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Comment by personlurking | Hacker News Reader

I always wonder how true that last statement is - to the tune of "Find something you love so much that if you do it you'll never work a day in your life."

I've enjoyed things that, when they became an obligation, I stopped enjoying. Though I think it says more about myself than the actual veracity of the quote.

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That's pretty much bullshit for the pure reason that a job very rarely can only include the things you love. I love programming but I hate polishing up the same features for days, but that's what's necessary to make a good app. I hate testing, but it's part of the game.

How photographers really spend their time : http://www.cambyte.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/piechart.j...

Having said that I'm sure, some people in some industries reach that dream but I can't think of any...

While living abroad, I met a photojournalist who made me want to get into his line of work. That is, until I asked him for a breakdown of what it entails. In short, his words reflected the pie chart you posted.

I think it's also important to distinguish something one is talented at doing vs what one enjoys doing. I grew up drawing regularly, out of pleasure, and believe I can still do it with some degree of skill, but for two decades now I haven't had any enthusiasm to pick it up again.

Perhaps people who agree with the quote are both talented at and enthusiastic about what they do.

Love what you do (easier then "do what you love").

I once had a psych professor who said he wasn't made to teach, in fact, he pretty much hated it. Since it came with the uni job, he said he used his knowledge of psychology to make himself enjoy it.

On the flip side, sometimes I see a really happy person doing a "dead-end job", which also makes me wonder how much disposition plays into it.

I don't think that's so bad: if you love photography you're likely to get at least some enjoyment from some of the other things on that list, like photo editing and messing with photo gear. And even if it's dull work you can console yourself that it's part of being a photographer, as opposed to just having to console yourself that you have your family, golf or a stiff drink waiting for you once you're finished for the day.

I've always wanted to make video games. More than anything in my life. I got two degrees in computer science, then got hired by a major games studio. And I have to tell you, I absolutely love what I am doing. Every day I come into work not only looking forward to the challenges but also taking incredible pride in my work. When the games I work on are actually on the shelves in shops it's such a great feeling it can't be compared with anything. The people I work with are fantastic and very friendly, I couldn't have a better manager. It's literally the best job I could imagine, if you told my 12-year old self that the nights spent learning Visual Basic on my dad's PC will result in this I think I would have exploded with joy.

But(there always is one).

The pay is terrible. With my education and experience I could be easily making 2-3x what I make now, and I'm not even exaggerating. I've been told by multiple people that I have to be mad to work for such low compensation.

And yet. All my friends who make better money writing software almost universally hate their jobs, and their bosses. They live in nicer houses and drive better cars, but not a single one is proud of the product they help make. It's just another web app or financial product for them, it doesn't matter what it is or who it's for, as long as they get the money at the end of the month.

So now in the light of that statement - even if you find something that you can do as a job, you have to consider if it's worth the sacrifices(in my case, financial ones). At the moment, I feel like it is. But it doesn't mean I will always feel that way.

Theatre actors and classical musicians are also paid poorly even though they require years of training. There's more demand for those jobs then supply of jobs.

I loved poker until I played it professionally. I love programming, but not when I'm at work. I'm growing a garden, but I know I'd hate being a farmer.

The only job I truly loved was working with children, but there was no (financial) future in it. I didn't have to work, but I wouldn't have been able to live either.

There was an article I read somewhere (maybe here?) a couple weeks ago that mentioned that employee happiness and autonomy are correlated. That could be the issue with turning passions into a job. You lose the autonomy you had before.

The motivation triple is "autonomy, mastery, and purpose" http://www.danpink.com/drive/

> I loved poker until I played it professionally.

Probably a combination of intrinsic to extrinsic motivation (http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/10/how-rewards-can-backfire-an... and https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-trust/201403/new-...) and a sudden lack of control.

> The only job I truly loved was working with children

There's gotta be SOMEthing you can do there, maybe volunteer, tutor, whatever? I mentor'd an at-risk teen for a while, he ended up going off to college. If that is a passion you have, you should sneak it in there somehow. Maybe teach kids why Texas Hold'em No Limit is the greatest partial-information game ever invented by man? ;)

I mean, I've also yet to find someone to pay me for jacking it to internet porn all day, and even apart from that I think the world has enough rockstars, professional sports players, and actresses. You have to take that phrase with a healthy dose of salt.

Now that the Fine Brothers have made a business out of watching Youtube videos, I'll believe anything.

But, sure, you still have to figure out your place on the market.

Without looking this up, is it anything like MST3K?

They took the public concept of "show someone a youtube video and film their reaction" and turned it into a major business (millions in revenue) on youtube. Then they turned around and tried to trademark "reaction videos" and offer "licensing" to anyone else who.

Then 4chan organized some raids and they lost a bunch of subscribers and panicked and backed-off the trademark attempt.

Didn't they actually try to patent the concept? That was what I understood to be the reason people were so upset.

I don't think so. You may have heard that because most people don't understand the difference between a patent and a trademark.

Not really. It's more like "let's show a bunch of children floppy disks and record their confused look before they realize this is what the 'save' symbol comes from." MSTK was a scripted show with jokes and stuff. This is just old people listening to dubstep and stuff.

It's not just you. The concept behind that quote needs to die. Pretty much every form of paid labour is exploitation and there is a miniscule amount of humanity's needs that can be met with labour that someone would really love to spend their time doing.

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/01/in-the-name-of-love/

That's a pretty good article, but if anyone is looking for a less ideological take here is another: http://www.askamanager.org/2012/09/do-what-you-love-is-not-g...

It's not just false, it's harmful because it creates unrealistic expectations. And, I mean, let's face it, only a certain class of people can even make a pretense of it in the first place.

I figure there's two different kinds of "love".

- The dopamine reward kind. E.g., food, sleeping around, alcohol. The dopamine response burns out eventually, and you're left with nothing.

- The deeper satisfaction kind. The sort reward I imagine a civil engineer gets, knowing he designed the bridge he drives across every day. I figure this one can last.

Additionally, I figure some people "love" the superficial parts. Who will love their job more, the game developer who is passionate about test automation, or the game developer who is passionate about video games?

I think in general to find that kind of enjoyment at your job, it's about the skillset you love to employ (Problem solving? People skills? Politics? Care?) and finding the jobs that fit that skillset, rather than trying to pick a job that associates with puppies because you love puppies.

Neither satisfaction lasts forever. But some last longer.

I think that statement is a bit hyperbole. I agree with it in some sense: I love my job, and am grateful I get to do that instead of digging ditches every day. That being said, if money wasn't an issue, I'd absolutely work less hours, and only on projects I thought interesting. I don't think I'd actually quit though.

It's probably impossible since you have to be consistent and regular even when you don't feel into it that day. Unless there's something that is always giving you chills of pleasure 24/7 for decades. Low probability.

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