Following Your Passion

Recently we had the 3 idiots telling us to follow our passion in life. The essence of the movie was that do the work you love and you won't have to work a day! But honestly, and I am asking this to all the esteemed people who were a part of this movie - If a billion people (I guess our population is more than this number!) just decided that they don't want to do that boring clerical job or to take dictations and fixing up appointments for their bosses and would rather sing, dance, act in movies or better still become pilots, air hostesses or whatever their hearts desire, would that work? Do we have room for a billion people to do what they want? Would we as a nation grow that way? Would our GDP see that magical 8% or 9% growth that all those boring economists talk about on TV?

What Is Your Passion In Life?

Most youngsters today dream of having a career in the entertainment industry. Unless seriously bad looking, everyone wants to try at modeling, acting or reality TV shows. The stories of a quick shot to fame never fail to attract impressionable youngsters. Some youngsters are driven by a need to fulfill the wishes of their parents. Everyone knows that ALL Indian parents want their children to be doctors and engineers. But amidst all this influence, do you ever try to probe deep inside and ask yourself what you'd truly like to do for the rest of your life? Do you really know what is your passion in life?

If you want to follow your passion in life, the first step, obviously,  is to know what it is. So spend some time with yourself and try to analyze what choice of profession would make you truly happy. THAT, is what you need to follow.

Passion Or Success?

The path to following your dream is not a bed of roses. In fact, it is strewn with stones and pebbles of all sizes. You may like what you do, but it may not pay much. You may be proud of your position, but your family might not see it as something to be proud of. In other words, you could be following your passion happily, but what if you are not "successful" in the conventional way? This is a possible outcome that you need to be aware of and prepared for. You would be better off if you weighed the importance of "following your passion" and "conventional success" in your life. It wouldn't hurt to know what is more valuable to you.

Love What You Do

They say that doing what you love can make you happy. Another way of being happily committed to your job is to love what you do. Let's face it! Every clog in the wheel is as important as the wheel itself. So whether you are a secretary or a typist or a data entry operator, unless you input that data or fix up your boss' appointment, the wheels of the nation might just stop! What we are trying to say here is that while it is important to follow your passion, remember the balance between being practical and being foolhardy.

Do the work that you do with passion and zeal. You may be a sweeper. Clean that floor with such enthusiasm that the people who walk on that floor are amazed to see their reflection. If you are a customer service person, give service with such attitude that your customer is actually delighted. "Customer retention", "Moments of Truth"  we come across all these mumbo jumbo terms in our corporate lives and MBA education. But have we asked ourselves what do they actually mean? Have we tried to step beyond the classroom and what we are taught in our MBA schools to actually deliver on our to-do? If we only take pride in the work that we do, it would make a lot of difference. And the difference would be felt by everybody connected to you, including yourself.