Passion, Solved: Is It Really Worth Pursuing?
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What is the significance of pursuing passion versus practicality?
Hey, guys, Mark here with a quick housekeeping note. So Solve just got nominated for a Webby Award for the best indie podcast. And for those of you who don't know, the Webby Awards are kind of like they're like the Oscars of the Internet. They are technically very prestigious and, quote unquote, a big deal. But then again, I'm the guy who wrote the book. I'm not giving a fuck. Either way, it would be cool to win. I wouldn't complain. I mean, honestly, who would complain about winning an award? So if you want to vote for your favorite podcast and your favorite shithead who talks in your ear for hours and hours a month, you can go to webbyawards.com and look for Best Indie Podcast, or we have the link to vote in the show notes.
Much, much appreciated. No pressure. It takes like 15 seconds. Very easy. And hopefully we'll win so my ego can survive for another year. A recent Gallup poll found that nearly 60% of US workers are either disengaged or actively dislike their job. They're checked out mentally. They are completely absent emotionally. They are simply going through the motions. On the contrary, surveys also find that nearly 70% of Americans experience financial stress on a regular basis, and just under 50% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. So today, Drew and I are going to butt heads. We're going to look at the question, when considering your career, should you pursue passion or should you be practical? Should you do something because you love it?
As the cliche goes, if you love what you do, then you'll never work a day in your life. Or should you be practical, get paid, and then use the extra money and free time to go do what you enjoy instead? My name is Mark Manson. I am three-time number one New York Times bestselling author. And don't you forget it, this is my co-host, producer, longtime lead researcher, Drew Burney. And today on the Solve podcast, we are going to look at one of the most fundamental questions that people confront in their life day to day. Should I pursue something for the love of it or should I be practical? I probably get emailed some variation of this question at least once a week. Yeah, if not more. For a decade now. And it generally comes from young people too, but even a lot of older folks, people stuck in dead-end jobs, people wondering if they should change their career, a lot of people wondering if it's too late.
We're going to get into a lot of different nuances and sides of this question. It's A bit of a complicated question. I think there's a lot of individual variation. There's a lot of context dependence. The science says quite a bit about both of these decisions. There's good reasons to pursue each of these two decisions. There's also good reasons to not pursue each of these two decisions. And Drew and I are each going to take up the flag on one side of the debate. So me, I'm going to argue that you should be passionate.
What are the statistics on worker engagement and financial stress?
that you should pursue what you love, that you should very much index on emotional satisfaction when determining what you want to dedicate your career and your life to. And Drew is going to take the flip side of the equation. He's going to argue that people should be more practical.
The voice of reason.
the voice of reason. Okay. Yes. I will be the emotional head case in this episode. And, you know, last episode we did a debate and we, the roles were reversed. We argued whether, uh, romantic love was overrated or not. I are, I was the stone hearted, cold bastard who argued that love was very much overrated. Uh, and you defended it like, uh, like a knight defending the, uh, his virgin bride's chastity.
Yeah.
Okay. Well, that makes perfect sense to me.
Something you're very used to. That's right. I'm sure. So those of you who missed the Love is on Trial episode back in February, the way this works is that Drew and I each take one side of the argument. In this case, I take the proposition, which is that one should follow their passion when deciding their career path. And Drew takes the opposition, which is people should be more practical and reconsider.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the significance of pursuing passion versus practicality?
0:00–2:50
2
What are the statistics on worker engagement and financial stress?
2:50–7:00
3
How do personal stories illustrate the debate between passion and practicality?
7:00–13:47
4
What are the implications of financial stability on pursuing passion?
13:47–1:05:08
5
How does passion change over time?
1:05:08–1:07:33
6
What example illustrates the development of passion?
1:07:33–1:08:49
7
How can you practically develop your passion?
1:08:49–1:10:29
8
What is the importance of financial stability in pursuing passion?
1:10:29–2:08:54