I started listening to the
Founders podcast recently, and, in it, the host David Senra regularly and enthusiastically highlights Charlie Munger's aphorism: "In the world of business, the people who are most successful are those who are doing what they love." Angel investor Naval Ravikant echoes this same idea:
"The way to get out of the competition trap is to be authentic, to find the thing you know how to do better than anybody. You know how to do it better because you love it (emphasis mine), and no one can compete with you."
Thinking about this idea, I realized that there is a social benefit as well: when you love your work, you develop a
reputation as someone who is engaged and passionate. Not only do you create your best work, but you
become known as that person, which opens up even more opportunities.
If you work at, say, McDonalds and aren't connected to the mission of feeding people burgers, work is a means to living. With each customer begrudgingly served, your dissatisfaction is reflected back towards you through them. Give in to this behavior for long enough, and this image of the dispassionate worker will leave its mark on you. The environment and the reactions, sent and received, will calcify your reputation as "the person who wishes he wasn't there".
I don't think it's ever too late to change your self-view or the view others have of you, but I can't help but believe that changing these narratives (the internal one of what you believe about yourself and the external one of what others believe about you) becomes more difficult as time passes.
Feedback is always happening, and that feedback is shaping who we are. This feedback is shaped by the environment we're in and the role that we're playing in that environment. Be mindful of where you're choosing to be and how you're living in that space.
Love your journey, and make your journey lovable.
