Sprouting a Business, One Seedling at a Time

I'll readily admit that nothing excites me more than watching an innovative business idea come to life. And when it's a friend's great idea, it's all the sweeter.

My friend, Rebecca Carpenter, worked for many years as a successful brand strategist to large corporations and non-profits. She enjoyed the work- in spite of its ups and downs- but eventually she found she was ready for a change of scenery; she just didn't know what kind of scenery that entailed. All she knew was that something was missing in her work and, when she became a mother, she decided to take time while raising her little boy to discover what the missing pieces might be. 

Fostering A New Interest

What better way to unearth new interests than by taking up hobbies? While still consulting in brand strategy, Rebecca casually sampled several creative endeavors on the side such as writing and crafting beautiful things. She even sold some of her handmade items on Etsy.

But one interest particularly stuck with her: gardening. In the backyard of her family's townhouse, she had started a vegetable garden. She began by experimenting with different plants from one season to the next and found that she loved working outdoors with the soil, testing various compost combinations and lighting environments that would yield optimal results. However, realizing that trial and error could only take her so far, she enrolled in a gardening class. That's when she knew she was hooked; suddenly Rebecca had discovered an untapped fascination with horticulture.

Her enthusiasm was so great that it motivated her to enroll in a master gardening program. It was here that she'd soon learn how to nurture plants organically, finding alternatives to chemical fertilizers and sprays. This type of gardening, using only organic methods, appealed to Rebecca in so many ways. She not only enjoyed the challenge of natural garden care but also the peace of mind it brought her.


Following Her Enthusiasm

At this point, my friend didn't quite know where organic gardening would take her, only that she loved it. She decided to devote more time and energy to it because organic gardening was something she really believed in and felt good about doing. By allowing her interests to evolve slowly and naturally, she was, in effect, allowing her life to unfold organically, not unlike her gardening philosophy.

Along with her growing passion for gardening, Rebecca had another, related interest that she'd been fostering for years: eating and serving delicious, organic, nutrient-rich whole food. She began reading numerous books about the food and farming industries and became more and more convinced that growing ones own organic food- or, at the very least, getting closer to the source of one's food- was essential to good health, well-being, and a necessary component of protecting of our planet.

Sharing Her Enthusiasm with Others

Ever an entrepreneur at heart, Rebecca couldn't help but ponder whether this pairing of interests- gardening and eating organically harvested foods- might somehow result in a business. She brainstormed with friends and quickly discovered that organic kitchen gardens, in particular, seemed to dominate the conversation.

Several really great questions sprang from this brainstorming session, such as:

Do a lot of people want to grow their own food but don't have the time, energy or know how?

Could she solve that problem by helping people grow their own organic food?

Was there a general misconception out there, dictating that people have to live in single family homes with big yards to have a kitchen garden?

What about helping people grow container gardens, so that it didn't matter whether they lived in an apartment with just a balcony or a town home with a tiny back patio?

And if people had a yard, what if, as part of her service, she were able to build the beds for her clients, so that they didn't have to worry about time, labor or not having a so-called green thumb?

Rebecca became excited. She was getting lots of "yes" responses to the above questions from friends and family and the research she'd done. Could this be her new path to take? She even had a perfect company name picked out:

"Sprout."

But, just as she felt her heart beating faster when she thought about launching this business, doubts streamed in as fast as the possibilities. Yes, she had an M.B.A. from The University of Virginia and years of business experience under her belt, but Rebecca still had hesitations about going into this venture full throttle. She went back and forth, deliberating between starting this as a business or keeping it as a hobby she felt passionate about.

Then it dawned on her: why not launch a sort of hybrid program? (I think this is a brilliant strategy, by the way, and something few entrepreneurial spirits do.) Rebecca determined that she would launch a small project versus a big business. There would be no twenty page business plan, no huge investment of money, no board of directors or even ridiculous commitments of time. No, she would start small, but treat the project as if it were a business.

A Project is Born

To keep start-up costs at a bare minimum, she ordered free business cards online, created a no-cost, simply designed website and logo herself, and began blogging about her gardening experience. She pinned interesting garden ideas, photos and recipes on Pinterest and Facebook. She came up with checklists for clients' needs and formulated a process that included an initial "intake" session, wherein she'd meet with the client first to discuss their desires for a garden as well as their time and maintenance limitations.

Rebecca,
taking notes in the journal she keeps
for all clients.

Once she had set up the scaffolding of her business project via social media, Rebecca began slowly spreading the word to close friends and family about her new venture, Sprout Kitchen Gardens. Within these smaller social circles she asked for volunteers to take part in her project. Of course, when she told yours truly about this new endeavor I was absolutely ecstatic. I believe my specific reaction was, "Where do I sign up?!"

After all, I had tried and failed to create a productive vegetable garden in the past, and eventually gave up because of the large amounts of time spent for abysmal output. But I truly did want a garden; I just couldn't make it happen with my busy schedule, lack of knowledge, and sunlight challenges. (Our house backs to woods and much of my yard is covered in shade.) So here was an offer I couldn't refuse: someone else would choose the plants and pots, figure out the sunlight and soil requirements, tell me how much to water them and enable me to have better results. Also included: trouble-shooting as the plants matured.

What wasn't to love?



Gardening Guru

As you can see from the pictures, I ended up signing on as one of Sprout's first customers! Our whole family is really into our kitchen garden, and we're able to tend to it very easily, primarily because my gardening guru, Rebecca, set us up for success, giving us several easy-to-implement tips.

A lovely bowl of greens, straight from my garden!

My friend wisely encouraged me to try a container garden on our deck, right off of our kitchen, the only place that gets full sun all day.

I was skeptical, I'll admit, when Rebecca suggested that location. I thought all of the plants would roast from being in the hot Virginia sun all day, as my failed flower attempts had in the past. I figured I'd have to water them at least two times a day just to keep them from withering under the broiling heat. Not so, she insisted. It turns out that vegetable plants are a bit more forgiving than flowers, especially when you use really good, rich soil to begin with. And Rebecca set up my garden so that all of the pots can be sufficiently watered just once a day, from one hefty watering can, filled up at the kitchen sink every morning.

Wild Life

She also helped me solve the problem of pilfering animals. Now, you might think that I'm referring to the usual suspects like squirrels, birds or deer, but actually they tend to leave my garden alone since it's on our deck. (Another benefit of the container garden!)

Rather, the culprit is none other than our beloved pet Golden Retriever, Cloey Margaret. (If you read this blog faithfully then you are not surprised a bit about our resident thief.) But thankfully Rebecca advised me to put up nets around the most tempting of plants to prevent Cloey from harvesting her own food.

That lovely, juicy red strawberry pictured above? Cloey snatched it up, seconds after I proudly snapped a picture of my first fruit grown EVER.

"Don't look at me!"

Check Out Sprout!

Check out Rebecca's fantastic blog, sproutkitchengardens.com, and read more about her great business project. You'll get some fantastic organic recipes and wonderful tips for gardening.

AND... drum roll please... click HERE to see Rebecca's post entitled "Katie's Garden", explaining how she planted my garden!

"What's Your Verse?"

As I watched The Oscars last night, I found myself enjoying the highly inventive commercials. My favorite? The ad for the iPad Air®.

Read the commercial's script here, taken from Robin Williams' monologue in the movie, Dead Poet's Society.

Enjoy!

-Katie

The iPad Air is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.

Making a Difference: Is LinkedIn Making It Easier?

I was excited to see LinkedIn's newest venture into the volunteer world, connecting non-profits with interested volunteers. Using a crisp, clean interface, their latest development is aptly called LinkedIn Volunteer Marketplace.

But why, might you ask, am I touting a volunteer-matching service when I am a career- not volunteer- coach? 

Because volunteering applies to just about everyone.

Donating one's time to a favorite cause offers so many rewards, beyond the good feelings that serving others brings. Here are three great reasons to go pro bono:

1. Volunteering allows you to test out a career to see if it's something that might be worth vying for professionally. 

While volunteering certainly requires commitment, it doesn't necessarily take as much time as would a paid position, and allows a person to sample "days in the life of" said career without jumping in full-time. And you can see if you have the necessary aptitudes to make a difference in that particular way.

Bonus: Like to save money? 

Maybe that graduate degree in Social Work you've been considering isn't what you need after all. Or the $5K, 100 hour certification turns out to be far less important than a certain kind of experience. Both insights exemplify the kinds of information to be gleaned through volunteering.

2. Volunteering gives you a chance to meet people who care about the same cause you do. 

Finally, you get to talk to someone who understands your passion for childhood nutrition! The environment! The tragic plight of the common backyard mosquito dying needlessly from monstrous bug zappers!

(Hey, I don't judge a person's passions.)

You'll gain access to insider information, such as what kinds of people seem to thrive in that particular environment. You may also uncover how positions are filled within that slice of the non-profit world.  

Bonus: New to a community and want to meet someone who you connect with? 

Maybe as a friend... or perhaps you have romantic ambitions? 

Volunteering is a wonderful opportunity to increase time with like-minded individuals who share that particular passion of yours. 

"Follow your passion and find passion!"  

Hmmm... maybe I'm on to something here....

3. For the working professional, volunteering broadens your life experience.

And it allows you to keep growing, learning and innovating. In fact, countless studies have shown the positive effects of letting your mind take occasional breaks from problem solving at work. Creative breakthroughs tend to occur when, after continuously chipping away at a problem, an employee shifts gears to focus on something other than work.

Likewise, volunteering in say, a soup kitchen, can help get you "out of your head" and into using your hands. Then you can go back refreshed, with a new perspective on your problems. 

Bonus: Crave variety? 

Just as a significant other can only satisfy so many needs and fill so many roles in your life, so it goes with one's career as well. 

Even those who find an exciting, sustainable and intellectually fulfilling career path will always have other causes that they care about and towards which they want (and need) to contribute. 

And in giving ones talents outside paid work, a person can fulfill other roles that they enjoy playing in life. It takes the pressure off of feeling as if your paid work needs to be your end all, raison d'etre.

Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder of Linkedin, describes the benefits of the LinkedIn Volunteer Marketplace to working professionals this way:

"... while busy professionals who love their current gigs may not necessarily be looking for a new position, these are often the very people who are most actively engaged in “meaningful searches” – a volunteer opportunity that will enhance their life in ways beyond what their primary vocation provides."

Read more on Hoffman's introduction to volunteering via LinkedIn here.

Go on, check it out!.

HELP! What if I Want to Do It All?

This is the question I get from so many people, but especially from students, who feel that focusing on one single path in life just isn't going to satisfy their hunger for a variety of interests.

But I always have an answer ready for them, which is: If I can settle on a career path I love, so can they.

I've always had so many interests that fascinate me with so little time to pursue them, and I still sometimes wonder why days couldn't be at least three hours longer. So how did I decide on a career path that could satisfy this hunger? Especially one that had a lot to sink my teeth into?

Here are the top five reasons why my career path (which, as you know, involves helping others build theirs) works for my varied interests:

1. Career coaching has loads of variety inherently built in.  My days and weeks vary quite a bit, dividing my time between writing and reading and coaching and speaking. Plus I get to work with fascinating people of all different ages, backgrounds, locations, interests... and career fields, of course. Believe it or not, I feel as if I'm satisfying the explorer in me by living vicariously through my clients.

2. It requires me to solve a variety of complex problems that are similar in nature but never the same. This gets to the heart of what my brain needs to feel stimulated: I need lots of problems to solve that involve people. And I'm good at it too, which is probably why I like it! Success makes everyone feel energized.

3. I decided that the best way for me to be able to experience multiple interests in life was to have my own service-oriented business.  This means that when I want to gradually shift my focus I can, without feeling as if I'm totally losing ground. If I had a manufacturing business, for example, my freedom would be a bit more restricted, as changes would mean wasting inventory.

Another entrepreneurial bonus? Having my own business allows me to quench my thirst for novelty, such that I can invent new ways to do things- and incorporate more interests- like writing, travel, research, photography, art, and whatever else piques my interest. Of course, I don't incorporate everything all the time, because I don't need to.  It's all about prioritizing my interests, rather than trying to do too much and creating a piece-meal, random mess of crisscrossing paths. Which leads me to the next point...

4. Finding an essence is key. I got to the essence of what I enjoyed most about my top interests. Once I looked at all of my seemingly disparate fascinations, I realized most of them centered around psychology, human behavior and personal stories.  Career choices, aptitudes and journeys inhabit the bulk of my work, so it's a perfect match for me. It's like penning a symphony titled, "Variations On a Theme."

5. Wants aren't needs. I realized that there are certain things I like to do and certain things I need to do. In fact, this discernment is key in prioritizing your interests. For example, I like to paint, but one painting project once or twice a year will pretty much do the trick. And singing is another passion of mine, which I really enjoy doing. Performing about once a week plus light rehearsing seems to be a good frequency; however, I found that doing it everyday, on a professional level, proved to be a bit much.

So as far as the needs are concerned: I need to read- a lot.  And reading human interest stories and career journeys (mostly found in biographies) is just something that I do for fun, whether I'm paid to read them or not.  I'm truly drawn to this type of information gathering. My other needs: to write, share ideas and to help people on a personal level. If I don't accomplish these things very regularly it's difficult for me to feel like I'm making a difference.

So you might be wondering, are there other career fields out there-entrepreneurial or not- that have variety built in?

The answer is a resounding "Yes!"

But...

All career paths require the person with multiple interests to think and plan creatively. Beyond finding-or creating- a single dynamic career path, satisfying a variety of interests entails carving out special time to do important activities that really don't need to be done every day, all day, on a professional level, but that still need a place in your life.

And that's okay, because your ideal career, no matter how varied, will never satisfy everything on your ever-evolving list of interests. But it can, if crafted with careful consideration, satisfy the fascinations you want to grow and develop the most.

Photo credit: Creative commons via Flickr

Making a Difference in the World: Mulala Yousafzai

Like many girls at age 16, I worried about boys, my grades and what I wore. I badly wanted to make the cheerleading team, and fretted over where I would go to college in two years. I cried when I didn't make the lead in the school play and secretly craved being part of the "in" crowd.

In short, life felt rather grim at the time.

This young lady, Mulala Yousafzai, age 16, is fighting for the education rights of young women and for peace in her homeland of Pakistan. She miraculously survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban for her vocal and very public opposition.

Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

Watch her interview with Jon Stewart here.

How to Make a Difference in the World

Some great advice for those of us who don't want to sit back and watch the world stay the same.
-Katie
CHANGE YOUR WORLD

49 1/2 Shades of Passion

Admit it.  You just keep coming back for the pictures.

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In my last post, I came to the defense of passion, since it seems to have taken a major beating in the media during the past few months.

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In this last post I also pointed out that people look at following passion from different vantage points.

Some individuals are drawn to passion when talking about their careers- or potential careers- while others find the word about as useful as standing around watching two monkeys hug one another.

(Note: I suppose some people might have a passion for watching monkeys hug one another, but that's a different blog post all together.)

It is with these dual perspectives in mind that I began looking at the various approaches to passion from our headline grabbing writers, Aspen Institute founder and biographer Walter Isaacson, Linked-In CEO Reid Hoffman and professor/author Cal Newport.  From their writings and public commentary we can see how they have painted the word "passion":

Walter Isaacson: Self-Centered Passion

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In a recent article, Mr. Isaacson spoke with the Huffington Post about the Aspen Institute's new focus on encouraging youth to serve America after graduation.  He discusses the importance of doing something larger than yourself, which can be reached by doing some kind of service corps right out of college or high school. It might be a medical corps or teaching corps or the military- anything that serves other individuals.

It is in this context that he relates a conversation with Steve Jobs about following ones passion:

"We talked about the fact that it isn't just about your damn passion-- it's about doing something larger than yourself. It's about serving this world, helping others.  So if you have a whole generation of people [who've been told, 'Oh, just follow your passion,' they're going to forget that there's some purpose in life."

mathrubhumi.com

The philosophy of looking at something greater than yourself is spot on and is a very integral part of the career design method that I use with my clients. However, the above statement presumes that discovering yourself and following your interests and abilities is mutually exclusive of helping others or being practical.

I contend it can be both. Many people view the word and their passion not only as an expression of themselves but also as an expression of what they can offer to others. In fact, most of my clients come to me asking the quintessential question, "How can I best help others using my passions and talents?"

By first asking this powerful question, clients are better able to reach the goal that Isaacson says we need to reach: meeting the needs of others.

Reid Hoffman: Passion Poppycock

passionate about this poppycock
dominic coulter

Hoffman seems to view following one's passion as a lofty, end-gaining, unrealistic career vision that will quickly become obsolete with our ever-fluctuating times. He alternately uses the more objective, dispassionate phrase, "flexibly consistent framework" to describe how we need to pursue careers.

While his point about fluidity certainly makes sense, I believe Hoffman's advice is best taken by first asking yourself, "What interests and abilities (and even passions!) are going to help me build a solid foundation upon which to build my framework?" Far from the vague and lofty question Hoffman rails against, this type of question is razor sharp.

Answering this potent question gives you self-confidence and a solid knowledge base from which you can adapt and thrive in ever-shifting work environments. It allows you to manage setbacks more efficiently and determine how you can best help in your profession. Moreover, you are then able to adjust your career goals as your passions, interests and needs change. 

Cal Newport: Plain Ole Vanilla Passion Doesn't Cut It

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In the same vein, Mr. Newport seems to suggest that conventional wisdom's version of "passion" equates to a pre-conceived fantasy, lacking authenticity until cultivated for several years.  He instead uses objective terms such as "deliberate practice" and "unifying mission" to tell us how to get to valuable, satisfying work, or "Passion 2.0."

Newport's method definitely has merit; however, it works best when a person first takes the time to ask themselves, "What do I need to deliberately practice, cultivate and care about in order to develop a unifying mission?" Even Newport himself, on his blog, Study Hacks, reveals in his bio that he has a need to "decode" (great verb, by the way!) overly simplistic conventions for success such as "follow your passion." Rather, he says he "dive[s] deeper, looking to decode underlying patterns of success, in all their nuanced glory."

"To nuzzle" is a good verb, don't you think?
coolpicturegallery.us

(That has to be one of my favorite bio's, by the way.)

We all have pre-existing passions, fascinations and/or proclivities, no matter what you want to call them. Everyone has something-a function, let's call it- that they feel a relentless need to do, like "decode" or "guide" or "illustrate." These are functions that energize us and often make us lose track of time. 

Of course, the way in which we express these needs will change over time.  We may lose interest in a subject area or we may find that we evolve out of performing our once-loved function into a more nuanced version.  Likewise, we may move into other roles that have lain dormant for a good while.

However, the essence of who we are, what we're naturally good at and therefore drawn to doesn't change. Good career guidance translates the need to do x or y or z into a sustainable career. It also provides the language and insight to help people articulate what they need to have in a career and why, before they determine how to get there. It gets you in the right field before you embark on the journey.

Which leads me to the conclusion of my series on passion:

Get in Your Game: Passion-filled or Otherwise


No matter how you view "passion", all of these methods work best once you figure out your foundation and what careers are in your playing field.

And when I hear my clients talk about wanting to follow their passion, I'm really hearing them say that they have a yearning that needs to be met, even though they can't quite articulate what that need or urge is yet.  

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Through career coaching, individuals eventually discover that this "passion" is actually something they are driven to do because of their natural talents and interests, so that's when they have to ask themselves the razor sharp, function-oriented questions that I detailed above.

The answers are complex and will evolve mostly with the trial and error knowledge that comes with going out and experiencing the world.  But that experience will be most efficient and useful if, once again, you have a solid sense of yourself and your general field of ability and potential expertise.

So honor your passion, if that's what you want to call it, discover your talents, find your playing field, and then...

PLAY BALL!

My Defense of Passion: Keep the Baby! (And Throw Out the Bathwater)

A Very Cute Baby, If I Do Say

The backlash against the simple mantra, "follow your passion" raises some very important concerns, as I detailed in my last post.  Cal Newport, Walter Isaacson and Reid Hoffman all point out that the phrase is not only idealistic and over-simplified, but also misleading in it's expectations of young people embarking on new careers.

However, I'd hate to think that, due to the onslaught of equally simplistic headlines to the tune of "Don't Follow Your Passion!" we would throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak, and forget the passion piece entirely.

(Because how can you throw out that sweet little angel baby above?  The cheeks alone are priceless!)

The media has certainly been trying to do just that, jumping into the "don't follow your passion" fray with typical gusto. The Huffington Post, for example, in a recent article titled, "Warren Buffet's Predictable Career Advice: Follow Your Passion," criticized the billionaire mogul when he told Forbes Magazine,

"I always tell college students to take the job that you would take if you were independently wealthy. You're going to do well at it."

Hmmm.... call me crazy, but that seems like sound career advice to me! And why not follow the wisdom of an 82 year old man who is one of the best investors and philanthropists in the world? Especially since he also speaks from experience, as someone who pursued his passion for finance from an early age.

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With all of this bad press, someone needs to come to passion's defense, don't you think?  And I suppose I'm the perfect person for the job, since I've been on both sides of the "follow your passion" fence.

I spent many years confused and frustrated because I couldn't figure out what passion to focus on in order to make a contribution.  That was very real to me, that hole I felt in my life. My identity and self-worth withered away while I struggled to find a direction to pursue. Had I read Newport's book during that period of time I would've hurled it out the window in frustration, yelling, "How can I use the 'craftsmen approach' when I know WHAT CRAFT to hone?!!"

Which is one of the many reasons why I contend that finding one's career passion- or passions, as the case may be- is one of those values that deserves preserving.

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Throw Out the Idealism, Keep the Introspection

These days, in today's shaky economic climate, the notion of allowing yourself some introspective time to discover your interests and then plan a corresponding course of action is a tough sell.

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(Trust me, I know. I have to sell it every day.)

Many in the older generations- especially parents who were looking forward to empty nests versus ones filled with little birdies coming back to roost (indefinitely)- tend to applaud the "forget about your passion" slogans.  They may, understandably, find it an answer to the current unemployment rate- currently nearing 12%- of the Millennial Generation.

In other words, "Forget about your what your so-called "calling" is and just get a #*@#$ job!"

However, if young people don't take any time to determine what motivates and fascinates them, they are going to end up like so many of my clients in their late 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's, who seek my help because they skipped on the introspection entirely and determined their careers by looking at the so-called "practical" elements: good money, industry outlook (think of any "Fastest Growing Careers!" article,) and perceived stability.

Trying to be practical, these individuals (yours truly included) ignored their passions and interests entirely, went for the quickest and "surest" bet they could find, and in turn found themselves unhappy or maybe even unemployed several months or years or even decades later. This is because they were unable to compete with colleagues who were a better fit for- and more interested in- their work.

What's more, after six months, or five years, or even 25 years (and perhaps thousands of dollars in student loans) the only thing they figured out was what doesn't suit them, rather than what does.

How practical is that?

I'm feeling quite passionate about this pie, actually.

I'll Take a Slice of Passion with a Side of Reality, Please...

So here are two main insights that I believe we can gain from this "Do-vs.-Don't-Follow-Your-Passion" career debate and still keep the passion portion in tact.

1. False Expectations are Bad Enough, but NO Expectations are Worse.

We need to prepare graduates for the fact that a career is not going to be fulfilling and chock full of passion right from the beginning.  Young career starters can't expect fulfillment to come without putting in ample time and hard work, as Newport shows us in his many examples.
He emphasizes the fairly common knowledge among seasoned professionals that the more effort we put into a career the more we will reap the rewards that come with those efforts.

But I believe there's an important distinction to be made between working hard at just any job versus one that's in our general field of interest and abilities. These elements give us the motivation day in and day out, and the competitive edge we need to succeed.

And that's one of the main problems we see in the workforce today: many people have no idea what to expect from themselves or their career, mainly because they have no idea what career field they should even be playing in. Will they really benefit from working hard to build what Newport calls "career capital" over the years if they're in the wrong field altogether?

In my experience, both personally and in working with clients, the answer is a resounding "no."

They will most likely gain nothing other than the presumed monetary rewards and increased responsibility, both of which will be short-lived if they don't excel at their job. Most importantly, even if those extrinsic rewards come about, that typically isn't enough to sustain them.

Bottom Line: Figure out your playing field, then get in the game, even it means you have to start by warming up the bench. Knowing you're in the right field motivates you to work hard, play hard and win.

2.  Houston: We Have a Word Problem

Photo credit: NASA

Another point Newport, Isaacson and Hoffman inadvertently bring up is a semantics problem that no one seems to include in the public discourse, and that is: we all view "passion" in a different way.

(Remember, we're talking about careers here, My Friend, so let's not allow our imaginations to get crazy!)

For some people, a passion drives them to make a difference in the world.  It's intense, and visceral, meaningful and, ultimately, personal. Most of my clients, for instance, use the term in describing their motivation to work hard, as do I.

(Heck, they may even throw around romantic terms such as "purpose" and "calling" in there too! Talk about craaaazzy!)

But some people don't relate to the word in the least.  It's way too touchy feely and dramatic for them and doesn't aptly describe how they see their work- no matter how much they enjoy it.

Take my sister, for example.  She is an advocate, gifted author and blogger for lupus awareness as well as an inventor of products that help people with chronic illnesses.  She motivates hundreds of people every day to keep going despite Lupus and their many other setbacks. (Can you tell I'm a proud sister?!)

But she never EVER uses the word "passion" to describe what she does for a living. That term is just not part of her vocabulary, being more of the Thinking than the Feeling Type.

While my sister is a fairly open-minded individual and can respect the passion other people feel  for their work, other individuals are a bit more, well, perplexed by the whole prospect. These are the people who tend to hear "follow your passion" and equate it with pure, unadulterated idealism.

"I love you, even though you're an ... well, you know."

Tell them that you're toying with the idea of following your passion and they'll assume you're going to:

1. Quit your job
2. Join an artist's commune in Oregon and
3. Prolifically engage in smoking a substance that, until November, was illegal in all 50 States.

(Oh, and clothing is probably optional at this freewheeling commune of yours.)

So, given these different perspectives, how do our headline-grabbing authors view passion?

Stay tuned until next time, when I shall reveal all in my concluding post, "49 1/2 Shades of Passion."

(I know, who writes these headlines??!)

Passion: A Dirty Word?

Here in the career community, "passion" seems to be the contentious word of 2012.  And I'm as much to blame as the next guy, as my two last blog posts revolved around the "P" word.

However, just to set the record straight, I'm not speaking of "passion" in the, ummm, carnal sense, because, as you know, it's not that kind of blog.  However, just because I'm in a generous mood, I've drummed up a few images of that passion, sprinkling them throughout this post for your viewing pleasure.

You may thank me later.

The Debate

As I was saying, the passion-in-your-career debate has been creeping into every nook and cranny of the press.  As with most of today's conversations that get a lot of attention, major boxing matches are springing up, pitting pithy little slogans against one another. Lest you feel left out of the loop, I'll fill you in on this debate:

In one corner of the ring we find the long time defending champion,

"Follow Your Passion." 

And in the other corner we have a new contender coming into the fight, one that basically says:

fPat

"It's Not About Your Passion!"

Those slogans, they're rich little suckers, aren't they?

After reading much of this passion debate from various media sources, I decided to break down the dichotomous sound bytes into much more nuanced components (a sort of 49 1/2 Shades of Gray, if you will) which I shall share with you now.

Once again, you may thank me later.

Overlooking Passion: Contender Number One

Since I'm sure you've been listening to the whole "Follow Your Passion" mantra over the last decade, I'll focus in on the newest contenders, currently being led in the media by author, Millennial and Georgetown University Assistant Professor of Computer Science (I know: ??!), Cal Newport.

"If you really loved me you'd share your hay with me."-Flickr

I've read many an article lately that address Newport's popular new career book, So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love. The book's main title is a quote from one of my favorite comedians and writers, Steve Martin.  (Mr. Newport gets a big point for that one.) Newport wraps his argument around the comments Martin made to Charlie Rose in a 2007 interview.

In this interview Martin recounts his struggle for over ten years, battling rejection, failures, anxiety, low pay, lack of feedback, painfully slow professional progress and isolation.  But during these difficult years Martin managed to hone his craft to the point that his performance was not only superb, but so unique that the public and show business execs couldn't help but notice him. Mr. Martin lived up to his own words, "Be so good they can't ignore you." Furthermore, this mastery led to the enjoyment of his career, entailing constant work, getting an impressive following and earning hefty paychecks.

Newport labels this slow and deliberate method of developing ones career, "The Craftsman Approach." This method serves as a sort of antidote to the entitlement mindset that he feels has saturated his young generation. In Newport's opinion, years of being spoon fed "follow your passion" has given young people false career expectations. They assume they'll love their career from the onset, and that work will feel purely rewarding from day one. This is idealistic, he says, because of the realities of the workplace:

"Most jobs don't offer their employees great autonomy and the ability to make a big impact. If you're a recent college graduate in an entry-level job, you're much more likely to hear 'go change the water cooler' than you are 'go change the world.'"

Furthermore, Mr. Newport contends that a passion- the correct version of which he dubs "Passion 2.0"- will evolve gradually, once you build up skills and therefore gain workplace value. He contends that searching for some pre-existing passion out there only leads to unrealistic expectations, anxiety and chronic job hopping. (As in, "I won't stop until I find my perfect career and passion!") Moreover, lots of introspection can be harmful and a waste of time for young people in the beginning stages of their career search.

Some decent points made, no?

Contender Numero Dos

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Joining the fight against the conventional passion slogan- in a brief but widely circulated way- is Walter Isaacson, the influential thought leader, head of the Aspen Institute and author of the best-selling biography of all times,  Steve Jobs.  Mr. Isaacson too has some strong words  to say about the slogan. In response to the self-centered mindset he believes the "follow your passion" mantra perpetuates, he stresses the importance of going after something greater than yourself and your passion; most notably, the value of contributing to society.

Hard to argue with that notion, right?

Third Times a Charm

The last contender I'll mention is LinkedIn CEO, Reid Hoffman, who, in his new book, The Startup of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, Transform Your Career, advises that a person should adopt a "flexibly persistent framework" in his or her career planning.  He finds outdated the advice of both Richard Bolles (What Color is Your Parachute?) and Stephen Covey (The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People.) in that both authors propose the philosophy of "begin with the end in mind." This mindset, Hoffman points out, is too fixed and predeterminate for constantly changing times such as ours.

He says that trying to answer "lofty questions about identity and moral purpose, along with deceptively simple ones like 'What am I passionate about?'" is futile, since the answers to questions such as these are always fluid, always evolving.

So, as you can see, the plot against passion thickens....

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And just to keep you wanting more, (this is 49 1/2 Shades of Gray, after all) this post will be continued. So stay tuned for next time, when I'll come to the defense of passion.

'Cause somebody has to.