Passion is fuel. To say you need more than passion to be successful is like saying you need more than gasoline to get to your destination. You need a car. But to then turn and say I don't need passion because I have a job is like saying I don't need gasoline because I have a car. Hence so many workers feel out of passion and out of gas at their jobs.
The main problem with the passion debate is it's often made more about daily motivation and the meaning of life which are mainly concerns of employees, not entrepreneurs (many of whom became entrepreneurs by overcoming those concerns). And the reason why there is so much despair and disappointment in the workplace giving rise to all this passion-talk is because there is simply more boring work than fun work. Most jobs are boring, and if you couldn't find a fun job, you're probably stuck at a boring one. It's just a numbers game.
Of course passion can be harmful if not used properly, just as gasoline will blind you if you pour it in your eyes or set it on fire. But when used properly, passion is one of the few unfair advantages because it cannot be bought or obtained at will. Most everything else, even experience, are technicalities, and can be bought from the standpoint of an employer. Passion is non-technical.
Very well put. As a contractor, there have been some jobs I've worked that have sucked the absolute life out of me. They've made me question whether it was a good choice to follow my passion of programming into a career.
However, just as easily, there are jobs where I am excited to go to work and am able to embrace the fact that I am having fun while doing so.
No doubt there are more boring jobs than fun ones though.
As entrepreneurs and employers it's part of our jobs to make the jobs we create as fun as possible... but at the end of the day if the work itself is boring, there is not much we can add to make it fun. So we offer money, and it works. In fact it works so well, it practically makes the world go round. And hence the modern 1st world epidemic of boredom.
The main problem with the passion debate is it's often made more about daily motivation and the meaning of life which are mainly concerns of employees, not entrepreneurs (many of whom became entrepreneurs by overcoming those concerns). And the reason why there is so much despair and disappointment in the workplace giving rise to all this passion-talk is because there is simply more boring work than fun work. Most jobs are boring, and if you couldn't find a fun job, you're probably stuck at a boring one. It's just a numbers game.
Of course passion can be harmful if not used properly, just as gasoline will blind you if you pour it in your eyes or set it on fire. But when used properly, passion is one of the few unfair advantages because it cannot be bought or obtained at will. Most everything else, even experience, are technicalities, and can be bought from the standpoint of an employer. Passion is non-technical.