It’s time to return to the Career Lover series. Before we go further into The Career Lover Series to discuss about value creation and the practicality aspects of being a Career Lover, there is one point I like to discuss - why it’s dangerous not to do what you love.

Fact is, you may already know that it is best to do what you love. There are already many books and seminars with gurus professing that they achieve great success because they love what they do. If this is the case, why is it that the majority of us are still not doing what we love?

The reason is simple - it’s procrastination .

It’s no surprise. There are many things that we know we should do, but yet we still don’t do them:

• We should exercise more.
• We should give up smoking.
• We should spend more time with our family.
• We should do what we love.

There is a reason for our procrastinations. It is simply a lack of urgency to move out of one’s comfort zone - there isn’t a pain or pleasure strong enough to justify immediate actions.

Likewise it’s the same with doing what we love. Many of us know we should do it and the benefits it’ll bring. Yet many of us are procrastinating. One reason I mentioned in the introduction to this series is because people lack a practical means of translating their passion into a means of livelihood. This is an area which I hope to address in Part IV and Part V of this series.

For now, I like to address 3 common excuses people adopt to postpone doing what they love. I call them killer procrastinations. These are dangerous misconceptions that may cost you much in the long run. In addressing these 3 killer procrastinations, I hope to provide a stronger impetus for you to take actions to purse what you love.

KILLER PROCASTINATION 1 - I WILL BE HAPPY WHEN I’M AT THE TOP OF MY CAREER

This is my favorite and I’ll talk about it first.

When I was young, I aspired to climb the corporate ladder and be somebody, someday. I thought that if I am at the top of my career, I will enjoy many benefits unavailable to others. I thought:

• Others will have to listen to what I say, and I will have more freedom and choices to do what I wish.
• I will have more time to do what I want to do as there are others working for me.

My experiences over the years have shown me otherwise.

I was an Officer in the Army for 7 years and I worked for many high ranking Officers and Generals. On the surface, it seems that high-ranking Officers hold many privileges and respect from people under them. However, unknown to many, they hold great and heavy responsibilities.

I hope the following points put things into perspective:

• When a soldier makes a wrong decision - at most, he’ll put his own life and maybe his buddy’s life at risk.
• When a General makes a wrong decision - he’ll put thousands of soldiers’ lives at risk.

WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITIES - AND LESS FREEDOM

It is true - with great power does come great responsibilities. And with great responsibilities comes less freedom to do as you wish. Why? Because the welfare and benefits of the organization has to come before your own. The decisions that top leaders make have to take many factors into considerations; sometimes these considerations have to be placed before their own wishes or desires, just so that the benefits of the organization can be achieved.

The reality: the more responsibilities you have, the less personal freedom you’ll enjoy.

When I left the Army and joined the corporate world, I see the same responsibilities issue with management. The higher you climb on the corporate ladder, the more responsibilities you will hold. People in your organization will depend on your leadership and abilities to produce results and sustain the business so that they can continue to have a job. If someone in such a leadership position does not make such a tradeoff, he/she can’t hold that position for long. Just look at the various CEO changes in recent news and you’ll know what I mean.

This means that you have to make personal sacrifices for the greater good of the organization that you lead.

Does it ever occur to you that people who reach the top really do love their job? Why? Because if they don’t, they won’t be able to live with such heavy responsibilities, lost of freedom and having to make so many personal sacrifices. It’s only because they love what they do, that these sacrifices seem inconsequential and bearable.

If you don’t love what you’re doing in the first place, you will NEVER be able to reach the top of your field.

KILLER PROCASTINATION 2 - I WILL DO WHAT I LOVE WHEN I ACHIEVE MY CAREER/FINANCIAL GOALS

Another favorite procrastination is to do what you love someday, when life is more settled.

Human are by nature optimistic creatures. We like to believe that we have a longevity of at least 60 to 70 years. So if you’re in your twenties, thirties or even forties, you’ll think that your road ahead is still long. As such, you may think that you can afford to wait. Other goals can come first and you’ll pursue your passion later.

Do you read the obituary? I do, quite often, in fact.

Each time I read the obituaries, I will look out for faces of young people. People whom I think are summoned way before their time is due. It’s a stark reminder that life can be unpredictable and for me to appreciate life. My experiences tell me that people do die in their prime:

• My father died in his thirties.
• My friend’s sister died before twenty due to cancer.
• Another friend collapsed from a run and never woke from it - he was twenty seven.

I often hear people say that they’ll pursue their dream someday. It’s a dangerous risk, because sometimes, someday never come.

WHAT IF YOU HAVE ONLY 3 MONTHS LEFT TO LIVE?

What if the doctor tells you tomorrow that you have contracted terminal cancer and has only 3 months left to live? Would you have any regrets that you wish you had pursued, but didn’t?

Has it ever occur to you that your life may be much shorter than you expect it to be? The average chance of getting cancer is 1 in 5 people. I’m not cursing anyone, but I’m just saying maybe. It’s certain some of us are going to die younger than expected. It may be you, it may be not.

But I think the more important question is - are you going to take that chance?

• Do you want to regret not having lived a meaningful life because you were busy pursuing something less important?
• Do you want to lie on your death bed thinking “if only I had…”?

If there is indeed life after death - imagine seeing yourself at your funeral, what would you want to hear from your family, friends and people that you’ve touched through your work? Then do a reality check; are you doing those things to earn those recognitions today? If not, when are you going to start? Don’t wait too long for “someday”… remember, “someday” may never come.

KILLER PROCASTINATION 3 - I DON’T SEE ANY SENSE IN RISKING MY STABLE JOB TO PURSUE WHAT I LOVE

If you are earning good and stable income, but you don’t enjoy your work, then does it make sense to risk a stable job to pursue what you love?

This is one of the toughest procrastination because a stable job creates a comfort zone that is very difficult to move out of. It seems that there is more to lose by taking a risk to pursue your passion than to stay. To a certain extend, this argument has its validity; especially back in the industrial age, when having a stable income is already considered a blessing.

However, the world in the 21st century has changed. Globalization has moved competition to a much higher level. The standards are very different today:

• Global Competition And Employment - Employees today are no longer just competing with their peers. You may be competing with someone from the other end of the world; someone in a developing country who’s willing to work twice as hard and receive only half as little. How do you “outwork” someone like that?
• Ease of Information Access - It also used to be that if an employee stayed longer with the company, then he/she will naturally be more experienced and more highly paid. However, the Internet has brought down the information barriers and steepen the learning curves of the younger generation. What this means is that older employees have an impetus to keep themselves updated and consistently upgrade themselves in knowledge related to their work. Otherwise, they will easily be replaced by younger workers with lower salaries but delivering just as much results.

All these implications mean only one thing - life-long and continuous learning and innovation.

• This means you must be willing to pursue knowledge and skills outside of your 9 to 5 working hours.
• You must be wiling to take personal interest in your own career development.
• Your work interest and your personal interest must have areas of overlap, there must be alignment of interest between your work and your personal life.

These are possible only if you have passion for what you do; otherwise life is going to be drag.

Job security and a stable income based on just “doing your job” is a dying trend. To hang on to your job for the sake of stability is like treading on thin ice. In my opinion, remaining at status quo has far higher risk than pursuing your passion.

DON’T WAIT TILL IT’S TOO LATE

It is clear that there is more to lose by procrastinating than to take the leap of faith to pursue your passion. I hope these additional takeaways will give you new insights and considerations in what many people assume to be the safest path; it’s not.

With some much uncertainty and dynamic changes, procrastinating and remaining status quo is a surefire way to lose. Ironically, it’s the option with the highest risk. Don’t wait too long to make your move - don’t wait till it’s too late.

In the next part of the Career Lover Series, I will be talking about tips on how to discover your passion. So stay tuned for it.

(Photo by flattop341)

Links To The Series

• Part I - Is Your Ladder Of Success Leaning Against The Right Wall?
• Part II - Why It’s Dangerous Not To Do What You Love
• Part III - Discover Your Passion - Life Is Too Short For The Wrong Job
• Part IV - 3 Strategies To Monetize Your Passion
• Part V - How To Massively Increase Your Value

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