"You've got to find what you love. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."
How many people can honestly say they love what they do? It's not easy to find true love on the job. But finding the connection between your passion and abilities is the surest path to happiness. After all, we spend well over a third of our waking lives working. That's enough time to accomplish greatness and still make it home in time for dinner.
Career lovers tell the same story again and again: Follow your curiosity, expand your talents through education and find a job that applies those abilities.
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Steve Jobs: Digital Dreams
Steve Jobs, named "Fortune" magazine's most powerful businessman of 2007, lives by the simple credo that to do great work, you must do what you love. Jobs has some credibility on the topic of great work. He pioneered the digital age with Apple Computer, which he co-founded when he was 20 years old. Ten years later, he revolutionized the entertainment industry with another startup, the animation studio Pixar.
Jobs credits his success to his willingness to follow his heart. Ingenuity and perseverance fueled that success, but at its foundation was a genuine passion for the work itself. "The only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did," Jobs comments. He traces his signal achievements not to a career-driven training program, but to the college classes he audited out of pure curiosity. A college calligraphy class, for example, added a unique design slant to his computer engineering vision.
You don't need to revolutionize the world economy to do great work. People all around you love what they do and make a valuable contribution as a result.
Jessica Holden: An Eye For Beauty
Jessica Holden found her calling as a freelance photographer. Her love of the craft drives everything she does and has helped her transform her favorite pastime into a career. She explains: "In commercial photography, the love of the work has to carry you. It's not easy, it takes time and dedication. Your images will show the passion you put into them. You have to shoot what you love."
Talent and passion weren't the only ingredients in Holden's career plan. She honed her abilities in photography school, where she learned everything from basic design principles to technical camera operation. She says: "I didn't know too much about cameras and equipment. So I went to school and got a bachelor's in photography and digital imagery. That qualification led to a job as a studio manager. The exposure to commercial photography allowed Holden to build the skills and contacts she relies on in her freelance business today.
Kelly Russell: Making a Difference
Doing what you love can empower you to make a real difference in the world -- especially when what you love is medicine. Kelly Russell, a registered nurse, discovered her calling during a three-month journey through the jungles of Peru. While there, she became intrigued with the rich medicinal tradition of the jungle -- both the vast botanical resources and the ancient traditions of the local people.
Upon returning to the States, Russell followed her newfound medical curiosity into nursing school, where she pursued a program that combined the standard U.S. medical curriculum with specialty courses in homeopathic and traditional medicine. "It wasn't easy combining the two. There's still a lot of resistance to alternative medical practice. But I was driven by this idea that we could do the most good as medical practitioners if we drew on the world's collective wisdom." Russell's education in the "best practices" of world medicine laid the groundwork for a career as an international traveling nurse. Since completing her bachelor's degree in nursing, Russell has worked for a nonprofit hospital in Haiti, bringing much-needed care to this impoverished nation.
Susan Carter: Teaching the Next Generation
Susan Carter fell in love by accident. She stumbled into her first job as a teacher assistant out of a simple desire to help kids learn. The experience offered a perfect vantage point on child development, and Carter became convinced that children learn best when they are free to explore and experiment. She resolved to establish a career creating supportive learning environments in which kids could develop their natural abilities.
Armed with no more than a high school degree, however, Susan's career options were limited. So she took her passion for alternative education straight to college, where she pursued a bachelor's degree in education. "I did things in reverse," she recalls. "I got a job teaching at Montessori, realized what I wanted to do and then got the education." Her focus enabled her to create a custom interdisciplinary degree in comparative education and child development. "I studied international education and child development, combining classes in anthropology, psychology and sociology," she explains. Today, Carter heads a Montessori school, putting into practice her passion for alternative education.
Matthew Shepherd: Solving Problems by the Numbers
Matthew Shepherd shone in his math classes, but solving equations didn't exactly get his heart racing. It wasn't until he took a college economics course that he discovered his calling. He explains: "Math seemed like a game without a purpose. But economics was applied math. Here, the numbers had real implications for people and their daily lives. These equations led to decisions with consequences." Crunching numbers to show off held little allure for Shepherd. Crunching numbers to solve business problems, on the other hand, opened an exciting world.
After graduating college with a bachelor's degree in economics, Shepherd worked as a management consultant. The experience cemented his interest in quantitative analysis as a business tool. Within a couple years, he was back in the classroom earning an M.B.A. Today he works as a marketing manager for a software company, where he draws on his quantitative skills to determine product licensing and global marketing strategy.
There's no formula for finding career success. Following the money won't get you there. Following the next big thing probably won't either. As these five career lovers attest, the only reliable guide to career satisfaction is your own curiosity. If you don't know where to start, let your intuition lead the way. Search a college course catalog and see what catches your eye. You just might find yourself falling head over heels for a brand new career.
