Passion in Your Career

Talent matters, but it’s not the only thing. And it’s often not even the main thing. Angela Duckworth’s research shows there’s a stronger predictor of success: Grit. So what is grit? It’s the combination of passion and perseverance. Grit is what keeps you going after the excitement fades. It’s what pushes you to finish what you start. And it can be learned. Duckworth breaks grit into 4 elements: 1. Deep interest – You love what you do. 2. Deliberate practice – You work hard and smart to improve. 3. Purpose – You believe your work serves something bigger. 4. Resilient hope – You don’t give up when things get hard. Why it matters: In study after study—from cadets at West Point to finalists in spelling bees—grit outperformed raw talent. It wasn’t IQ or natural ability that made the difference. It was sticking with it. And here’s the good news: Grit isn’t fixed. It’s a skill. It can be strengthened. And we can help others grow it too—through challenge, support, and meaning. The takeaway: Don’t just ask, “Am I good at this?” Ask: “Do I care enough to keep going?” “Am I willing to get better?” “Can I stay hopeful when it gets hard?” That’s grit. And that’s what leads to mastery.

Over the weekend, my teenager finally asked me the dreaded question (which I sometimes hear from the students I give career-coaching to) "Mum, my friends keep saying they want to follow their passion. But I don't know what my passion in life is, how do I even start planning a career driven by my passion?" It stopped me cold. As someone who grappled with the same question when I was younger, I realized how flawed it can be for teens. Her dad & I went on to explain what our decades of living as an adult gave us insights into: 1️⃣ 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 (𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭!). What lights you up at 15 might feel totally different at 20. Locking into one path too soon? Limiting. 2️⃣ 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 ≠ 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤. Loving something doesn’t mean it’ll pay rent—or that turning it into a job won’t drain the joy out of it. 3️⃣ “𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧” 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Not having a “calling” by 18? That’s NORMAL. Yet teens hear it like they’re failing before they start. We decided to give her this advice instead: 🌟 “𝑭𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑪𝑼𝑹𝑰𝑶𝑺𝑰𝑻𝒀.” Try things. Suck at them. Discover what you like or don't like. 🌟 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑺𝑲𝑰𝑳𝑳𝑺. Writing, problem-solving, tech—these open doors anywhere. 🌟 𝑺𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝑷𝑼𝑹𝑷𝑶𝑺𝑬, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. Ask: “What problem feels like it's worth solving?” (Turns out, my girl cares more about sustainability than she lets on.) 𝐁𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 "𝐀𝐡𝐚" 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭? Passion often follows mastery—not the other way around. When you get good at something meaningful? That’s when fire ignites. (and like my husband said: "At 50, I am still searching for my career passion. It's ok.") Sometimes, I think we’ve over- complicated this for kids. It’s not about finding a single burning purpose. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 + 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 + 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬—𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮. (or not)

It’s graduation season, and I’ve been reflecting on the lessons I wish I’d learned sooner, so I can share them with new grads. Here’s the first one: Passion is necessary, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Too often, we hear “follow your passion,” as if passion alone guarantees success or fulfillment over the course of your career. In reality, you have to consider passion alongside four other critical factors: Your unique assets (What skills, experiences, or perspectives do you bring to the table AND where do you have a genuine advantage over others? Market realities (What problems are people willing to pay to solve? Which industries are growing, and which are shrinking?) Supply & demand (Is there real demand for what you want to offer?) Timeliness fit (Ask yourself: will this path sustain your interests, values, and well-being? Is it going to position you to have a next step in the area you want to explore next?) Hopefully, this is helpful to those of you thinking about what’s next in life, from someone who has been there…just a short time ago.

After ten years of studying early-stage founders, the single rarest success trait we saw wasn’t genius or vision: it was pathological determination. Not the “I work hard” kind, but rather the “I will never stop, even if it makes no rational sense” kind. At Episode 1, we’ve started thinking about how we can turn determination into a datapoint by analysing a dozen resilience signals. Across hundreds of founders, we’ve begun tagging for “persistence proxies”: a desperate desire to prove someone/something wrong, multiple previous failed ventures, early-life adversity, irrational optimism when everything around you is crumbling. Our early findings show that founders with a high determination index were significantly more likely to build bigger companies. Determination wasn’t correlated with confidence. In fact, the most determined founders often expressed more self-doubt than the average cohort. It wasn’t bravado that carried them through, it was an obsessive refusal to lose. Most people overestimate what brilliance can do and underestimate what obsession can survive.  When meeting companies, stop asking “How smart are they?” and start asking “How hard are they to kill?”

The biggest career trap isn’t failure.  It’s tying your identity to the wrong things. A title. A company. A person. 👇 One of my past roles wasn’t glamorous. The salary was modest. But it gave me clarity. After testing a few different roles, one thing stood out:  → Don’t tie yourself to one person.  → Or a title. Or even a company. Because those things shift. But your purpose moves with you. Here’s what experience and quiet thinking taught me: 1. Let go of the title  ↳ You are not your job name.  ↳ Titles change. Your core values stay.  ↳ Ask: what would you do without praise? 2. Don’t hold too tight to companies  ↳ Companies grow. Teams change.  ↳ Don’t lose yourself trying to belong.  ↳ Stay true to your mission. Not just the logo. 3. Define your personal mission  ↳ What excites you, even when it’s tough?  ↳ What do people often ask your help for?  ↳ That’s the path worth taking. 4. Let purpose decide  ↳ Don’t chase roles. Follow what fits.  ↳ Jobs change, but purpose stays.  ↳ Pick growth over comfort. 👉 Your real title is the difference you make.  Let that lead you, not a job post. If you’re looking for direction, begin with your strengths. What role helped you see what you’re here to do? Let me know below. 👇 P.S. Found this useful? ♻️ Repost this to support people-first leadership. 🔖 Follow Véronique Barrot for more growth and self-leadership insights.

"Just follow your passion" is career advice that needs a reality check. While passion matters, success requires more: skills, demand, and practical strategy. The truth? Most successful people didn't start with a burning passion—they developed it through mastery. Instead of chasing pre-existing passions, try this actionable approach: Step 1. Skills Audit: List your natural abilities and acquired skills. What problems can you solve? Step 2. Market Research: Identify where your skills meet real demand. What will people pay for? Step 3. Interest Exploration: Find areas you're curious about, not just passionate about. Curiosity sustains learning. Step 4. Strategic Testing: Take small projects in your target area. Let competence build confidence. Step 5. Value Creation: Focus on becoming irreplaceable in your field. Rare skills command premium rewards. The formula is NOT "passion = money" but "skills + market need + consistent growth = passion & prosperity." Absolute career satisfaction comes from being excellent at something the world needs. Build your passion through deliberate skill development, not wishful thinking. What do you think? Have you experienced this passion paradox? Share your story below. Coaching can help; let's chat. | Joshua Miller #CareerAdvice #ProfessionalGrowth #Executivecoaching

Work-life balance is the wrong goal. For years, we’ve been told to chase work-life balance. But ‘balance’ suggests that work and life are competing against each other. That if one goes up, the other must come down. I don’t think that’s the right way to look at it. As an entrepreneur, there are seasons when the business needs more of you. Product launches. Funding rounds. A key hire. A crisis. Those moments aren’t failures of balance. They’re simply part of building something meaningful. The real question isn’t: “Am I perfectly balancing work and life?” It’s: “Am I protecting my energy so I can show up well in both?” Because when your health suffers, everything else eventually follows. Your decisions become poorer. Your patience gets shorter. Your creativity disappears. And the people who feel it first are often your family, your team, and your customers. Success isn’t about working lesser hours. It’s about making sure that the hours you do work are sustainable. For me, that means prioritising the non-negotiables: • Sleep over late-night emails. • Exercise, even on busy days. • Time with family that isn’t interrupted by notifications. • Recovery, not just productivity. I’ve stopped chasing balance. Instead, I focus on alignment. Building a business that supports the life I want to live, rather than one I need to escape from. Because a successful career means very little if it costs you your health or the relationships that matter most.

The advice to "follow your passion" sounds inspiring, but it often leads professionals down challenging paths with limited opportunities and significant financial constraints.   A more practical approach? Follow where your natural talents intersect with market demand.   Your passions are simply what you enjoy doing.   Your talents, however, are capabilities where you consistently outperform others with less effort.   These natural strengths: • Come more easily to you than to most people • Allow you to progress faster than peers in the same field • Consistently receive positive recognition from others • Tend to energize rather than deplete you   Building a career around your innate talents creates several powerful advantages:   First, you'll advance more rapidly because you're leveraging abilities that others find more difficult.   Second, you'll face less competition because you're operating in an area where you have natural advantages.   Third, you'll likely achieve greater financial success with less struggle, as markets tend to reward exceptional ability.   Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, you'll likely develop genuine passion through the process of mastery and success in your field.   Many of the most successful professionals I've worked with didn't begin with burning passion for their industry.   They recognized their natural strengths, applied them to valuable problems, and developed deep engagement through excellence and recognition.   Passion without talent often leads to frustration.   Talent applied consistently almost always leads to some form of passion.   What natural abilities have consistently set you apart from others?   Check out my newsletter for more insights here: https://lnkd.in/ei_uQjju   CC: JAMES SCOTT GALLOWAY   #executiverecruiter #eliterecruiter #jobmarket2025 #profoliosai #resume #jobstrategy #careerplanning #talentdevelopment #strengthsbased #careeradvancement #passion #talent

The Secret to Career Passion: What I Learnt from Getting It Wrong (and Right) — Inspired by the Hedgehog Concept Have you ever found yourself chasing one idea after another, hoping that this would be the thing that lights you up, only to feel stuck or restless again? I’ve been there more times than I can count. Early in my career, I tried following what I thought was passion — jumping into projects that sounded exciting, chasing trends, or doing what others said I should love. But each time, the excitement faded. It wasn’t until I came across Jim Collins’ Hedgehog Concept that things began to click. In his book Good to Great, Collins uses the hedgehog concept as a metaphor based on an ancient Greek parable: "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." The idea is that foxes are clever and try many tactics and tricks, but they lack focus. Hedgehogs, on the other hand, do one thing extremely well — they roll into a ball of spikes and protect themselves. For me, reading this was a turning point. I realised that while the concept was designed for companies going from good to great, I could apply the same thinking to my own career and personal passion. I was acting like a fox — dabbling in different areas, trying many tactics, but without clear focus. What I needed was to find my one big thing. The Turning Points in My Journey I can point to key moments in my life where I got closer to true passion: -- When I stopped doing what looked good on paper and focused on what energised me: For me, that was creating, writing, and teaching — not just managing. -- When I accepted that mastery takes time: Early on, I wanted quick wins. But I learnt that the more I invested in developing deep expertise, the more confident and passionate I became. -- When I saw my work help others: Passion really took off when I started receiving feedback from people who said, “You made this clearer,” or “This changed how I think.” The Hedgehog Concept Explained Jim Collins describes three circles that, when they overlap, create a powerful career sweet spot: -- What are you deeply passionate about? -- What can you be the best in the world at? -- What drives your economic engine (or creates sustained value)? The intersection of these three circles is where long-term success and fulfilment live. Why Passion Follows Mastery and Service We often expect passion to lead, but it’s the result of getting good at something meaningful and seeing its positive impact. The more focused you become, the more momentum you build. My Closing Thought I didn’t find passion by waiting for it. I built it — piece by piece — by aligning curiosity, skill-building, and contribution. By applying the same focus that great companies use to go from good to great, I’ve found my path — and you can too. Start by mapping your own circles, and you might be closer than you think. #CareerMoment

You don't need to quit your job to find meaning at work. You need to reshape it. For decades, the equation was simple: salary + benefits = a good job. That's not the equation anymore. Workers today are asking different questions: - "Does this role give me autonomy?" - "Am I actually growing?" - "Does this work connect to something I care about outside these walls?" - "Does this align with who I want to be?" And if the answer to any of these is no, they leave. Companies are losing talented people, not because they don't pay enough. They're losing them because the work feels meaningless. So most people think the answer is job hunting. Update the résumé. Interview season. New company. Fresh start. 🚨But there's something most people don't realize: You don't have to leave to find meaning. You can reshape your current role. It's called job crafting. And it's a game-changer. Here's how it works: Instead of waiting for HR to design your "perfect" role, you design it yourself by making strategic choices about what you work on. Volunteer for projects that align with what you actually value—not the safe projects, the meaningful ones. Connect with colleagues who share your goals and passions. Stop working in isolation and build real collaboration around things you care about. Delegate or hand off work that doesn't connect with you to people who might actually enjoy it. 🎯 Here's what job crafting looks like in practice: Option 1: The Project Volunteer You hear about a new initiative that aligns with your values. You raise your hand. You don't wait to be asked. You volunteer because it matters to you. Result: You're doing work that connects to who you are, and your boss thinks you're incredibly motivated. Option 2: The Community Builder You find colleagues who share your passion—whether that's innovation, sustainability, mentoring, diversity—and you build an informal network around it. You start meeting. You collaborate. You create something that doesn't officially exist yet. Result: You've built meaningful relationships around shared purpose, and you have a community within the company. Option 3: The Strategic Delegator There's work you do that someone else would actually enjoy. You have a conversation about trading responsibilities. You hand off the work that drains you to someone it energizes. Result: You're spending more time on what matters to you, and your colleague is actually engaged by the work. The beauty of job crafting: You don't need anyone's permission. What's one way you can reshape your role this week to align it with what actually matters to you? 👇🏼 Join 200,000+ leaders who live an essential life by joining my newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/g9i9J_da