Suli Breaks is one of the most interesting individuals I’ve seen/heard of over the past year. For those that don’t know, Suli is a lyricist that tells powerful stories through his rhymes. The video above is one of my favorites from him.
I’ve written a few times in the past on doing something that makes you incredibly happy and leaves you feeling fulfilled at the end of the day. The “pursue your passion” mantra has popped up over and over again across various blogs and in the mainstream media, so I don’t feel the need to beat that idea to death. But, I did want to share two things I’ve noticed since I started working in a field I love:
- Energy is abundant. Low energy is often a result of boredom and lack of stimulation. When I was training full-time, I would need to kick back a double shot of espresso every afternoon just to make it through my list of clients for the evening. While I’m certainly not caffeine-free while I work at Automattic (quite the opposite), I don’t experience the same dips in energy, focus, and enthusiasm I have with previous jobs. The work keeps me engaged because I truly care about what we’re doing for our users.
- Personal goals become less important as team goals rise to the top. The number one thing I cared about at my previous two jobs (they were commission-based) was how big my paycheck was going to be. Now, I pay more attention to team-wide goals, and I’m more excited about upcoming developments with WordPress.com and our other products than I am with my personal success.
Further reading/watching:
From Cleaning Toilets to 3.2 Million Views – Jon Goodman
I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate – another great video from Suli Breaks