Comments on: The Power of Doing What You Love (versus Doing What You Think Will Make You Money)

By: Derek Ralston

Derek Ralston — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:52:31 +0000

Hi Mikael- I agree that you need to balance focusing on what you love with something that will allow you to grow. For the person that loves watching movies, they could become a movie reviewer/blogger or director. An example of a movie lover turned director would be Quentin Tarantino.

For the person that loves playing on the computer, they could become a videogame reviewer, or compete in professional gaming events. If you love something enough, there is usually a way to turn it into a productive activity.

By: Mikael Wikman

Mikael Wikman — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:55:29 +0000

My first thought is: What if what you love is watching movies, playing on the computer, etc. Then if that’s all you do, you’re upp for a disaster. I belive we must place ourselves in demanding situations in order to grow. Preferrably that would be situations we also love, which is not the case with my example above.

Secondly, a friend of mine use to say he has no interests, there’s nothing he likes to do. So, he spends his time by the TV and such. What do you think one should do about that?

By: Derek Ralston

Derek Ralston — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:27:38 +0000

Hi Mike- Thanks for the feedback! I agree that doing what you love does not always lead to abundance. But I do believe that when you focus on what you love/are most passionate about, it will expand itself in your life. Doing what you love takes courage, and that is the part that can be difficult.

Regarding your second comment about how we all have invisible barriers, that is one way to view things, but I think that is a pessimistic mindset that can be self-fulfilling and harmful… If a person believes they have certain barriers, they will often act on those barriers, making them self-imposed. I think that people need to have a realistic optimistic mindset instead- they should see themselves realistically, but also know that they can continue to improve themselves and grow.

The glass ceiling is a valid point, but it is really another discussion- there have been many cases where glass ceilings have been broken (ex. Hillary and Barack in this year’s presidential election).

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:29:39 +0000

Hasty Conclusion—your argument is reasonable, but does it always lead to the conclusion that you are alluding to? A lot of times, doing what you love is difficult—with very little, or no, perceivable or tangible rewards.

“Life is too short to do only what we have to do; it is barely long enough to do what we want to do.” Not everybody can do what he or she wants. There are glass ceilings and other barriers—that are perceivable but purposely ignored—that restrict us. We live our lives between two fences that are set apart at a perfect distance, i.e. we have room to move and some of us feel free, but there are limitations.