little time on a frequent basis to satisfy an authentic passion IF you know what it is.
I have a passion for knitting, but I’m very fulfilled by knitting just a few rows every few days.
I have a passion for reading, but a half-hour of reading a day is very satisfying.
I have a passion for writing, but I know that I don’t want to write eight hours a day.
My Hugh-inspired book would be “Ignore Coaches,” at least when it comes to the topic of passion. Ultimately, I think the key is to pursue values. My values include learning, connecting, and sharing. They also include being fiscally responsible and being committed to my family. It’s easy to imagine including those in whatever I choose – be it sexy or cashy. Our passions or appetites may be fickle and hard to satisfy; values rarely are.
So what do you think? Passion vs. values? Tell me where I’m wrong.
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By Laurie Foley
Laurie Foley helps solo professionals discover their natural brand so that they can get clear, get noticed and get clients. Sign up to receive your free copy of The Inner Brandifesto, her popular guidebook full of brand-building exercises.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s very insightful. You can’t pursue your passion until you ‘know’ it.
I don’t think you’re ‘wrong’ per se, but I do believe that values can be part of our passion. For example, your value of learning gives you a passion to read to gain knowledge.
I don’t think you have to pursue one or the other. Together they can push us to success and fulfillment.
.-= Heather Villa´s last blog ..How Entrepreneurs Can Get the Benefits of a Team (Wihout Selling Part of Their Business) =-.
Agreed!
Most self-development writers/bloggers don’t work one-to-one with clients, but they have often read lost of books, so that’s ok
When you work with people you realize they often haven’t a clue what their passion is first and foremost (that’s why they want to work with a coach), and that becomes clearer when working with their values. Even then it doesn’t always mean it can be used as a career.
Jeez, I wish more coaches would talk about the importance of values. Those that don’t, I really wonder what they are doing calling themselves a coach in the first place.
One minor quibble, I do think that values can be tough to align with for some people, especially when external pressure from loved ones comes on top.
.-= Tim Brownson´s last blog ..You’re A Sales Person =-.
Like Heather, I won’t say you’re “wrong” either. I rather like the idea of a having multiple passions and getting clear about how to turn the BIG ONE – the one that makes your heart soar – into a cash opportunity.
Values really define how we go about living our passions, don’t they?
Very kewl insight to ponder, Laurie! THANKS bunches!
.-= Wendy Y. Bailey l Group Coaching Mastery´s last blog ..People do business with people, not businesses =-.
I tend to take the Barbara Sher approach to gifts and calling: your calling is what you’re gifted at, and you have to do it. http://BarbaraSher.com Not every gift can be a profit center, and not every gift is something we have to do every day. Some are hobbies, some are annual experiences, some are done once and we are full. She encourages people who can’t make a living from one of their gifts to find a “good enough” job to allow them to express themselves through their gifts in the off hours.
In terms of career design, I like Valerie Young’s approach http://tinyurl.com/changingcourse . Valerie focuses on the intersection of your gifts and passions, your resources and abilities, and the needs of the world. Not everyone can design a career around all, or their top, gifts. But most of us can find a way we bring value to others through our gifts. Working from a gift that serves others and incorporating other gifts in other parts of our lives is far better than hating a mind-numbing job but staying because we fear any other path!
.-= Steve´s last blog ..Collaborative Groove =-.
Laurie, this is one of those posts that hit me over the head with how relevant it is to something I’m dealing with right now! So, THANK YOU!
Because of my training and work with the Passion Test program, I’ve immersed myself in the world of helping people identify and follow their passions. The more I do this, the more I realize that passions and values are usually closely tied, if not virtually identical. When someone is truly passionate about something, it almost always reflects a deep internal value.
The light bulb for me, personally, on this one, though, was your comment about seeing how people can work passions into more “cashy” pursuits. I realized that I’ve been too black and white about this in my own life, and have been resisting opportunites that can bring me cash because some of them aren’t 100% “pure” passion-following activities. Thanks for helping me find some balance on that!
Hey Laurie,
What about sexy values? Truth is an awesome turn-on for me.
Yup… I was in the LCT June 2008 Group 2 training..!
Wow, Laurie. This is exactly what I needed to read this morning. The timing could not be more perfect! THANK YOU! You are a rock star in my world.
@Heather – Great point that values are connected to passion. I like the way you said it.
@Tim – Thanks for popping by and adding your perspective. I get the impression that you work with a very wide variety of people. It’s never as simple as just wanting and getting, is it? (And how boring would that be?!?)
@WendyY – Values = How… yes!
@Steve – Thanks for these other resources – very helpful!
@Lynn – I was so hoping you would chime in – thank you! I’m finding it tricky to balance “cashy” and “passion.” Maybe I’ve been too black and white, too.
@Pat – Agree!!
@Diane – Thank you, sweetie. Glad I could visit your inbox at just the right time. xo
Lately I’ve been finding that I’m a little more passionate about cash than I realized before
And I’m becoming more comfortable with the idea that, hey, it’s OK to appreciate money, desire money, and celebrate money! AS LONG AS the path is consistent with my values — including authenticity, integrity, giving more to the world than I take, and helping other people see how FABULOUS they are! As Steve says, maybe money won’t always come from every attempt to live these values and passions — but I do know that it’s sure NOT going to come from acting in opposition to them!
(And, I forgot to shout out to Tim in my first post — his work has been absolutely key for me in connecting passion with values.)
Laurie, I think you are a great example of someone whose business endeavors are consistent with your values. It shines through in everything you write, and I believe that’s not something anyone can fake.
.-= Lynn Hess´s last blog ..Hey, check me out! I’m an official Hay House New Release Reviewer! Sweet! =-.
Hey
I have to say I’m not clear as yet. I totally want to pursue all my passions and I want to make a good living from at least one of them – my normal office job involves a lot of concealing who I really am and doesn’t work with the qualities that I need in my life in order to feel calm, excitied, fulfilled – in fact it has been known to totally throw me off centre. I hate being in a working environment where people are treated like inanimate objects – it’s a struggled not to be effected by this kind of interaction or lack of real human exchange and contact.
Nowadays I tend to think about both short term and long term desires and interests. And how I can access them here and now, even in my stuck and jobs that I rarely dislike. For me that means I crave a sense of play, of cheekiness, of discovery, depth and laughter and meaningful connections with people. If I have any of these one things in the course of my day or at my work then I feel more in balance with myself.
But more than anything what I love about this post -is your transparency. That is to say your honesty and willingness to fess up and allow yourself to shift positions or at least consider the alternativers? That’s what I dig here most of all.
So thanks for sharing! That’s a great model for other coaches and aspiring coaches!
Thanks Laurie.
Leila x
.-= Leila Lloyd-Evelyn´s last blog ..How can we better support ourself as we journey to find our buried treasure? =-.
@Lynn – So true about the opposition never working.
@Leila – Thank you for YOUR transparency. And I love the word “cheekiness.” You sound very connected to what you need now and where that will take you.
.-= Laurie Foley´s last blog ..Ignore Coaches =-.
Laurie,
What a great post! I share your values around connection, learning, fiscal responsibility and commitment to your family. I also love to work with a group to do something big & trans-formative. I’ve found now that as long as I am doing work that is consistent with these values, I’m happy!
Big hug,
Marie
Thanks for support Laurie!!
.-= Leila Lloyd-Evelyn´s last blog ..Stuck? Anxious? Frustrated? Are you tired of constantly striving to achieve more? =-.