As Thomas discovered, the path to happiness—at least as it concerns what you do for a living—is more complicated than simply answering the classic question “What should I do with my life?” (Page 10)
A Quest Begins By the summer of 2010, I had become obsessed with answering a simple question: Why do some people end up loving what they do, while so many others fail at this goal? It was this obsession that led me to people like Thomas, whose stories helped cement an insight I had long suspected to be true: When it comes to creating work you love, following your passion is not particularly useful advice. (Page 11)
This was the backdrop against which I launched what I eventually began to refer to as “my quest.” My question was clear: How do people end up loving what they do? And I needed an answer. This book documents what I discovered in my search. (Page 12)
Note: Goed voorbeeld introductie
Here’s what you can expect in the pages ahead: As mentioned, I didn’t get far in my quest before I realized, as Thomas did before me, that the conventional wisdom on career success—follow your passion—is seriously flawed. (Page 12)
The Passion Hypothesis The key to occupational happiness is to first figure out what you’re passionate about and then find a job that matches this passion. (Page 19)
Note: Voorbeeld definitie
It was around the time I was transitioning from graduate school that I started to pull on these threads, eventually leading to my complete rejection of the passion hypothesis and kicking off my quest to find out what really matters for creating work you love. (Page 20)
Note: Overgang naar rode draad eigen verhaal
Do What Steve Jobs Did, Not What He Said (Page 21)
Chapter Two Passion Is Rare In which I argue that the more you seek examples of the passion hypothesis, the more you recognize its rarity. (Page 25)
Note: Belofte van wat er in het hoofdstuk komen gaat. Terug laten komen in inhoudsopgave
Even if you accept my argument that the passion hypothesis is flawed, it’s at this point that you might respond, “Who cares!” If the passion hypothesis can encourage even a small number of people to leave a bad job or to experiment with their career, you might argue, then it has provided a service. The fact that this occupational fairy tale has spread so far should not cause concern. I disagree. The more I studied the issue, the more I noticed that the passion hypothesis convinces people that somewhere there’s a magic “right” job waiting for them, and that if they find it, they’ll immediately recognize that this is the work they were meant to do. (Page 37)
Note: Breaking the fourth wall
This young generation has “high expectations for work,” explains psychologist Jeffrey Arnett, an expert on the mindset of the modern postgrad. “They expect work to be not just a job but an adventure[,]... a venue for self-development and self-expression[,]... and something that provides a satisfying fit with their assessment of their talents.” 3 (Page 37)
Take, for example, the tale of Scott, a twenty-seven-year-old from Washington, D.C. “My professional situation now couldn’t be more perfect,” Scott reports. “I chose to pursue the career I knew in my heart I was passionate about: politics.... I love my office, my friends... even my boss.” The glamorous promises of the passion hypothesis, however, led Scott to question whether his perfect job was perfect enough. “It’s not fulfilling,” he worries when reflecting on the fact that his job, like all jobs, includes difficult responsibilities. He has since restarted his search for his life’s work. “I’ve committed myself to exploring other options that interest me,” Scott says. “But I’m having a hard time actually thinking of a career that sounds appealing.” (Page 38)
Note: Voorbeeld van mensen quoten
The passion hypothesis is not just wrong, it’s also dangerous. (Page 39)
Note: Double down
Observing a few instances of a strategy working does not make it universally effective. (Page 40)
These rules chronicle my quest to figure out how people really end up loving what they do. (Page 40)
This is a process that begins in the next rule with my arrival at an unlikely source of insight: a group of bluegrass musicians practicing their craft in the suburbs of Boston. (Page 41)
Note: Mooie overgang
When I first rounded the corner onto Mapleton Street, the house, a careworn Victorian, blended in with its tidy suburban neighbors. It was only as I got closer that I noticed the eccentricities. The paint was peeling. There was a pair of leather recliners outside on the porch. Empty Bud Light bottles littered the ground. Jordan Tice, a professional guitar player of the New Acoustic style, stood by the front door smoking a cigarette. He waved me over. As I followed him inside, I noticed that a small foyer set off the entry had been converted into a bedroom. “The banjo player who sleeps there has a PhD from MIT,” Jordan said. “You’d like him.” Jordan is one of many musicians who come and go from the rental, squeezing themselves into any space that meets the technical definition of habitable. “Welcome to the bluegrass frat house,” he said, by way of explanation as we headed up to the second floor where he lives. Jordan’s room is monastic. Smaller than any dorm room I had at college, it’s just big enough for a twin bed and a simple pressboard desk. A Fender tube amp sits in one corner and a rolling luggage bag in the other. Most of his guitars, I assume, are kept downstairs in the common practice space, as I only saw one in the room, a beat-up Martin. We had to borrow a chair from another room so that we could both sit. (Page 45)
Note: Heerlijke introductie
