An (Actionable) Alternative to "What's My Passion?"

Hey Friend,

Today we’re talking about passion, career, and finding a way to make money that’s not just something that pays the bills but leaves you dead inside.

I offer a better question than the typical “What are you passionate about?” for finding meaningful work and a lot of resources on the subject as a whole.

This one will help you out if you’re struggling with the age-old question of “what the heck am I doing with my life/career?”

Let’s get into it.

My Own Struggle

Two weeks ago, I talked about wealth. Specifically, my desire to become the kind of person who believes, or knows, that he is worthy of wealth.

I shared my intention to not settle for “mediocrity” and make enough money to buy my freedom and comfort. This translates to growing my business.

A question I’ve been struggling with since then is this: How do I ensure I don’t lose sight of “passion” as I prioritize money?

This has led to greater pondering on money, career, passion, etc. This is not the first time I’ve pondered these topics. No, not by a long shot.

What I always find most frustrating about thinking about these things is the vagueness. “Follow your passion”. What does it mean to follow something? And what is passion? Is it an activity? A state of being? A cause?

I don’t see this advice as very helpful for people like me early in their careers.

A Better Question

Here’s a question I like much better:

What is ONE SKILL you are willing to master over the next 5-10 years?

Jobs, and therefore careers, are an extension of skills. So, when thinking about career and what we want to do with the ~80,000 hours the average person dedicates towards it, it helps to start by thinking about skills.

I’ve heard many smart people (most notably Robert Greene in his book Mastery) say that the single thing a person should focus on in his or her 20’s is the mastery of a skill.

In an age where new jobs are being created all the time, we don’t know what kind of careers will even exist in the future. The best thing to do to set yourself up for success in an unknowable future, therefore, is mastery of a valuable skill.

Additionally, there are people like Cal Newport who claim that following your passion is bad advice, that a much better route is to master something, and that this mastery will lead to the passion that one seeks.

So, the question becomes not what are you passionate about, but what skill are you willing to dedicate yourself to?

My personal reflections:

When I think about this question, there are two skills that come to mind: 1) Sales and 2) writing.

Ideally, the more flexible a skill, the better. As you master one, you can build others upon it. It’s about becoming T-shaped.

For me, I see mastering sales as opening up the doors to start new ventures and make my existing one successful. Writing is a way of extending that skill online and of sharing my personal reflections/thoughts via things like this newsletter.

I also plan to write a memoir of sorts and make writing an increasingly larger percentage of how I spend my time as time goes on.

My Question To You

As usual, I have a question for you. It might be obvious, but I’ll ask anyways.

What is your skill?

If you’re in the entrepreneurship game, it’s probably sales. If you’re in tech, it’s coding. If you’re a creative, it’s the craft.

Once you choose it, your task becomes mastering it. This means finding a mentor, deep work sessions, etc.

Some unsolicited advice: If you’re having trouble thinking of a skill (or, put more poetically, a calling), I would take the Viktor Frankl/Man’s Search for Meaning approach.

Consider what the world needs from you, rather than only what you think that you want.

Our deepest satisfaction typically comes from being of value to others, which means when asking which skill to master, it helps to consider what skill would make you valuable to the world.

This is not just a financial question (although that’s certainly a factor). It’s a question of how you can best be of service.

80,000 Hours has a lot of great research on everything career-related, including how much personal fit (i.e. passion) actually improves career satisfaction (hint: it’s less than you’d think).

Ok, that’s enough.

I could go on and on about passion and career because it’s something I’ve thought and researched a LOT about, but I’ll just point you to the resources linked in this newsletter and my own videos I’ve done on the subject: How to Find the Perfect Career and The Problem With Following Your Passion.

That’s it, y’all.

As always, if anything in this email piqued your interest, shoot me a reply. I’d love to chat about it with you and see if we can’t both grow a little wiser.

Until next week,

Much love,
Ryan

P.S. Favorite Discoveries

A favorite quote:

“The conventional mind is passive - it consumes information and regurgitates it in familiar forms. The dimensional mind is active, transforming everything it digests into something new and original, creating instead of consuming.”
- Robert Greene, Mastery

What I’m reading:

What is the Core of Masculinity? by The Art of Manliness. Brett’s series on “The 3 P’s of Manhood” are a great starting point for trying to understand “what it means to be a man”, and this piece tops it off. He gets to the core of what has fundamentally separated men from women throughout history - what man’s most fundamental role is in society. Highly recommend the article series and the AoM website in general.

Cool website I found:

Sovereign Man: Financial Independence and Offshore Living. As some of you may know, I grew up in a household preparing for the collapse of America (economic, civil, etc.). While I disagree with some of the reasons, I agree that the U.S. is in trouble, and have anticipated living outside the U.S. post-graduation for some time (see my video on Why I’m Leaving the U.S. After College). I intend to build an international life, which may include multiple residencies/citizenships and other ways to become less reliant on one country. This website is a cool resource for anyone interested in similar ideas, as well as Nomad Capitalist: Offshore Tax and Lifestyle Strategies for Entrepreneurs. This whole topic might warrant another newsletter, but suffice it to say I think it’s important, particularly for my American readers. Check ‘em out.