1 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to not discount that common graduation advice 4 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 1: to follow your passion. In many cases, this can be 5 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: a wise career move. We've recently emerged from graduation season. 6 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: Commencement speakers everywhere urge the gown and mortarboard set to 7 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: follow their passions. Other people give this as advice to 8 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 1: a Few years ago, I helped design a survey for 9 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: alarms approaching major reunions at my alma mater. Sure enough, 10 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: that follow your passion chestnut was the most common advice 11 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: people shared. It's easy to laugh at this cliche, but 12 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: what I think is more interesting is the deeper reason 13 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: why follow your passion might be smart. Some luck, like 14 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: in the lottery, is random, but more commonly, success is 15 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: a numbers game. This means it is closely connected with 16 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: what we find intrinsically motivating for reasons related to how 17 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,759 Speaker 1: we spend our time. As I watch my kids grow, 18 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,039 Speaker 1: I have been fascinated by the various ways they choose 19 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: to spend the hours that they aren't at school or activities. 20 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,399 Speaker 1: My eldest loves movies, but not just the plots. He 21 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: has become a diligent student of box office Mojo, a 22 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:35,479 Speaker 1: website that posts daily revenue figures for major theater releases. 23 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: He studies the patterns and trends. He doesn't always love 24 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 1: his math homework, but he makes sure to tell me 25 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: when a movie's gross drops by just fifty in its 26 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: second weekend compared to an expected decline. My nine year 27 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: old has no interest in box office projections, but he's 28 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: spent hours constructing various cardboard contraptions from his Nintendo Labo kit. 29 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: I have to her ring him to practice the piano, 30 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: but he willingly built a cardboard piano, hooked it up 31 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: to a switch, and played electronic tunes. I know I 32 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,919 Speaker 1: had my own obsessions as a child. My parents cleaned 33 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: out their home in advance of a move to the 34 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: East Coast, and my mother sent me one of my 35 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 1: old notebooks from when I was ten. I had filled 36 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: copious pages with a description of a stormy night. It 37 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: wasn't a good description, but judging by length a loan, 38 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: I was willing to spend hours writing something that wasn't 39 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: for school. Now back to that numbers game. As I've 40 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: interviewed people about their careers over the years. The theme 41 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: of persistence keeps coming up. People try a lot of 42 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:49,239 Speaker 1: stuff a lot starting out. You don't know what will work, 43 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: but it makes logical sense that activity generates feedback and 44 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: other activity. You can pay attention to what works. You 45 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: can do your best to season the opportunities that arise. 46 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: I've seen this in my life. People sometimes ask me 47 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: how I became a time management expert, putting that in quotes, 48 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: this is not something you major in during college. And 49 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: I did not think, Hey, I'd like to be a 50 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: time management expert as I wrote that twelve page description 51 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: of a rain storm. But I knew I loved writing, 52 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: and I knew I was willing to write a lot 53 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: about anything, articles, blog posts, books that never got published, 54 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: books that got published but few people read. Incredibly problematic 55 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: book proposals, followed by slightly less problematic book proposals, and then, 56 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: in the fall of two thousand eight, an editor at 57 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: Penguin read a book review I wrote and asked if 58 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: I'd like to meet and discuss book ideas. My book 59 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: proposal of the moment became the raw material for a 60 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: book that came out called a hundred sixty eight hours. 61 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: You have more time than you think. And there was 62 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: nothing magical about that book review that my editor spotted. 63 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: Versus hundreds of other articles I've written, no one has 64 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: any idea what will work. You put a lot of 65 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: stuff out into the universe. Knowing that fairy godmothers are lazy, 66 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: you need to give them as many chances as possible 67 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,920 Speaker 1: to work their magic. Putting stuff out into the world 68 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 1: sounds like a lot of work, and it is which 69 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: brings us back to the topic of passion. People won't 70 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: spend gobs of their own free time pursuing something they 71 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:38,479 Speaker 1: don't enjoy for its own sake. They'll spend some time, sure, 72 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: but not the sheer volume of time necessary for luck 73 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: to happen. So that's why I follow your passion can 74 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: be wise advice, but it's not just wise advice for graduates. Now. 75 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,159 Speaker 1: I know that taking big risks can be harder when 76 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: you're a grown up with kids and a mortgage and 77 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:00,479 Speaker 1: all that. Still, I think it behooves everyone to spend 78 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: time thinking about what he or she finds intrinsically motivating. 79 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: You don't have to quit your day job, but you 80 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: can think about how you could spend more time practicing 81 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: this craft. How can you start putting more stuff out 82 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: into the universe. Talk to two people about your passion 83 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: and nothing might happen. Talk to a hundred people and 84 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: something will happen. We don't know what, but something. If 85 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: you can then run with it, even as a hobby 86 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: or side hustle, then that is the secret of success. 87 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: So why not spend some time today thinking about what 88 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: your passion might be. In the meantime, this is Laura. 89 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 90 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. 91 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 92 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 93 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:08,480 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's b the number four, then Breakfast 94 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email 95 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com 96 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 97 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch. 98 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For 99 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart 100 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 101 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: favorite shows.