The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. W
hen people arrive at the Element, they feel most themselves and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels.
In this funny and blunt talk, Larry Smith pulls no punches when he calls out the absurd excuses people invent when they fail to pursue their passions.
A professor of economics at the University of Waterloo in Canada, Larry Smith coaches his students to find the careers that they will truly love.
People looking for good jobs are going to fail
Those trying to have good careers are going to fail, because, really, good jobs are now disappearing. There are great jobs and great careers, and then there are the high-workload, high-stress, bloodsucking, soul-destroying kinds of jobs, and practically nothing in-between.
First Reason
No matter how many times people tell you, “If you want a great career, you have to pursue your passion, you have to pursue your dreams, you have to pursue the greatest fascination in your life,” you hear it again and again, and then you decide not to do it.It doesn’t matter how many times you download Steven J.’s Stanford commencement address, you still look at it and decide not to do it.
I’m not quite sure why you decide not to do it. You’re too lazy to do it. It’s too hard. You’re afraid if you look for your passion and don’t find it, you’ll feel like you’re an idiot, so then you make excuses about why you’re not going to look for your passion. They are excuses, ladies and gentlemen. We’re going to go through a whole long list — your creativity in thinking of excuses not to do what you really need to doif you want to have a great career.
Passion is your greatest love. Passion is the thing that will help you create the highest expression of your talent. What you want, what you want, is passion. It is beyond interest.
You must look for alternatives so that you find your destiny, or are you afraid of the word “destiny”?
Second Reason
There are some of you who, in spite of all these excuses, you will find, you will find your passion. And you’ll still fail because you’re not going to do it, because you will have invented a new excuse, any excuse to fail to take action.
You’re afraid to pursue your passion. You’re afraid to look ridiculous. You’re afraid to try. You’re afraid you may fail.
Those are the many reasons why you are going to fail to have a great career. Unless…
Complement The Element with Wayne Dyer on Excuses Begone Principles, where Dr. Wayne W. Dyer reveals how to change the self-defeating thinking patterns that have prevented you from living at the highest levels of success, happiness, and health.