Best Career Advice Ever: “Start with what You’re Good At”

An egregious error that people happily commit in their career choices is to simply follow their emotions. That is, they dedicate their life to doing what they apparently love a lot at that time.

This works spectacularly for a few people, and you can see a lot of them on travel and lifestyle channels, but for the most and the majority, it fails spectacularly descending into a life of either deep frustration or deep denial.

I had a whole piece about this last week, do check it out.

The question that therefore arises rather pertinently is — if not passion, what is the north star in making career choices? And without passion, is one doomed to a gray passionless career that pays for a nice house?

For this, allow me to reference Professor Scott Galloway, the fastest mind and mouth in America, and his recent book — “The Algebra of Happiness”. I truly admire Prof. Galloway and I’m especially impressed by the wise advice he provides his students at NYU-Stern.

Here’s a rough approximation of his advice and I think it is the most sensible thing I’ve heard since my mother told me not to stick my finger in the electric socket.

The idea is first to find work in something you’re good at and people will pay you for. Use that to keep the bills paid, and work on your ‘passion’ on the side. Persevere with this passion without leaving your main income, and if and when this passion becomes a success or at least financially viable, switch over to this side.

Now there are three parts to this advice.

First, figure out what you’re good at.

Meaning some activity or task that you do better than most people out there.

How do you know if you’re good at something?

The Gallup organisation suggests a simple heuristic to figure that out. It’s called the “3E” principle.

If you’re good at something then you will likely “Enjoy” doing it; you will likely “Excel” at it; and you are able to complete the task with relative “Ease”.

In other words, think of something that gives you joy when you’re working on it; something others have given you good feedback about; and you notice that you are able to do it faster, easier and with less directions than others around you.

Think back on everything you did in the last say five years and list down anything that you really liked doing. Test it for the other two rules and make a list of all the work that fits this bill. You will see a pattern emerge.

And if you don’t find anything, then you just need to explore some more. Try out new activities and experiences and see if something rings your bell.

Sometimes the answers are in the workplace itself. Even if you start as an intern or trainee, they spend their early years trying their hand at everything that comes their way and soon they have an excitingly clear understanding of what they enjoy, what they can do with ease, and what they can do better than others.

Next, whatever you find, check if this is something people will pay for.

I have a friend who can whistle really loudly. Will people pay to see that? Well, maybe in Vegas but unlikely anywhere else.

I have another friend who is great at planning parties. Will people pay for that? Yes, there are. Event management and party planners would be interested. If he builds on it and studies formal project management then pretty much any industry would be interested.

Finding a way to monetise or make money from something that comes to you easily is the golden intersection to seek.

Finally, but terribly important — don’t give up on your passion.

And when you do keep at your interest while balancing a full-time job, here are three scenarios that could play out over the years.

One, you continue with the passion on weekends while balancing it with a regular job, which you’re good at.

You’ve always wanted to be a drummer in a rock band and so you play with a local band every Saturday night and even play at music festivals. You love playing, you love the crowd, you love the energy and this is what thrills you.

You’re not trying to release an album and tour the world. You just love your music and it keeps you sane and satisfied with your regular life.

Now, you should know that this is the most likely scenario. Most people who truly believe in their passion are also aware of the limits of its powers. They figure out all sorts of creative ways to pursue it while never losing sight of what they expect from it.

Two, after a few years of practising and persevering, you quit mainstream life and eventually pursue your passion full-time. At this point, you’ve built up the finances to support you, and you’ve researched and networked enough to have a good plan going forward.

An acquaintance was serious about theatre and acting, and he pursued it with vigour throughout his school and college years. After graduating, he first took up a job with a specific bank which he knew would allow him time, while continuing to work with his theatre company on his off days.

After five years of dedication on both fronts, he reached a point where he had developed his acting craft to a professional and powerful degree, and the praise and plaudits too were coming in (and even a couple of film roles). He was now ready.

In the meantime, he kept saving up consciously and so when he exited the glass tower, he did so with absolute confidence.

Now that’s smart planning.

The last scenario is the saddest but also the most human. After you lose interest in your passion and move on to something else. Either the field changes or it simply doesn’t excite you the way it did.

At this point, aren’t you lucky that you have a good job to support you. How terrifying would it be to realise that you’ve dedicated your life to something you no longer enjoy, and now it’s too late to go back and start again. What do you do now with the rest of your life?! Horror movies don’t get scarier than that.

In all these three scenarios, please note that the job you’re working at sincerely is not a bad one at all. Remember that by now you’ve moved into a role which you are mostly good at and like to do.

No job is perfect, no organisation is perfect, and definitely no one’s boss is perfect. But none of that matters, if you’re in your zone of excellence. If you’re doing something you’re good at, then chances are you’re also getting rewarded for it and your career is moving upwards at a healthy clip because you’re probably standing out from the crowd.

In other words, even as you pursue your ‘passion’ on the side, your life is pretty okay.

And that’s what I love about this approach. It has a nice balance of everything. You can’t have it all, but this comes pretty close. Everyone’s life will have its wasted days, but this brings them down to a small number.

All in all, Be self-aware and watch over what you like and what you’re good at. If you don’t figure this out, who else will. Your happiness in life depends on this.

Be bold and try to experiment as much as possible before and during your career, especially the early stages. This is how you find your sweet spots in life.

Be honest and forgiving with yourself as you redo your plans in life. No one gets it right easily, and failure is to be worn as a badge of honour.

And Be passionate about life and perpetually curious about what you can do with it. Making a living is critical but never settle because it was the easy option. Settle only when satisfied.

One of my favourite quotes of all time –

“We all have two lives. The second one starts when we realise we have only one.”

Thank you very much, and as always, stay cool and keep building a better life. Cheers!