Passion Verses Money

Do a job you love and you do not have to work a day in your life! 

The above has been quoted by sages and management gurus for ages. We envy people who love their jobs or make a living out of what they love doing.

How come some people can be so lucky and I’m not one of them!!


Not all people have that kind of luxury. Yes there is a handful that live out their passion and that’s great. But the rest of us should not view it as a failure that we do not do what we love for a living.

Being a practical being and due to my background whereby money is scarce, I do not have the luxury to choose what I love to do immediately after my high school. The post high school study that I had chosen has to be one that’s reasonably priced, locally available and promised some kind of career security. The latter is absolutely important as I or at least the people from my generation are expected to “pay back” to our parents via monthly allowances when we start working. I know lots of people from the younger generation might not be very familiar with such “commitment” but that’s how it is.

So, I’m not ashamed to say that money is fairly important in choosing a career but I’m not ready to say that I’ll let money to have the final say in my decision-making. So yes, there is a middle ground here but I guess one can choose to do something that combines money and passion (well, at least not something that you dread doing) but along the way, if you believe your passion can get you somewhere, go for it.

Furthermore, I truly believe passion can be cultivated over time. Don’t box yourself up and buy in the idea that certain things are just not my cup of tea. In desperate times, you don't have the luxury to choose. So I don't believe being a whiner! I believe in making the best of what is available for me. And don’t underestimate our ability to adopt and adapt. You might amaze yourself :)

I like one blogger that says you are a practical person who knows that no one can do the stuff they are passionate about if they are worrying about food and rent. Support yourself somehow first, and then explore your passions from there.

I personally feel one is very lucky to even have a passion to start with. There’s always a choice whether you wish to put money or passion first. So either way, you are in a fortunate position. Anytime better than people who do not have a passion for anything – that I would say a sad state indeed.

Don’t Interrupt Candidates or Finish Their Sentences

Are you one of those that like to interrupt others or finish their sentences? Most often than not, we did not realize we actually do that until someone pointed out to us.The act might have become invisible to us.

I have to admit I did that, not all the time but enough to realize I actually did it. It happens at times when I encounter someone that is a bit slow in his speech. To speed the conversation, I’ll finish off the sentence knowing that’s probably the word or words he is struggling to verbalize. It’s a bad habit. I’m ashamed of it.

And bad habits like this unfortunately do not remain in your personal life but invade our professional realm too. So for the longest time I have unconsciously let this bad habit slip into my job interviews. And the outcome is usually not a good one. Imagine when I hurry someone along, interrupt someone, or finish his sentence, I made the candidate and myself hurried in our speech and that makes two people rather nervous and irritable at the end.

And truly, how can an interviewer really listen to what the candidate is saying when the interviewer is speaking for that person?

So if you are like me, let’s remind ourselves to be patient and wait.

Enjoy the conversation rather than rush through them.

Where Do You See Yourself Five Years From Now?

I know some people find this question annoying because it's impossible to predict the future. But if you understand the question correctly, it is not about predicting the future. What the interviewer is truly interested is your approach towards the question. As such, there is no right or wrong answer but if you are not careful, you might come out with a bad one.

If you say anything like, “I would not give a d***.” Or “I have no idea.”, you have just successfully disqualified yourself from the job.

If you say something like, “I hope to replace you.”, you are not that street-smart, aren’t you?

And if you say things like, “I want to have my own business.”, you better get ready for a good explanation after that.

What is the best answer? The best one has to be something that you believe is true for yourself as much as advancing your chance of getting the job.

So firstly, do you want to see yourself growing in your career, whether it is in terms of knowledge, skills, position and paycheck? If yes, that’s exactly in sync with employers’ aspirations. Who doesn’t want a motivated workforce, right?

Thus, something safe as well as a smart thing to say would be along the lines of,

“I’m not exactly sure the position I’ll be holding then but I would like to see myself doing something challenging and contributing positively to the organization by achieving the goals set for me. I’m sure if I’m contributing to the company’s success, my personal growth and advancement will take care of itself.”

What Happened To The Last Person In The Job?

A legitimate question.

But asked not often enough by candidates.

You need to know this.

If the last person was fired, find out the circumstances. It is better to seek clarification before an offer than finding it out the hard way – when you are already in.

If the job was vacant because the last person was promoted, ask to speak to that person before you accept the offer. I’m sure such proposal would not be declined. Smart employers will view you as a candidate that takes your job seriously before making a commitment. As for you, you want to learn as much as possible about what you are getting into.

If the person left due to own accord and can’t be reached for comment anymore, well, you have at least done yourself a favor by asking. Who knows? The hiring manager might volunteer to give you some information that you otherwise would not obtained if you did not ask.

Workaholism – The Socially Acceptable Addiction

When talk about addiction, what generally came to mind would be drugs, coffee and alcohol. It is an addiction when you have difficulty saying no to it. Instead, your mind is preoccupied with the thing or activity all the time. For a short time, I was addicted to golfing – for instance, I can play 36 hole of golf a day and can go on for another 9-hole of night golfing if I can have my way. So, I know exactly what I’m talking about.

But seriously, can anyone be addicted to work? Of course, it is absolutely possible.

However, a work addict seldom gets condemned. In a way, it’s one addiction that is socially acceptable. For instance, you would be excused when you missed a family function because you need to work late…again. Tell them any other reason, you’ll get a lecture for sure.

Bryan Robinson, PhD, one of the US’s leading researchers on the disorder and author of Chained to the Desk and other books on workaholism has this to say, “Yes, workaholism is an addiction, an obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it's not the same as working hard or putting in long hours."

The problem is since it’s socially acceptable, no one really cares about the danger of workaholism.

It was said in Japan, “death by overwork” caused 1000 deaths per year, nearly 5% of that country’s stroke and heart attack deaths in employees under age 60.

So, if work consumes you and destroys your personal life and death in the instance of Japan, is it worth being an addict?

I don’t think anyone wants to die prematurely due to work. But majority of us do not even know we are already an addict.

In Working Ourselves to Death, Diane Fassel describes several dozen characteristics of workaholics. Generally, the most common ones include:

• Denial – the common excuse: “I need to provide for my family.”

• Multiple addictions: if you study most workaholics, they have other addictions too such as food, cigarette, alcohol and etc.

• Restlessness: some people simply can’t relax. They think about their work all the time even when they are with the family.

• Obsessiveness: Some people tend to be obsessed with perfection. Everything must be done according to their expectations and consequently, no work is ever finished. And they also have problem with delegation. Think Steve Jobs.

• Self-centeredness: Work addicts think too much about themselves and possess a sense of their own importance, sometimes in exaggeration.

Too much work like any addiction is bad for an individual. And having employees work long hours does not necessarily promise greater productivity for the company either.

Now, there is a difference between hard work and workaholism.

Bryan Robinson said it best, "Hard work put us on the moon and discovered vaccinations and built this country. But hard workers generally have some balance in their lives. They sit at their desks and think about skiing. The workaholic is on the ski slopes thinking about work."

What Is The Thing To Pursue – Excellence Or Success? {inspired by 3 Idiots}

I was watching 3 Idiots last night and this is one movie that leads us to question our motivation. For example, do we go to college to get a degree because we can get a good job and lead a comfortable life thereafter or simply because of the joy of learning?

I suspect the former reason describes most of us.

“Who was the first man that landed on the moon?” Everyone in the class shouted, “Neil Armstrong”. Who was the second man? No one replied. The professor then went on to explain the importance of being the top and never settle for second, and that life is literally a race. And getting good grades is important to reach there, to be somebody. So, we chased after degrees and upon graduation, we chased after positions and status. We buy houses and cars, and accumulate possessions and we compare ourselves with one another. The more we have, the more successful we are – that’s the measure of our success. We want to retire earlier and reward ourselves, "Ah, I'm the smart one." But when we are not there yet, we pumped ourselves harder to get there.

Now, is it all about getting there?

Have we missed the meaning of learning?

Have we forgotten the importance of putting our hearts and soul into something, to excel in it simply because of the joy of doing something meaningful?

I like to believe that when we pursue excellence or follow our passion, success will follow. And it’s a success not defined by what others think it is for the meaning of success is subjective. But it’s a success according to our own definition when we are doing something that we are passionate about and meaningful.

Ok, enough said. To get more inspiration, go watch 3 Idiots.

Stop Doing It!

I read somewhere about the late Frank Sinatra that he was excellent at giving up the things that did not move him closer to his goal. One of the sayings, “Frank Sinatra doesn’t move pianos.” This does not mean he is vain or found manual work too undignified for him. It simply means he understood his fame and fortune rested on his singing ability, not his ability to get the stage ready for him to sing! He did what he did best and allowed others to perform their best on things they did best.

As most of us are hard-pressed for time, the way we make use of our time is important. Otherwise, our goals can never be achieved. For example, a Customer Service Manager’s goal is to be a General Manager one day. But if he spent most of his time attending to customers’ queries and not on “managing” his team by developing and coaching them, his goal of becoming a General Manager can never be achieved or might take longer to be realized. So even though he is excellent in customer service, he should STOP doing it. Instead he should invest more of his time and energy in the activities that are focused toward his goal.

It is and has to be a deliberate act. Are you going to include this in your resolution this year?