Passion, first love, career…..

From the time he was a wee boy, R’s dreams were all about being a policeman. He always played the cop in all the 'cops vs robbers' games with friends; his most priced possession was a cap and a cop uniform his mom got him when he was five years old. The widest smile in his childhood photos was when he wore that uniform – he positively radiated joy! As a teenager, and then young adult, all his friends sported various hair styles and facial hair; not R. He cut his hair short, shaved clean, and grew a typical ‘police’ moustache. He put a lot of energy in developing his physique to pass the tests – rigorous exercise, eggs and channa in the morning, 100 sit-ups.....

His first job was not in the police force; he started off as a software professional, while striving to be a cop. After a few years, he succeeded, and got into his dream job. He spent a few years as an inspector, and then, faced a clash between the not so pleasant demands of the job and his value system. So finally, with great anguish, he quit.

His second passion, he decided, was HR. He went on to get himself a masters in HR, and started working in HR. He has been fairly successful here too.

But the only stories that R tells, are always stories of his days as a cop. He cherishes those days, and anyone who talks ill of the police force in his presence does so at their risk. He is dedicated to that profession, even though he quit.

Every-time I listen to him and see it, I think this is how a man will feel – if he couldn’t marry his one true love but marries the next best person. His heart is lost forever, and nothing can take the place of his 'true love'.

Then there is B. He didn’t know what he wanted to be; he stumbled into a sales job and realized that he was a natural born sales person. He could connect with the customer at a deeper level, connect his product to their need, and help them see the connect! Every target was a challenge, another goal-post in the race he ran against himself; every fellow sales person who couldn't meet her target was a potential mentee - her success was his success. He grew from selling low value services to very high-end services. Grew from strength to strength, flourished not to forget loved every minute of it. Again, B ended up quitting his job because of some demands on him that didn’t match his value system. Like R, he too voluntarily stepped away.

He moved to do many other things in life – and like R, he is most animated and joyous when he talks of his days in ‘sales’. He shares such insightful thoughts on being a successful salesperson, he could become a sales coach.

I don’t know if in life, ‘one true love’ exists, but I can see that in professional life, if you have had the fortune of ever being in that space that vibes and aligns with what you are, as a person, at the very core of your being, like B and R, you would feel the passion, the energy and the joy that role / work brings you.

And irrespective of what you do later – whether you stay at it (the lucky ones) or you move on (the not so lucky ones), the energy of the period when you were the complex hexagonal peg in the right fit hexagon of a role stays with you forever. And remains the best days of your career, the days you talk of with stars in your eyes, a lilt in your voice.

All you youngsters who are still starting out in life, go dabble with an open mind in multiple roles and industries, till you find that which makes you sing. Don't get stuck, don't get pegged into a hole too early, and live a life where you have never experienced that true love, the passion of a career that is truly 'you'.

If you think you already know what you want, but once you get it, don’t feel the passion of being in love like a teenager, don’t get stuck – feel comfortable looking for that which is your passion.

If for some reason you had to move away from your passion, don’t settle for second best. Like B and R, you will go through other roles and jobs, find new passion, but nothing might match the passion of the first love. Go seek it, and don’t hesitate to try a second time and a third and a fourth.

For people who are now hitting a plateau, feel a sense of fatigue and dissatisfaction with what you are doing, sit down and think back to your entire career, and even non-work roles. Ask friends and family what gets you animated in a discussion. What is it that you get excited about, that gets you speaking non-stop? Which war stories do you constantly narrate? That will hold the clue to where your passion lies.

Then, don’t hesitate. Go chase your passion. It is never too late to go back to doing that which sets you on fire!