Mike Rowe, featured in this TED Talk, illustrates just how dangerous "follow your passion" can be.
For this assignment, draw TWO connections between this TED Talk and Ch. 3 of So Good They Can't Ignore You. Then respond to TWO connections from your peers. I will grade this by the end of second block on Wednesday.
"Follow your passion and go broke" is a phrase that Newport would totally agree with. I like how Rowe notes how many (if not all) of the people he profiles on Dirty Jobs never even thought of following their passions. Instead, the simply connected the dots as Steve Jobs mentioned in his Stanford speech. By doing that, and putting in a lot of time to get good at their respective fields, the folks profiled in Dirty Jobs were able to gain success and carve out careers and even, in some cases, callings.
ReplyDeleteI think another interesting point is that many people - including the sheep farmer Rowe focuses on in his talk - maybe started out their careers as a way of earning a living - what Newport calls a "job" - but over time, they developed the skills necessary to turn their "job" into a career. I'm going to download some of these episodes to use as case studies.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the key points that Rowe illustrates is that many of the jobs in the future don't lend themselves to just "follow your passion." Who has a passion for being a pipe fitter or steam fitter or welder? Those are jobs that must be filled. How can we shift away from this notion of telling students to follow their passions towards jobs that don't exist and get students to focus on preparing for jobs that they could land immediately upon graduation?
ReplyDeletefollow your passion and its gonna work out, its a complete lie. Mike talked about a pig farmer who is very successful, but did the opposite of his passion. He watched where everyone was going and went the other way. Newport also explains stories of people who didn't follow their passion and ended up very successful, or people who followed their passion and ended up unhappy or unsuccessful. Instead of looking for a job that satisfies your passion, look for a job your good at and passion will follow.
ReplyDeleteAnother comparison is how we talk about somebody else's responsibility as though its our own. Newport talks about how people take other peoples success of passion as our own. People look at athletes and say well they followed their passion and became successful, why cant I? Athletes are a small percent of how following your passion turned out, while so many other people are miserable after following theirs.
Regarding your second comparison, I agree with you. There are not a lot of people that you hear about who have followed the same passion all throughout their lives. Those who follow their passion all the way through their lives either make up the small percentage or don't make it.
DeleteConnection 1: One thing the book talked about was that you control yourself, so why not do what you love? What if you don’t know what you love? Rowe has met so many people that didn’t think they would be working in the job they have. Along their journey they must have realized they didn’t need or want a college degree to be successful and happy. Skilled workers are needed and there are more job opportunities in skilled working than there used to be. That goes along with how people have high expectations for jobs; more fun, less work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this because i feel like people confuse passion with fun. They think a certain job will be fun, or pay a lot, but quickly find out that there is actual work involved and they end up hating their "passion".
DeleteI agree with you Kate. For some people it is hard to know what you love, yet have your love be a career that can't support yourself and a family. Sometimes you just have to learn to love a career that will provide for you in return.
DeleteKate, you bring up a great point. And I think Newport would respond this way (having read the book several times now) - if you know what you love, great. Just be willing to work really, really hard at what you love. I also think Newport would point to his research that shows that most people either DON'T know what they love to do or if they do know what they love to do, it is not in an area where they can turn that into a career.
DeleteConnection 2: Rowe makes the point “follow your dreams and go broke” which is a pretty good guess at what most people’s lives look like after so many years of college. If you are so focused on following that one passion you might miss out on other opportunities or chances to find your calling. Newport says “ The more we focused on loving what we do, the less we ended up loving it” which goes with all the years of college you’d have spent your time and money on and it might not be the career you imagined.
ReplyDeleteI agree, some people are so focused on doing what they think they should do, and what they think will make them happy. People start ignoring opportunities that may arise because they are too focused on following their 'one true passion'. People need to be more open-minded and they will learn to love what they do.
DeleteI agree with you Kate. People can become so focused on the end goal that they miss opportunities that come up that could possibly lead them to a better end goal. If someone has an end goal, they should go for it, but not ignore chances that could lead to a better future.
DeleteI think this is a very good point. People so often waste time searching for a career when instead they could have already established themselves and become happy. It seems backwards to search for a job before you even know what your passion is if you have one.
DeleteBoth Newport and Rowe describe how people have jobs they wouldn't consider their passion. The pig farmer wasn't passionate about raising pigs, nor was the cattleman passionate about making flower pots. Yet in both of these scenarios they developed a job in which could support their lifestyle and became apart of their lives. This is like the lessons we've been learning in LINC the past few years and goes along with other projects, that have pushed to find a career that can fit your lifestyle. We do research on careers that would interest us, make enough money for our lifestyle, and have good availability.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the pig farmer and the cattleman didn't have a passion for what they did. They saw an opportunity to make money, similar to what Steve Jobs did. Although they didn't have passion for what they did, they still became very successful at it.
DeleteI agree with what you say when it comes to what they are teaching us to look for now. It's kind of scary though to think that if we want to live a life where we don't have to worry about money, than we have to find a job that supports us in this way even if it's not our passion.
DeleteMy second connection ties into job availability. Rowe mentions that there are fewer and fewer people filling manual labor jobs such as plumbing, carpentry, or electricians. I thought it was an interesting fact when he said that less people are enrolling in trade schools. Rowe talks about how Obama wants to create more manual jobs and Rowe states, "The jobs we make and the jobs we hope to create, aren't jobs that going to stick unless they are jobs people want." This is true because you hear more people talking about getting hired at a desk job than the manual labor jobs.
ReplyDeletePeople want to work less, but get paid more. If more manual jobs are created, people would have to be willing to work hard. I agree with your statement of the jobs we make aren't going to stick unless they are job people want. New jobs are being created everyday, the question is will those jobs stay open? If we want to create more jobs we have to base them on people interest. People also have to become more open to new things and ready to adapt and learn everyday.
DeleteI agree, more people are moving toward desk jobs because they think they will make more money and they will have a better chance of moving up in the company. Sometimes they think it will be less work than if they were a skilled laborer.
DeleteI'm with you all on this. People are afraid and lazy to do manual jobs like construction or any of that sorts, however they still want to make more money then their neighbor. We will loose more and more of the "desk jobs" and gain more manual labor overtime. It seems like it would be a fluctuating pattern of needing desk jobs then later on needing manual jobs etc...
DeleteConnection one: Rowe talked a lot about the importance of work. This is a lot like chapter three in the book. In the book it talks about how telling people to follow their passion can be very dangerous. This is because it can lead people to have high expectations on what their job will be like. Because of this, nothing will seem good enough for them and they will skip from job to job without really getting anything out of it. The people Rowe talked about probably didn't follow their passion, because their jobs weren't desirable. Yet, Rowe said that they were some of the happiest people he has met.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting way to put that Hailey. I wonder if this could connect with why people change their majors so many times in college? People decide on a major, and then see that it isn't all they thought it was so switch to another one?
DeleteI think that if people don't go into their passions that they should at least factor out the jobs that they know they are going to hate. Maybe you shouldn't follow your passion, but maybe something that you like at least a little bit. That way you can apply hard work without hating it.
DeleteI think that people are just waiting for the job to come along that will give them all of the happiness they need. When in reality, if they worked hard at a job that once wasn't their passion, they may find that that job made them happier than going out and trying to follow their passion.
DeleteConnection two: Rowe also touched a lot on how much he has learned from his experiences on "Dirty Jobs". What he thought was the best way to dock a lamb's tail turned out to actually be more harmful than the alternative. This is just like how everyone thinks that following your passion is the best thing to do when looking for a job. Although following your passion seems right, it can be more harmful to you in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completly. I feel like that is the big idea that Newport, especially, is trying to get across. I feel like Rowe is trying to get this across, but it's not as easy to find as it is in Newports book.
DeleteI agree with you. Newport and Rowe are both trying to get us to think about what we have always believed and how it isn't always correct.
DeleteI agree, Hailey. A big thing that Rowe and Newport are trying to get across is that three isn't much of an opportunity for most to follow their passions and make a living out of it. They look in more of a sensible way to make help show that if something happens you are going to need to be able to survive it.
DeleteNewport and Rowe had similar views on the idea that passion isn't everything. I mean that is what the whole book is based off of. Rowe uses the example of the pig farmer. The pig farmer isn't jumping up and down to go and do his job, but he is very successful with the work that he does with his pigs. I agree with both of them, in the sense, that for some people it isn't all about the passion that they find within it, it is how successful and tolerable their job is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. If though the pig farmer wasn't passion it about it to begin with, I feel like he are passion for it. By becoming passionate about it it helped become successful.
DeleteI don't think everyone has a calling either. If they are happy with the job they are doing and it can provide for themselves and their family, then that's what counts. Other people seek passion but so far, from what I've learned, seeking passion is like taking a wrong step that could lead you into the right path later on in life.
DeleteI agree. The majority of people don't get to follow their passion, and both Rowe and Newport are trying to get people to understand that. They both tell about how someone is fine with what they do, after they get good at it
DeleteFirst connection: Rowe explains people who are doing dirty jobs that most people would not like to do. When he asked the pig frame if this was his passion he laughed and said no. Newport explains that following your passion isn't a good idea decision. Lots of people who become successful are not doing their passion. If you would have asked them earlier in their life where they would be, they would have never answered where they are now.
ReplyDeleteI agree. You often don't end up there you think that you would in High School. Newport, and now, Rowe both had said multiple times that if you don't know what you are going to do, its okay. If do that's okay too. They just make sure that we know that we don't have any idea where we will possibly be in 10 years, which is really crazy to think.
DeleteAnother connection with Rowe and Newport is their ability to see why some people are able to make what they are passionate about into something that will make them successful, and will be happy with for the rest of their lives. It is something that everyone can probably do, but they are able to reach so many people. They are able to tell more people that it's maybe not such a good idea to follow your passion, and that it's okay to have have a job that you might not love at the time. It will all work out in the end.
ReplyDeleteWhen you have a good system where you know when you should get out or stay in a job or career, I belive that that's what can make passion so rare. Once they find what they want to do with their life or even the take the next step in their life, that's what can turn into a snowball effect making them succesful.
DeleteI think Isha hit the head on the nail. You just need to find that first opportunity and be enthusiastic about it. Then it will be an effect that keeps going up for your life. Just don't let it pass you by.
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ReplyDeleteConnection 1: “Anagnorisis” is the transition from ignorance to knowledge as Mike Rowe explains. A way this topic can relate to the book is how high school students are supposed to make a life altering decision about what they want to pursue. In the little time that we have to explore all the opportunities in the world, we put immense pressure on ourselves to make the right decision. Once students graduate, there’s no guarantee they will love what they do. Because a lot of students are confined to an area of study for an average of four years, they may believe pursuing something else in their time might not be worth it. Even though most of society notions that we should do what we love, it is looked often down upon when you drop out of college or take a gap year. To conclude, while most college students are waiting for the right job when they get out of college, they ignore the fact that they can walk out whenever they want to pursue something that can give them the potential to grow.
Connection 2: “64 percent (of people) now say they’re actively unhappy in their job.” Newport also explains that the more we focus on loving what we do, the less we end up loving it. Mike Rowe described how falsely portrayed hollywood really is in terms of how people perceive actors to be. In the same sense, since many people have a fixed idea of what happiness is, they are falsely denying themselves opportunities of what could be a possible goldmine to their happiness. Newport and Rowe make it seem like what we may think of reality could be completely different when we step out into the the real world and actually experience things.
I agree with this because I think people have started to get too high of standards when it comes to a job. People should realize that a job is a job to pay the bills and you could actually enjoy doing something even if its not the most glamorous job.
DeleteI agree with you. Especially in the last couple lines of your second connection. No one really knows what the "real world" is like until they are thrown into it, but I do think that we have some concept of how it will have some rough patches in it and that hard work is a good quality to have. It helps once we experience things and figure it out.
DeleteConnection One: I think that Newport would like Rowe's Ted Talk. They both think that passion should not be something to pursue in the workforce. Rowe says "I didn't know what to do with my life but I was told that if you follow your passion that it's all going to work out". This is something most people are told but reality tends to fall short. Newport said that 64% of young adults are unhappy with their jobs, and the number has increased a lot over the last few decades. Just because you follow your passion does not mean that it is "all just going to work out".
ReplyDeleteI agree that Newport would like this Ted talk. I do feel like you should have some passion for what you do in the workforce. Even if you don't start out with passion, become good at what you do and passion with follow.
DeleteI agree that we should have more of a plan than just "follow your passion." Realistically speaking, it has to be a combination of passion, economic vitality (such as available jobs), and financial stability.
DeleteSecond Connection: Rowe was questioning his work and decisions when he was doing things on the lamb. Just like Newport question whether or not you should follow your passion. They both agree that you shouldn't follow your passion. Newport even failed at his passion.
ReplyDeleteConnection Two: Mike Rowe discussed quite a bit about the jobs that aren't so glamorous, like a plumber and a pig farmer. Those people don't follow their passions, but they get the job done. We need people out there who don't follow their passion because what would we do without janitors or garbage men? The world would be a disaster. This relates to Newport's rule about not following your passion. You can still be successful even in a not-so-glamorous job, and might even end up enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this because we need someone to do those jobs even if there not as glamorous. You can still be happy with your job without it being your number one passion in life
DeleteOne connection between the to speakers is they both don't believe following your passion is the key to finding work you love. They think that working hard and becoming great at something is fulfilling enough to make someone love their job and be happy.
ReplyDeleteAnother connection is that they both see that some passions just do not have enough job market ability to become jobs. They want you to be realistic in picking and job and understand that you have to make a living. Rowe talks about some jobs that no one wants to do but the people that do them are actually happy even though its not what there first choice may be. But they do the job because there is a demand for it.
I agree with your second connection Jennicca. If people are focused on perusing a job that isn't necessarily needed in the workforce, they won't make a living. You need to look at what is needed in the workforce in order to get a job and make a living.
DeleteConnection 1: Both Mike Rowe and Cal Newport talk about "following your passion" and how its bad advice. Rowe says its the worst advice he ever received and how if you were to follow your dreams you would just end up broke. Newport talks about the amount of people that are happy with their jobs and it has been in a decline ever since “following your passion” was a popular saying.
ReplyDeleteWhich is interesting because you'd think that it was the opposite! People expect for everything to be perfect if they chase their dreams, and they don't take into consideration the potential risk or consequences.
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ReplyDeleteConnection 2: Mike and Cal also both talk about how “Follow Your Passion” was not only thought of as the truth, but that people passed this belief on to the younger generations. Mike says that he grew up with the idea that even if you don’t have a clue what to do with your life, you can follow your passion and everything will work out. Cal talks about the book What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles, that basically encourages the public to follow their passions. Both instances end with the younger generations thinking that there will be this “perfect” job waiting for them when they become an adult.
I agree with you on this. Most people now days are looking for their "perfect" job. More often than not do they find that their so called perfect job is not as perfect as they thought it would be.
DeleteConnection 1: I think Newport and Rowe have the same idea that passion come with skills. Rowe talked about a pig farmer that make a lot of money by feeding his pig leftovers from a casino in Las Vegas which makes them fatter and worth more money. He gained his skills by seeing where everyone else was going and then going the other way. Newport says that passion comes as people get good at what they do.
ReplyDeleteConnection 2: Rowe and Newport both say that following your passion is terrible advice. Rowe lists a few people he worked with on dirty jobs that didn't follow their passion and now couldn't be happier. He also says that "people with dirty jobs are happier." Most people would never consider roadkill clean up as a job they are passionate about or could make them happy, yet they are passionate about their jobs. Newport says that when most people follow their passion follow a path that leads to chronic job-hopping and self-doubt.
I agree with both of your connections, Gabby, but I really like the first one. As little children, we are taught to base our career off our passion. Some people may be able to be successful in this way, but not very many. On the flip side, we should be taught to base our passion around our career. You can not necessarily force passion, but if you make the best out of your situation, you will be able to see the good in it than if you stay sour about the situation.
DeleteCal and Mike, along with many other different sources are saying that a person can not follow their passion but find a job that supports them and fills the need of society and than pursue their passion. this can be on spare time or learning to grow a passion for their job. So many of the people Mike Rowe goes in with is people who have the jobs that no one would ever expect to have in their future. If everybody followed their passions, so many jobs would not be filled because as Cal puts it, this genertion has 'high expectations for work'.
ReplyDeleteI agree and think the idea for Dirty Jobs is very noble actually. It isn't often that people working these jobs get appreciated or noticed, but they serve a vital function in society. This generation has too high of expectations.
DeleteRowe is a big supporter of people needing to work rather than find a passion or follow a dream. This is very comparable to Newport's stance that some people will just have to work a job rather than "find their calling" or their dream job. Sometimes just being content is enough.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you say with how 'sometimes just being content is enough'. I don't think that people should settle with their jobs but if they work hard at something and get to a point where they can be somewhat happy, than they have found that spot of contentment.
DeleteRowe and Newport would also agree that following your passion isn't just unrealistic, it actually can harm your future. People attempting to follow a passion usually make large mistakes or get lost looking for something that doesn't exist. Passions aren't only unnecessary, they are often harmful.
ReplyDeleteIt can waste a lot of time in your life if you are following a passion that needs so much work. If your already good at a passion you can cut out some of that time. People can have passions for anything, they just need to learn which one can intercept with a career.
DeleteThis is a very important connection. If you major in something you love but cannot find a job in it, you have wasted so much money in the process.
DeleteBoth of them discuss how people grow to love their career. As we also talked about the differences of a job and career, these people with the uncommon jobs, started them as only a 'j-o-b' to make a living to support themselves. They don't think that it will last because it just doesn't seem like a thing they will do for their whole life. But sometimes, a majority of the time, the stay with this job, watching it become a career. The ones who are best at these jobs are those who, over time, it becomes a passion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement completely. Our passion will not necessarily come from a plan. Often times we can find passion in whatever we choose to do. Additionally, the value in life can come from sources outside of a career.
DeleteConnection 1: Both Newport and Rowe discuss a very important topic: the intersection of passion and work. Under these schools of thought they determined that passion is not feasible or even possible without hard work and determination. In fact, they seem to be believe that passion is the byproduct of hard work, not in spite of it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Most people expect a perfect job that will meet all of their dreamt expectations and make them completely happy but that job doesn't exist. Because the base word of passion means suffer I feel that your connection of hard work to passion is very accurate.
DeleteI agree totally. When you start to look at very successful people that claim they have a passion for what they are doing, they didn't just get there by doing nothing. They put in a lot of hard work. Even if you think you have a passion for something you haven't really put a lot of work into, that passion will grow tremendously when you start working hard at it.
DeleteFirst I think that both people see our generation as wanting more than just a job. They want a magic source of permanent happiness. They want to be filled up instead of feeling like they are just part of a routine. What they don't realize is you won't find that in any job. Yes you can find it in yourself, but rarely does it start with a job. It might end with a job.
ReplyDeleteSecond I think that they both think, as well as me, that you should get out and explore. Yes college is a way to do this with safety rails, so the only trouble you can really get into is becoming a slave to debt. As well as finishing the brainwashing into society, but that is a different story. I prefer that people actually throw all caution into the wind. This way we really test your character. When things really hit the fan and change knocks you on your ass will you be able to get back up? And with so much enthusiasm that you create a shockwave of unstoppable will.
I agree Richie, everyone wants more then just a job. I think that everyone wants a job that they love to do and pays well. However, finding a job like that is difficult and most don't find it. Some people need to realize that it is still work and it isn't always fun, but you shouldn't hate your job.
DeleteI agree, I think that it is incredibly dangerous to think a job is going to make everything perfect. It begins with you, and the job can be a good click for you, but it won't bring you happiness, that part is up to you.
DeleteConnection 2: Both of them discuss the importance of finding value in the work that you complete. Very few people wake up and decide that their life's passion is picking up dead animals; however, these workers can see the value in what they do and take pride in the quality of their individual work. Their passion in not derived simply from the profession they are apart of; it comes from their attitude, work ethic, and skills set that they have developed and can be applied to any career.
ReplyDeleteMindset is so important. It comes back to Mr. Doherty as well when he said he does the best job he can. You are always creating a reputation for yourself among others. More importantly your training your character to be stronger. You always give it your all, and then sooner or later you realize that you no longer have to try your best because you are always at your best. After that you can push the limits that others have set that you once thought were unreachable.
DeleteI agree with this statement. People are so caught up with "finding their passion" that they do not allow themselves to actually appreciate what they are doing. With a bad mindset, anything a person does will not be satisfying. I truly believe that if you make the best out of any given situation, you will be a lot happier in life than someone who is always waiting for something better.
DeleteI agree that you need to work hard to get what you want. It won't just be handed over to you. And you also need a good attitude to make the best out of the situation too. Faking it to make it, will help the situation too I think.
DeleteConnection 1: Rowe and Newport are alike in the sense that they both believe that you need to work, not find a passion. That passion can come once you get good at something. Like the pig farmer that Rowe talked about. He got better at his job and learned that feeding the pigs leftovers from the Casino would help make them fatter, thus making them worth more. It made the farmer content, and sometimes that has to be enough.
ReplyDeleteI also think that it is important to find passion for what you do but getting a job can lead you in the right direction. You can't "follow your passion and go broke". If a farmer that castrates lambs with his mouth can find passion in his job, I think we should be able to be content and do the same in what we do.
DeleteBoth guys think that you need to work and make a living instead of following your passion. It makes sense but is sort of depressing, it was what we have grown up believing.
DeleteConnection 2: A lot of what Rowe touched on, had to do with his experience on from his show "Dirty Jobs". In one of the instances, Rowe though he was better to tie off when docking the lamb, rather than to cut. He soon learned that that wasn't the case. This is comparable as to how most people think they know best in following there passion when going into a career. You passion might feel right in the beginning, but are you going to be okay with it if it doesn't feel like it in a few years down the road?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Brandi. People always try to go to college and get a job in something they are passionate about when, in reality, do they really know if they are passionate for it? People should learn to try things that they didn't know that they were interested in because they could end up developing a passion for it once they get good at it.
DeleteConnection 1- following your passion is the worst advise you can ever get. Rowe and Newport both touch on this subject. When people try following their passion, they believe that they will end up loving their job and it will come easy to them. “ The more we focused on loving what we do, the less we ended up loving it.” When people follow their passion, they think that their job will be easy for them the rest of their lives. That everyday they will wake up loving their job. People get to focused on finding a job like that they end up hating everything that they do if it doesn’t match. When in all reality, the people who worked hard at a job they did were the ones who ended up loving it.
ReplyDeleteConnection 2- Rowe and Newport both talk about the importance of work. People have stopped working hard at jobs they are given and are waiting for the right job to just come along. If they end up not liking a job, they will think that that job was not their calling and will move onto the next one. “The problem, of course, is when they fail to find this certainty, bas things follow, such as chronic job-hopping and crippling self doubts.” Rowe gave examples of people who didn’t follow their passion, such as the pig farmer, who didn’t follow their passions and ended up loving their jobs. Instead of waiting for the “right” job to come around, they made the job they had the right job for them by working hard.
My first connection is that both Rowe and Newport made similar statements that following your passion will not necessarily make you successful, but finding out what you are good at and finding out where to provide from there. For example, the pig farmer by Vegas found out how to provide by using the thrown away scraps from the casinos and feeding them to his pigs. The farmer did not follow his passion, but found out where to contribute in the world and, therefore, the farmer has become successful.
ReplyDeleteI agree Greta, that passions don't necessarily lead to success. However, you still need to find out what you are good at and pursue your interests. I think that learning to love what you do is way more important than following a passion.
DeleteMy second comparison is the straight out broad idea that following your passion is a bad idea. Both Bowe and Newport have stated so in either the TedTalk or in "So Good They Can't Ignore You." We grow up to believe that if we follow our passion, it will come to us and we will be rich. This may be the case for a select few, but in the majority, this does not happen. Instead of following passion, people need to work hard at something that will realistically get them money if their goal is to be rich. Art, sports, dancing, etc. are not realistic passions in the sense that many people can make a living doing them. Dirty jobs, as Bowe said, are what the world needs, because they are in a decline.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Our system makes it hard for passions to gain traction unless you already have money to make it work. If there isn't people to do those "dirty jobs" there will never be enough freedom to discover passions.
DeleteMy first connection is how the farmer took his own path. He knew how everyone else in the world castrated the lambs but he did it his own way because he knew what was best. He saw what the world did and took the opposite path. He knew what was best for the lambs compared to having them suffer. I think it is so important that we choose our own path in life instead of just following whatever the world does. Rowe represents us when he says no, lets do it the normal way with the rubber bands. He doesn't even give the farmer's way a chance because he wants to do it the way he thought it would be. We can't just follow others, we need to walk our own path to find success.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think we should always view things with an open mind before automatically siding with the majority, and give ourselves a chance to form a stance. Individuality is what lets us our own paths, and those are ultimately the most satisfying.
DeleteI agree with the way that we have to be willing to take a chance and see if something else might actually be better(like just using a knife instead of rubber bands) instead of just taking for granted that the "normal" way or the most common idea will just be correct all the time.
DeleteI agree completely! too often we tend to follow the daily trends of the world. More often than not those trends lead us into the same daily ruts that we all call life. Sometimes we need to get out of our ruts and be like the farmer and castrate our sheep differently.
DeleteI agree with how you say that we can't just follow others, we need to walk our own path to find success. If we do something that not everyone else is doing, we might get something even better as an outcome that not everyone gets.
DeleteRowe talk about how jobs such as electrician, plumbing, and carpentry are being portrayed as terrible jobs that nobody wants. The first thing you think of when you hear "plumber" is an over weight guy with a big butt crack. What people aren't seeing is that the people with these jobs are some of the most satisfied workers you'll meet. They find meaning and happiness in there jobs. I think this relates to how Steve Jobs acquired his passion. All of these men get an opportunity, and although it might not seem great at first, they learn to find a passion for what they do. Certain manual labor jobs will always be of importance.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think that when people start to develop that feeling that they are making a difference and are benefiting people, they start to really enjoy what they do and take it as a responsibility. I think over time, a job starts to grow on you and you start to build a passion for it.
DeleteIn both this video and the book, they talk about how following your passion is bad advice and it won't work out. I like how Rowe talked about the pig guy, and how he stepped back and looked at where everyone else was going and he went the other way. He was offered 60 million for his ranch and turned it down. That illustrates how he started to grow a passion from something he never thought he'd do. Just like in the book, you can grow to like something over time.
ReplyDeleteI like how Rowe states, "We have declared war with work", he talks about how we are kind of tricked into thinking we can do the things we see on tv. We get this big picture in our head because we see something that they are doing in Hollywood or New York. But the chances of that happening are very low. It's kind of like the book when it talks about the singing, the arts, and the sports. Those things almost never work out as a career. Those passions need to be hobbies and not careers.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Passion is supposed to be a hobby because there is not a perfect match between successful jobs and engaging passions.
DeleteFollow your passion and things will work out is a lie. Mike talked about how a pig farmer was very successful despite having a passion really. Pigs were not his passion they were his work, but he learned to like what he did. The pig farmer's farm is worth millions of dollars now. This connects to the book because it also talks about not following your passion, but learning to love what you do. What better way to love what you do then be the best and very successful at it.
ReplyDeleteMike Rowe also talks about how people nowadays are convinced that they will all find the perfect job. A job pays great and that they love. Everyone thinks they can be singer, actor, athlete, or some other fancy job. This is most often not the case, most have to work hard for their money and do jobs that aren't that fun. The book talks about how the fancy jobs like these almost never turn into careers. These are hobbies, not careers.
Efficiency vs effectiveness
ReplyDeleteRowe talks about how the most efficient way isn't always the most effective. The lamb the banded tail was more efficient for the farmer, but the lamb suffered for it. The more effective way may have hurt a little more, but the lamb healed quicker.
"OSHA? Ocean. Son, I'm a captain of a crab boat. It's not my job to get you home alive, it's my job to get you home rich." I think Rowe talked about this because it is your job to watch out for yourself. Teamwork is a thing, but I think that there should be priorities. It's like being in an airplane and the gas masks come down; do your own before doing someone else's.
Don't be afraid to work hard and take risks.
When Rowe talked about the lambs it reminded me about how the book talks about what's supposed to happen when you find your passion. He also agrees with Newport about passion being dangerous.
DeleteThe first connection I made with Rowe and Newport is that both of them believe in hard work, rather than chasing dreams. Rowe said, "Follow your passion and go broke," and Newport said, "Following your passion is dangerous." Both view it as a poor choice that could potentially have consequences.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this in that it is essential to work hard. Most people will not end up in work that just exactly fits what they want to do or have a passion for. However, if we don't have the mindset that hard work is necessary and that we can just reach our dreams without too much effort we will never find fulfillment in our work.
DeleteConnection #1:
ReplyDeleteRowe gives the example of the pig farmer, who he claims if asked if he was passionate about the pigs, he'd laugh. In the book, Newport claims that the more we try to find the job we love, the less we end up loving it. Trying to find the 'glass slipper' of work usually isn't how it goes. Some people are an exception, who are able to just fit right into what they've always wanted to do, but many others struggle, and even when they find something they like, worry that it's not perfect enough. While not having experienced this first-hand, I sometimes do have the thought of "What if I go through college, get to my dream job, and it's not what I wanted after all?" These thoughts don't last long, but they are dangerous, and more so if they become a mentality. Pre-existing passion can be applied to the workplace, but you also need to be able to adapt and develop passion for a job you might initially be unsure about.
Connection #2
In the video, Rowe also mentions a 'cold war' we've waged on work. In the book, Cal Newport gives some statistics on how dissatisfaction with our jobs is on the rise, trending right along with the rise in the passion hypothesis. The passion hypothesis has played a huge role in this war on work, and I think we need to be more open-minded on the jobs we hold, and will hold.
I definitely agree that there's a war on work. It seems that people are just getting lazier and expecting instant gratification. People are even teased for being a "try-hard!" What the hell is wrong with hard work?
DeleteMy second connection I made between the two accomplished individuals was that they both believe that you can make the best out of your situation. Rowe talks about how people can whistle while they lug roadkill off the highway. It's all about how you approach it. You can take a job, and make it into a career!
ReplyDeleteI agree with this! It's all about your attitude. If you think of everything as an adventure and what you can do to improve in the situation, it will be so much better than pouting about what you are doing. We aren't going to love everything that happens, but if we work hard, we may end up loving it.
DeleteConnection 1- When Mike Row says that we've "waged a war on work", I completely agree. As a society we have made some jobs seem less appealing, and because of this, these jobs seems frowned upon to have. In reality, some people love these jobs. It relates to Newports study that he talks about, that some jobs are just jobs and some are callings. While you might think fixing lambs is gross, some people love it.
ReplyDeleteMy first connection between the book and the TED Talk is that Rowe says “follow your dreams and go broke." Most people realize this after college. They major in something they love but can't find a job or make a living out of it. If students are concentrating on following their passion they may miss out on other opportunities that could make you happy and also make a living off of it. The author of the book states “ The more we focused on loving what we do, the less we ended up loving it." You stay focused on one thing the only time you will get bored of it. Let the path take you were ever it's plan is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about what people realize in college. You might grow up knowing exactly what you want to do with your life, and be completely oblivious to everything else. There are so many opportunities that you could have missed just because you think you wouldn't like it. In reality, you might end up loving it, and you never would have known because you stayed with your "passion".
DeleteConnection 2- Row talks about how the pig farmer saw people go one way, so he went the other. He didn't follow his passion, but he did something that made him very successful. This is the whole idea of Newports book. Don't follow something that you think you might love and up making no money, follow something you don't like, and may end up loving.
ReplyDeleteMy second connection between book and the TED Talk was that they both believe that you can turn any bad situation into a better one. Rowe mentioned the people that whistle while they pick up roadkill off the highway. That may not be what you planned to do the you are little but you need to make the best out of every opportunity you get. All that matters is about how you approach the situation. You can turn any job into a career if you try hard enough.
ReplyDeleteMy first connection between the video and chapter three is how both say that sometimes doing something we might not start loving will end up being great. In the video Rowe says that people with dirty jobs are happier, people who do the unthinkable work whistle while the work. This goes right with the book where it says "The more we are focused on loving what we do, the less we end up loving it." I'm sure the sheep farmer never expected to love castrating sheep or that the pig farmer would love slopping the pigs with casino scraps but they both got a sense of fulfillment because they didn't focus on loving what they did. They just did it and let the passion or the fulfillment come in time.
ReplyDeleteMy second connection is how Rowe and Newport each talk about going against the majority. In the Ted Talk Rowe says to step back and watch where everyone is going and go the other way. In the book Newport backs up this idea with the statistic that 64% of people say they are unhappy with their work. They each say that the majority of people are following their passion. It is a new idea that most people are trying to follow. However, if you look at the numbers it isn't going very well. Rowe says if that 64% of people are ending up unhappy with their work then why follow them. Maybe it would be more beneficial to go the opposite way and end up with the 35% of people who are happy with their work. It seems that the path that most people are taking of following your passion looks really great at first but then isn't so great later on. Being a sheep or pig farmer or being on a roadkill clean up crew wouldn't sound so great at first but it led to greater benefits later.
I connected the book and the talk with the people he was talking about in his speech. They didn't like what they were doing at first but eventually found their way to loving what they did. This connects to Newport's book because he states that if you work hard enough at a job you will learn to love it.
ReplyDeleteSecond Connection: The book by Newport explains that we see other people do well and think 'wow if they could do it then maybe I can too.' but what we don't realize is that we don't always get the chance to do what we want, and we also shouldn't pursue passions because we could give up almost everything and be unhappy with said passion. That also is compared to overexcitement.
DeleteI agree with learning to love your job! Not everyone will be able to go out and find a job they love to do right off the bat. you will have to go out and learn to love a job and your passion for that job will follow.
DeleteI agree with learning to love your job! Not everyone will be able to go out and find a job they love to do right off the bat. you will have to go out and learn to love a job and your passion for that job will follow.
DeleteMy first connection is finding a job, not your passion. Like through Mikes stories he talked to many people who loved their jobs, not because it was their passion, but because they became good at their job and is reaping the rewards. Newport agrees with the fact that you should find a job and quit following your passion. Blind Passion following often leads to job hopping and self doubt. So find a job that will support your life style and stop following the passion hypothesis.
ReplyDeleteMy second connection is the work place is becoming too tech dependent. Every year there are less and less people going into trade schools to fill the backbone jobs in America. People believe that you need a degree to be happy and wouldn't want to work manual labor, but I know from experience manual labor is some of the most fun work you will experience. It is all about finding something that you can become good at and turning into your passion, like Newport said.
ReplyDelete1: One of the things I liked that he said in this video was "He stepped back and watched where everyone else was going and went the other way." The guy who did something everyone else wasn't doing, became more successful in his job. That relates to how the book says that you shouldn't follow your passion. While everyone else was doing the "nice" jobs that they were passionate about, he was doing a dirty job that no one else wanted to do, and that made him become very successful. I think that if you were to follow your passion just like the average person, you will accomplish just as much as the average person. So that means that you should do what everyone else isn't doing to become more successful in life.
ReplyDelete2: Another thing both the book and this video talk about, is that you can find your dream job by not following your passion. The more time and effort you put into your job, the better you become at it. Once you can become good and successful at something, you will appreciate and love your job more. Not everything comes easy right away. So if you don't work hard for it with a good attitude, you won't become successful at whatever it is you do.
ReplyDelete