August 2011
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A Contrarian View →
Strategy Consultant Dorie Clark writes a thought-provoking article for the Harvard Business Review arguing against turning a passion into a career. As detailed in her article “Don’t Do What You Love,” Clark posits four reasons to think twice before doing what you love, specifically:
- You love it — but you’re not great at it.
- You’re skilled at your passion — but...
February 2011
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The Value of Loving Your Job: Finding the Right...
Finding a strong correlation between “job satisfaction” and “employee performance” has been called the Holy Grail of managerial psychology. While correlation does not necessarily establish causation, it’s a strong hint thereof and would help give credence to a mantra echoed by an industry of consultancies, authors, and career coaches, namely that the more you enjoy your work, the better you’ll do...
January 2011
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Profiles in Passion: Interviews Across America
This summer I drove across America in search of people have taken a risk to turn a passion into a career. From an export merchant turned baker in Chicago, to an electrical engineer turned pastor in Tulsa, I found stories that changed my perspective on both the benefits – and challenges – of entrusting in a motto I’ve long held dear, “behind every passion lies a business...
December 2010
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Risk-Taking Through World-Making
One of my favorite movies is The Game. In this psychological thriller Michael Douglas plays a tightly-wound investment banker whose success in business is matched only by his emotionless personal life. On his 48th birthday Michael’s brother (played by Sean Penn) gives him a voucher to a mysterious company called Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). Michael begrudgingly redeems the...
November 2010
7 posts
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Profiles in Passion: Chuteless →
I’ve found that many who take a risk to follow their passion express a deep faith in the tendency for the universe to recognize their intentions, and reward their risk-taking by showing them a way to make it work (financially, socially, etc).
One great expression of this idea is the great American Road trip. From Kerouac to Peter Fonda in Easy Rider, road trips are a form of expressing...
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MBA/student debt coming 'in the way' of your... →
Nitin Rao sparks a conversation on how MBAs can follow their passion, in light of significant loan payments. Click through for more-
leverageddabbler:
Next steps: Take a safe job till I eventually pay off debt. Build a great company, and use entrepreneurial thought and action, starting with connections/resources at hard to find certain ways to cover monthly installments. Not to mention the...
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Atychiphobia →
Fear of Failure: Atychiphobia, as with all phobias, is an extreme, irrational fear.
For a full definition, follow the link.
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The Simple Math of Passion
I’ve been curious to explore the link between passion and happiness and I’m starting to uncover a basic formula. Drawing only from my conversations (and very little research), here’s a rough proof:
To Be Passionate = To Be All-Consumed When I’ve asked people how to find my passion, time and again the answer I’ve received is “any activity where time flies...
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October 2010
13 posts
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The Rise of the Anti-Schools
Over the last few weeks I’ve heard a number of social entrepreneurs advocate for less linear approaches to education. Many of these arguments are based on the premise that academic institutions as we know them are not dynamic enough to serve our changing needs as students as we discover the world, our abilities, and our interests. As Sir Ken Robinson (author, speaker and advisor on...
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“Our greatest fears lie in anticipation.”
– Honoré de Balzac
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Career Cadence: A Workshop on Passion
This week I had an inspiring chat with Alan and Paul, two Yale School of Management grads and founders of Career Cadence, an unusual startup focused on helping college students and young professionals to figure out their passions. Once the passion piece is figured out, they help their clients to find a job that fits this passion, and then help them market themselves effectively to potential...
“You know how the Eskimos have like 30 something words for snow? I keep thinking...”
– Lora Menter
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Malcom Gladwell: Why The Revolution Will Not Be... →
With the dawn of social networks we have all sorts of new channels for taking risks. That said, is taking a risk online an equal emotional experience to taking one offline? Malcom Gladwell explores in this piece from the New Yorker.
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“Passion is a competitive advantage.”
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Brazen Careerist →
For those of us considering a drastic career change but struggling to compete with well-qualified folks in our new industry of choice, a website where ideas and potential are given the limelight.
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“Behind every passion lies a business model.”