How to Find What You Love to Do
By: Brian Kim - July 17, 2006
This article was inspired by Steve Jobsâ commencement speech at Stanford University. In it, he says the advice weâve all heard a thousand times:
âYou’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.â - Steve Jobs
Well then, the question naturally arises:
How do you find what you love to do? Itâs such a big question.
What absolutely boils my blood is that we hear we should be doing what we love to do all the time, but thereâs not any step by step advice out there on how to find what you love to do. The advice that is out there helps to a certain degree, but itâs just a bunch of pieces thrown together with no coherent logical structure or order.
A perfect example is this. In order to find your passion, we are told to ask ourselves: âWhat would you do if you had a million dollars (tax free)?â
The typical answer ensues: âWell gee, I would put it in an account that yields high interest and live off the interest each year. Then I would move to Hawaii, buy a house, sip margaritas all day, play video games, go to the beach, swim, travel around the world, taste all the cuisines, read the books, play the sports, and on and on and on.â
Does this really help? Not really. Sure, you figured out what your lazy butt likes to do, but it doesnât really answer the question thatâs hidden, which is âHow do I make money doing what I love to do?
What’s the result? People working in jobs they hate, feeling trapped because they canât quit as they rely on that sole source of income to finance a lifestyle tailored to escape their grim reality, drifting aimlessly in life, in short, leading lives of quiet desperation, as so eloquently put by Henry David Thoreau.
Why donât they just quit their jobs and pursue what they love to do you ask?
Two Reasons.
Reason #1: They donât know what they love to do.
Reason #2: Fear. Theyâve got a lifestyle to uphold, bills to pay for, families to take care of, fear of no steady source of income, fear of what other people might think or say about them, etc. Fear.
Conquer indecision in Reason #1 and ACT, and you will most definitely conquer all fear in Reason #2.
The very fact that you are seeking to find what you love to do (by the very fact you came across this article and started reading it) is a BIG step believe it or not. Many people in their lifetime avoid or do not even seek to find the answer to that question. They hear the question in their head but have become extremely adept at silencing it.
It is extremely important to answer the question on how to find what you love to do.
You must decide what destination to steer your life in. Otherwise, you leave yourself wide open for others to direct your life, as well as at the mercy of the winds and storms of life. If you know where your destination is, the rest is easy.
You will find once you know what you want to do, all uncertainty and burden will be lifted off your shoulders and you will have clear vision as to what your journey is and that journey will truly be joyful.
By the time you finish reading this article, I sincerely hope you experience that.
What about how to make money doing what you love?
The question of how to monetize doing what you love is certainly a valid one. There are bills to pay, stomachs to feed, families to support, etc.
Donât worry about that for now. That will be covered later in this article.
First things first, youâve got to find what you love to do.
Why is it so hard to find what you love to do?
The answer is:
Itâs not hard at all.
You read right.
Itâs not hard at all.
Then why are so many people having difficulty finding what they love to do?
Because theyâve never truly asked themselves.
What amazes me is that there seems to be a stigma attached to spending time with oneself. You have to constantly be doing something, whether itâs going to the game, drinking beer with the buddies, going to that hot party or club downtown, etc. Donât get me wrong, thereâs nothing wrong with doing all that, but I suspect the vast majority of people who engage in this âI have to be doing something every minute because I canât be by myselfâ mentality are just putting up a front to show people how satisfying and fulfilling their life is, when in reality, itâs just the opposite. The irony here is that spending time with oneself is EXACTLY what you should be doing to lead a satisfying and fulfilling life.
People think you have to travel around the world, experience new things, etc to find what you love to do. No. You just have to sit down and decide. The answer is already within you. You just have to dig it up and avoid procrastinating. Your brain has absorbed all sorts of information and experiences and it has the answer ready to be unraveled.
Just let it out.
Be honest. Have you actually sat down by yourself with no distractions, with your sole focus on asking yourself what you love to do without picking up your cell phone, surfing the net, watching TV, chatting on AIM, listening to your favorite song, playing solitaire or minesweeper, checking your email, returning a call, getting a drink of water, going to the bathroom, looking at the clock, reading a magazine article, I could go on and on but you get the point. Iâm going to go out on a limb and say you havenât for the sole purpose of you reading this article. Why is that?
Fear of what the answer will be if you ask yourself what you love to do.
The answer is: I donât know.
But that is exactly why you MUST find out. Youâre avoiding the question because you know the answer is you donât know, but thatâs ok. Admitting you donât know is perfectly fine. Thereâs nothing wrong with it. Youâre way ahead of a ton of other people who learn to quiet the voice within that asks the question of âWhat do I love to do?â
And letâs say youâre one of the few people who actually specifically know what they love to do. The next thought that pops in their head is âOh, I canât make any money off of that.â The seed that was planted never grew.
I hate vague answers. I want clear, logical, definitive answers to questions.
So letâs do this.
Step 1: You WILL find the answer. No doubt.
You will find the answer. You will find it. No doubt.
Approach the question with this mentality and you are sure to find it. How long will it take? It doesnât matter. Bottom line, you will find the answer.
By doing this, you automatically instill an anti quitting mechanism within yourself, because you know you will find the answer. If you know what you want to do, then you will do it.
For example, if you know you want to arrive in New York, youâll find ways to get there. Youâll hop a train, bus, or plane going to New York and will arrive in New York.
If you donât have the cash, youâll borrow it, or get a job and save up, or get a job as a flight attendant to get there for free. It doesnât matter how long it will take or what you need to do because you know youâre going to New York.
All your actions onward from the decision that you want to arrive in New York will revolve around getting to New York.
Read that last sentence again.
All your actions onward from the decision that you want to arrive in New York will revolve around getting to New York.
Finding what you love to do = Deciding to arrive in New York.
Step 2: Make a list of your skills and interests in two columns and WRITE THEM DOWN (Iâll explain why you must write things down later):
Iâve taken the liberty of creating a document you can print so you can easily fill in the blanks. You can download it here. KEY is to WRITE THESE DOWN!! I cannot emphasize this enough. Donât think you can do it all in your head. WRITE IT DOWN.
When I mean by skills is any skill. It could be an intangible skill. Empty your clip here, list EVERY skill you have. It could be programming, making web pages, talking, listening, persuading people, typing, flirting, analyzing, giving speeches, making things easy to understand, whistling, blowing bubbles with your spit, it could be anything. Donât be bashful. List everything you perceive your skills to be.
On your other column, lists your interests and donât be shy here as well. List EVERY interest you could possibly think of. Spiders, shoes, hair, makeup, basketball, tennis, thinking of ideas, babysitting, walking, hiking, fireworks, helping people, making fun of people, fishing, tai chi, karate, seashells, seaweed, can openers, anything goes. Yes, I did say can openers. Your interests can also include subjects you are knowledgeable about as well. Computers, economics, biology, baskebtall plays, football plays, magic tricks, etc.
To help you write down more interests, think of what you were interested in at your previous jobs and write them down. Also, think of what you were NOT interested in your previous jobs and write the exact opposite.
Asking yourself the following questions may shed light as to what skills and interests you possess.
If you went in a bookstore, which section do you naturally gravitate toward?
Ask friends for any skills and interests they see in you. Youâll be surprised at how much insight they have on you that youâve never thought of before.
What do you spend most of your time doing? What do you look forward to doing?
Go back and think of your accomplishments as a child. What kind of skills and interests revolved around your accomplishments?
What did people praise you on doing?
What did your teachers or parents say you had a skill or knack of doing?
Why am I emphasizing skills and interests here?
Skills: Because youâve got to leverage what youâre strong with. And donât say you donât have any. Everybody has skills. Youâve just never sat down and thought about it and wrote it down. By using your skills, youâve got a head start, a catalyst.
Interests: Simply because youâve got to love what you do. By including interests, you include another form of an anti quitting mechanism.
Focus on generating as many skills and interests you can possibly think of and WRITE IT DOWN!
You may find that your skills are gravitating toward one or two particular skills. The same may hold true for interests. Keep that in mind for step 3.
Step 3: Set aside some TRUE alone time with no distractions to focus and figure out what you love to do by asking yourself the right questions.
It amazes me how people set aside time for taxes, cooking, watching movies, reading, but when it comes to their own personal future, they NEVER set aside any time. How much MORE time should you set aside to figure out the path that will make you happy?
Ok, youâve set some private alone time with no distractions; now what?
You must ask yourself an extremely clear question. Clarity is key here. The clearer the question, the easier the answer will be.
For example, if I ask you what 12 times 12 is, the answer comes easily, 144.
However, if I ask, what is some even two digit number times some other even two digit number? Guess how long itâll take you to answer that question?
Clear questions lead to clear answers.
Another key thing is to WRITE it down. I know youâve heard it a billion times and itâs so clichĂ© but thereâs a reason. Writing things down allows you to easily make connections youâve never thought of before because you see it on paper. It also allows you to “free room” in your brain for other thoughts because they are put in another container so to speak.
If I ask you, whatâs 257 times 852, try doing that in your head vs. writing it down. When you write it down, the answer comes out easier, not to mention more accurate.
If you havenât already wrote down your skills and interests in the previous step, STOP and DO IT NOW. It wonât do you any good having them in your head.
So, letâs use your alone time to ask yourself a clear question in writing. What is the question you should ask yourself? Is it: âWhat do I love to do?â
That question is a bit broad, so letâs narrow it down a little. Try asking yourself:
What would I love to do on a daily basis utilizing both my skills and interests that will add significant value to people?
See the difference here? The more detailed and clearer the question, the easier it is to answer it. Why did I add the add value part? Because that will lead you to find a way to make money doing what you love.
By incorporating the question of how to add significant value by utilizing your skills, you automatically filter out all the âcommon answersâ that people come up with when asked what they love to do. Common answers such as: âI love to watch TV.â Or âI love to play video games.â Answers such as that discourage people because they see no way of making money from it.
Adding to that, many people tend to make the mistake of focusing on how to make money. A lot of people fail to realize that money is just a byproduct of adding value in the form of a product or service to people.
When you know how you can add value to people, youâll know how to get money.
Open up Word or get out a blank sheet of paper and write that question up at the top. Here it is again in case you don’t want to scroll up.
What would I love to do on a daily basis utilizing both my skills and interests that will add significant value to people?
The KEY is to WRITE YOUR ANSWERS DOWN!! I cannot emphasize this enough. Donât think you can do it all in your head. WRITE IT DOWN.
Looking at the two column list you made in the previous step, start writing down a list of answers. Just write. It doesnât have to be perfect and it doesnât have to make sense because sooner or later, you will connect the dots. Hereâs a story to illustrate what Iâm talking about.
There was a story about a small town with a ski resort which attracted a lot of tourists, which in turn helped the townâs economy. However, when it snowed, the snowfall collected on the power cables, until the weight was enough to collapse the cables, resulting in several power outages. Slowly but surely, tourists stopped coming, so the town held a meeting to discuss how to solve the problem of having snow collect on the power cables. Solutions were tossed out for quite some time.
Then somebody shouted in a loud voice from the back of the room and said âLetâs hang pots of honey on the power cables to make the bears climb up. When the bears climb up and get the honey, their movement will shake the snow off the power cables.â
The audience laughed and somebody else deciding to play along said âHow will we refill the pots of honey?â âWeâll use a helicopterâ, another person said.
Then the answer dawned upon them. By having a helicopter fly by the power lines, the wind from the propellers would shake the snow off.
The main point here is that answers, no matter how ridiculous they may seem, should not be feared because more often than not, they lead to results. Itâs all part of the process.
Even if an answer seems ludicrous, write it down. Write down all your answers. Do it until you have 20 answers and look them over. You will find that as you write down answers and look at them, it will in turn propel you to think of new creative answers that you would not have come up with before.
You will be amazed at all the things you wrote and the different solid creative ideas that come about.
Now the time comes for focus.
Iâm sure youâve heard of the sun and magnifying glass analogy pertaining to focus but Iâm going to say it again. If you try to do a bunch of things at once, nothing will get done. If you wave a magnifying glass around on the hottest day, you wonât burn anything. Youâll dissipate all your energy among the trivial many.
By focusing and harnessing all your power, energy, time, focus, thinking, etc. on one goal, you will be amazed at how deep and quickly you can accomplish that. Just as you steady a magnifying glass on a single object, with the hot burning sun rays analogous to your desire, focus, power, energy, time, etc, you will make an impact.
The notion of focus is so important that Iâm going to use another analogy. Imagine youâre a cheetah and you see two juicy gazelles grazing in the grass. Spending your time chasing both = no food = death. Hunt one down. It might take time to catch it and kill it, but when you do, you’ll be recharged. You will soon start collecting information on how the gazelles run, which direction they run, where they like to graze, etc, which will help you catch more gazelles in the future, thereby putting you in a favorable cycle. Case in point, focus on one.
So look over your list you just made and choose one idea that seems the most appealing to you. You may find you can combine a few ideas into one idea. Nevertheless, choose one idea that you will garner the greatest satisfaction not just for yourself, but to other people.
You might want to zero in on the ideas that combine your skills and interests that youâve listed in the beginning. The reason being, psychologically speaking, youâve probably listed your greatest skills and interests first and then as you started listing them downward, so did your degree of skill and interest. This might not be true. You might have 20 different but equal skills and interests, which if you do, I congratulate you. Just a tip I thought I would throw out.
How Will You Know Youâve Found What You Love To Do?
Does it make you feel good? If you feel it in your gut that youâve hit the jackpot, youâre right.
If your friend were to bring up the idea you picked, would you be all over it talking about it?
You have to have no reservations about it. If you feel the slightest doubt that itâs not your passion, then itâs not. You must hunger to overcome any obstacles to pursue your passion.
Update (03/15/2007): A reader just posted this comment way below (#87) and I wanted to include what she had to say in the article so you don’t miss it. I think it ties in very well here and is also well written. Thank you Bronwyn for sharing your story with us and adding such great advice to the article.
“So when you look over your goals, and one seems right, but youâre still finding excuses to not do what you have to do, thatâs not it. It might be a close relative, but itâs not the one. Keep looking and youâll find the goal that makes you counter every objection with a solution, the one where youâd happily pay whatever it takes, cash and years on the barrelhead right now. The path that makes you quiver with eagerness like a hunting dog on the point, the one over there youâve been ignoring because youâll have to learn a difficult new skill like drawing, or face big mistakes and big fears, and you didnât believe you could do those things? Thatâs the one. Admit how much you really want to go down it, tell yourself you really can do it, and then your passion will take over and you will not let anything keep you from it. “
Once you have that, your search is over.
That, right there is what you love to do.
As for how to make money off of it, you might have already found ways when you wrote down your answers. If you still want to find more ways to make money doing what you love, just follow the same steps.
Step 1: Know you will find the answer.
Step 2: Write a clear question, write down the answers, and you will be amazed at the many ways you can make money from it.
Iâll leave the money making question up to you, but it shouldnât be hard to do.
Now that you know what you love to do and how to make money from it, you must ACT.
Thatâs a whole other story. Most people get to this stage but donât act and it doesnât make any difference in their lives.
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Invest in yourself and make it happen.
Edit (06/14/2008): Due to very popular demand with regard to the volume of email I get on this subject, it has prompted me to create the DEFINITIVE guide to FINALLY finding what what you love to do and getting paid for doing it. It’s the very topic of the 2nd book on BrianKim.net.
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202 Responses to “How to Find What You Love to Do”
July 25th, 2006 at
Great! The timing for this article is perfect for me. I’ve read dozens of essays on this topic, but yours pulls the components all together, and the focus on THE SPECIFICS is brilliant. Thank you.
July 25th, 2006 at
Awesome post. Thanks for doing something original.
July 25th, 2006 at
Reg: Thank you very much for your comment. I really appreciate it and I’m happy that this essay has helped you. Funny you mention how the timing was perfect. That always happens to me as well whenever I’m looking for something.
Michael: Thank you very much for your comment. I will continue to post original content for all to read.Â
July 26th, 2006 at
[…] So you’re done with school and you’re starting your career or perhaps looking for one. What do you do? What speaks to you and whispers promises of fullfillment and enjoyment? I’ve asked myself this question before, but never really sat down and pondered it, focused on it. Found this article this evening on del.icio.us and thought I’d share it. […]
July 26th, 2006 at
Dream on! No seriously, stop thinking and start dreaming to find what you love to do.
Only one criticism: DON’T WRITE THINGS DOWN!
Why? Because it blocks thoughts that perceivingly contradict with what you have written down. It’s very hard to admit and correct written mistakes.
For example: suppose my skill is to play piano music at an advanced level (I do), but that I put “creative” on my skill list. Now suppose I am not creative at all but I wish to be and other people think I am because I make music. But in fact, I don’t make new music, I only play existing music. Writing down “creative” makes it harder to admit that it’s not creativity, but “expression” that I am skilled with.
In my opinion, people with a strong non-verbal expression (i.e. without words) should not force themselves in writing things down. If you forget, it’s not worth remembering.
July 26th, 2006 at
Thanks!! timing is also perfect, got a career decision this upcoming week and i’ve been busting my brains out about it.
July 26th, 2006 at
[…] âYouâve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.â - Steve Jobs […]
July 26th, 2006 at
Great article, original aproach.. very useful info indeed!
July 26th, 2006 at
Frank: First off, thank you very much for taking the time to comment. I understand where you are coming from. There are people who have strong non-verbal expressions. However, I still would like to encourage people very much to do write things down. As for your example, I noticed that creativity was not an attribute at all. If so, then I don’t think it should have been listed under skills in the first place. Correct me if I’m wrong please. Thank you.
Marc: Thank you very much. I’m glad this article has helped you at the right time.
Ivan: Thank you very much for your kind words. I truly appreciate it.
July 26th, 2006 at
This is a good idea, and I really wish someone had helped me through that process before I left high school. I agree with writing down your answers, taking them to a trusted councillor would probably be a good follow-up. Picking a path out of high school is difficult, especially when you think you haven’t found yourself yet. All too many college grads have no idea what they want to do when they get out of college because they didn’t make that connection before they applied, thinking they’d figure it out along the way.
I’d love to see the next logical step: how to find a career that matches what you love. Making the connections from love to classes to college/vocational school to career.
I think the biggest hurdle for me, when I knew what I loved, was the thought “but I can’t ever make money doing that.” Now, being in a career I’m not thrilled with that I picked because it was what I thought my parents expected of me, I know I would be much happier even if I was making less money doing what I am in love with. And starting over again is always a difficult option.
July 26th, 2006 at
Kathaclysm: Thank you very much for your comments. If you don’t mind me asking, what was it that you loved to do but thought “I can’t ever make money doing that?”
July 26th, 2006 at
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July 26th, 2006 at
really liked your article… it’s so true about the lack of direction on finding the work you love…
in his essay “how to do what you love” (http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html - highly recommended) paul graham suggests some interesting “tests” to see if you’re on the right track:
- are you doing things that make your friends say “wow”? your friends are the people you know, whose opinions you respect. he also questions the value of seeking prestige - the opinions of people you don’t even know.
- are you doing things even though you’re not getting paid for it? he asks how many corporate attorneys would work a day job so they could practice corporate law on nights and weekends… my guess is not many, but on the flip side, i know a lot of public defenders who would gladly do so because they love sticking up for the underprivileged.
another suggestion: in addition to skills and interests, explore your natural abilities… our friend frank is not likely to sit down and write an essay on how to do what you love, but i bet he could play us a nice tune about it… in fact, i’m guessing he could pass the two “tests” above… way to go frank!
July 26th, 2006 at
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July 26th, 2006 at
Great Post. I wanted to share another tip, if when you are trying to think through your skill/interest you can even use “Search History” of Google (if you’re an active Googler like me) and go through to see what you have searched for and it might give some ideas about your patterns..
July 26th, 2006 at
Brian,
You’ve written a great piece here, full of fantastic ideas for finding work you love. I’ve written a 3 part post on the exact theme at my blog, www.haydencoach.com. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head by highlighting the contradiction of being told to work at what you love but never being told how to find it. With your suggestions and the process I’ve written about, folks can make a huge leap forward in the journey to working at what they love. Good luck to everyone!!!
July 26th, 2006 at
[…] Finding what you love to do = Deciding to arrive in New York. ⊠How to Find What You Love to Do - [Brian Kim] […]
July 26th, 2006 at
I’m also a student of Napoleon Hill and his tenets in “Think and Grow Rich.” It’s refreshing to hear his ideas (or at least ideas inspired by him) in a new and contemporary way. I’m certain this will help many, myself included.
July 26th, 2006 at
[…] I found an interesting article on the internet that has to deal with doing what makes you happy. It is tailored for happiness in a job, but you can modify it for relationships, family goals, etc. I think it is really interesting that I found this article right before my solitude trip to the island.. […]
July 26th, 2006 at
Just a reply to Frank..
From much experience and trial, writing things down is key. Your example of identifying false skills or interests would pose a problem whether you write it down or not. I find that when I write things down it allows for a much more powerful thought process by relieving my brain of the task of hopelessly trying to track and store all previous thoughts. I can later return to great thoughts that would’ve otherwise been lost.
I don’t believe that if a thought is important you’ll remember it. I’ve had many important thoughts that get lost at sea, even within a day. But I consider many thoughts to be important, even if they don’t seem so at first. As Brian mentions, some of my best ideas have originated from thoughts that seemed a little asinine at first glance.
July 26th, 2006 at
Nice Article!
However, I see from comments that many readers are young about to choose a career or even a major, and would like to point out: be flexible. What you love to do often change.
From my cursory reading, skill+interest+value -> what you love to do (and should do to make a living).
Skills are just a proportion to experience. For young people, don’t bother too much about your current skills and do place more emphasis on your interest. The efficiency of building skill set or experience is proportional to your interest. With strong interest and time and baseline energy, you will have that skill by time you call it a career.
Interest does not need to be specific. Actually our interest is largely determined by the education we received and the people we live, socialize, and work with. If you doing something and can get sufficient appreciation with relative ease, you are bound to have interest in that particular thing. So it is not that much single cut word to write it down. Say you play football pretty well, and are very interested in it, will you still be interested in it once you are competing in a national league and spend 5 years without achieving your goals? (that also depends on what your dream is). I like science, physics to be specific. But when it comes to academic and stuck to costant writing proposals and doing research based on trend, I am not so sure about my interest any more. So be flexible.
Finding what you love for life is not an easy task and we should not expect any easy solution out of it. Life is complex. Choose your future is difficult. But enjoy whatever life throws at you and be happy is not that difficult.
But I find the formula given in the article most useful when you hate what you are doing right now and thinking about a change. Use this formula to find a choice that is better than what your current job, and go for it. The usefulness of this formula comes in convincing yourself about the rightness of your choice and having a peace of mind.
My 2 grain of salt.
July 26th, 2006 at
[…] This is a question I have long pondered and still have no answer. It’s certainly something I’ve been asking myself a lot lately. This is more of a note to myself than anything, but I figure there are several people in my life who don’t know the answer either, so here you go. […]
July 26th, 2006 at
Excellent article, definitely one of the most well stated and beneficial things I’ve read in awhile.
When you speak of setting aside true alone time, the word you need is meditation.
July 28th, 2006 at
[…] How to Find What You Love to Do The Unstoppable Power of Focus How to Give a Great Speech […]
July 28th, 2006 at
Hi Brian,
I like your article very much because it speaks to questions I’ve been asking myself for a very long time. I’m actually less than pleased with my life in general and my job in particular. A lot of it has to do with money. I don’t love money, I don’t even like it, but in this society a certain measure of it is indispensable. You’re right about money being a byproduct of doing that which one is good at and it is that which I’m currently looking for.
I have a number of skills that I believe are useful to others [although I would never boast that they make me a better person than the next. I have to be good at something, right?]. I’ve not explored their true potential sofar and I feel that it is dragging me down.
Articles like yours are showing me there is another way of looking at the world. And yes, I have not acted on what I’m good at for sheer fear and cowardice to go out into the world and take from it what I want [and my needs are modest, really]. Currently, I’m working hard on transforming my life into what it should be rather what others force me to make of it. It’s in the article, it’s very true: if you don’t find your career, it will find you and you won’t enjoy the choices it makes for you.
To all the people who doubt I would say: go out and do it. Try to make your life into what you want it to be. There are no laws governing what your life should look like. If you do not make the change, nobody will do it for you. If you do make the change, people -will- accept it. Have courage, speak your mind, do what you feel is natural to you. ‘To thyne own self be true’.
Mostly I’m doing it because I find that the answers I hear myself give are not the answers I want to give. The answers I want to give are much better and I feel comfortable being that person. I’ve just not had the courage to do so but that is changing.
Be who you want to be. Don’t let the conclusion of your life be: “this is not what I actually want it, but I was afraid to make my own way.” I can say that because that’s how I perceive my life sofar to have been and it’s totally unsatisfactory. Sarah Connor knew it: No fate but what you make.
I apologize for taking up so much screen real estate. I feel very strongly about this and I believe in the value of the advice. I’m going for it!
J.
July 28th, 2006 at
Hello! I loved your article, so I translated it into brazilian portuguese. It’s separated in two parts: http://vocemaismais.wordpress.com/2006/07/26/como-descobrir-o-que-voce-gosta-de-fazer/ and the 3 steps: http://vocemaismais.wordpress.com/2006/07/28/3-passos-para-voce-descobrir-o-que-gosta-de-fazer/
July 29th, 2006 at
Great article - I will pass it on to my kids.
One of the problems of discovering what you love is lack of exposure to a variety of work experiences. It’s better these days, but way back when, the options (for girls) centered around teacher/nurse/secretary/waitress; for boys, policeman/firefighter/doctor/lawyer/accountant. Few people knew anyone who was a physicist, chemist, engineer, published author (outside the local paper’s food writer), meteorologist, analyst of any description etc.
As I say, better these days but it’s still tough to get an accurate idea of what the day-to-day experience of a [fill in the occupation] is without being able to shadow that person.
July 29th, 2006 at
Hi Brian,
It’s a great article. It helps me so much and it is usefull, because this article is specific. It says how to solve the problems and how to make a clear question. I really want japanese people to read this article.
By the way, how long does it take to write this article?
Thank you,
komatsuna
July 29th, 2006 at
Yonderboy: Thank you very much for the additional tests listed. I think that will help a lot of people who read this article.
Venkk: Good idea on the google search. It worked for me. Thank you.
Hayden: Appreciate your comments and your posts on the article. Two heads are better than one.
Ray: Thanks for the comments. I really appreciate it.
Hui: Thank you for expanding on my article. You make some good and relevant points.
Josh: Absolutley right. Meditation. I just used true alone time to really drive that concept home. Thank you for your kind words.
Jorge: Thank you for sharing and for your kind words.
Andre: Thank you very much for taking the time to translate my article (although I wish you would’ve asked permission first). Nonetheless, the more people that read this, the better the world will be.
Auburn: You’re absolutely right. There are more choices nowadays and shadowing is a very good thing to do to learn all about an occupation.
Komatsuna: Thank you for your kind words. I take it from your comments you would like to translate this article in Japanese so the Japanese people can read this.
My only policy is that if you do translate, please do so to the best of your ability and try to match exactly what was written. Furthermore, please indicate on the translation that the article was written by Brian Kim and was translated and provide a link back to my site as a source. Also please give me a link to the translation as well.
This article took me a month to write and a month to edit. I wanted it to be perfectly polished!
July 29th, 2006 at
Hi, Brian
Thank you for allowing me to translate this article into Japanese. I will do my best by using skills listed up, of course.
You spends months to write this. amazing. That’s why this article is easy to understand for me. Thank you for your effort.
Thanks,
komatsuna
July 30th, 2006 at
[…] We start with finding what they love to do and knowing that Itâs not hard at all. Posted by Do you UBI? in work in progress | RSS feed for comments on this post | TrackBack URI […]
July 31st, 2006 at
Thanks for trying out my idea! You could have spelled my name correctly in the blog though… its “Venkk” (not Vennk)
August 1st, 2006 at
Great article! Kudos to you! People can underestimate how important it is to love what you do for a living. Having a passion for your work is what drives you everyday to perform outstanding work. If I didn’t love my job it would be hard for me to get out of bed in the mornings! For those that have not necessarily found what you love to do- it’s ok. It can take years and many different jobs to figure it out. In my experience, I have learned that following your heart is the best way to get there faster.
August 1st, 2006 at
This was very timely (to repeat what others have commented). I sent this article to my 26 year old daughter that is having a bit of a crisis right now. Very discontent in the industry (healthcare) she has chosen and yet completely at a loss of what she rather do. The only clear thing she knows is that she wants out of her current job and career path. I had suggested the quiet time and writing down her interests and skills. I don’t know if she’s done it yet, but hopefully this article will motivate her even more. Thanks for making it available for the masses.
August 1st, 2006 at
Venkke: Sorry about that, I fixed it.
Drama Queen: Thank you for your comments. It’s good to know that you’ve found what you love to do!
Suzanne: I too hope this article will motivate her. At least she is not in denial. I only wish I made this available to the masses sooner.
August 2nd, 2006 at
I donno what to say..this article is so timely for me…I am in the middle of a dilemma these days about what I am doing and what I want to do…the truth is that the answers of both these questions are different..in fact, this is exactly why I came across your article while coming the internet for information…thank you for the article and though I haven’t been able to devote that time to myself, I sure will devote it over the weekend and am sure this would work.
August 2nd, 2006 at
Deepak,
I’m glad you came across this article at the right time. I’m also glad you’re going to take some time over the weekend to decide and I’m sure it will work too!
August 6th, 2006 at
Wow, this is incredible. I’m glad that someone finally put enough thought into this and articulated it so well. I’m going to reread this several times tomorrow and periodically after to keep this fresh in my mind.
August 6th, 2006 at
Jeff,
Thank you very much for your comments and kind words. I’m flattered you will take the time to read it again.
Looking foward to the launch of your site.
August 6th, 2006 at
[…] Brian Kim presents How to Find What You Love to Do. Brian says it’s not that hard to determine your passion if you set your mind to do so. […]
August 7th, 2006 at
[…] Elise found my first post-baccalaureate job for me in the Austin American-Stateman. When we went under at the end of the dot-com boom, I found my next job in the AAS. I found my current job in the AAS. So now I’m purusing the AAS for my next job in case I don’t find what I love to do in the meantime. […]
August 10th, 2006 at
I have spent the better part of 35 years not knowing what I wanted to do, and not knowing how to find out. You have given me new purpose and perhaps a new career. I wish this was available when I graduated High School! This article should be in the hands of every High School senior six months before they graduate. It would have saved me many years of misery in my work.
August 10th, 2006 at
Brian,
Thank you very much for your comments. I’m glad that this has helped you find new purpose and a new career! I’m actually thrilled. Please keep me up to date. I’m serious!
August 13th, 2006 at
Good article, thanks for submitting it to the Carnival of Business. Your enthusiasm is contagious.
August 13th, 2006 at
Tim,
Thank you for taking the time to read it and thank you for hosting the Carnival of Business. Looks like you have a great site going on with tons of content. I look foward to reading all your posts.
August 16th, 2006 at
[…] How To Find What You Love To Do (a little trite, but helpful) […]
August 16th, 2006 at
[…] Experts recommend thinking about the things you’re passionate about when searching for a niche. For me, that’s tech, web, and words, but these don’t qualify as a niche. Brian Kim wrote the popular and superb article, “How to Find What You Love to Do.” It’s a long one… so you might want to save the link for a long break. […]
September 6th, 2006 at
[…] How to Find What You Love to Do How to Believe You Can Do Anything The Myth of Thinking Big Why Every Man Should Lift Weights How to Give a Great Speech […]
September 20th, 2006 at
[…] How to Find What You Love to Do __________ […]
September 25th, 2006 at
[…] What amazes me is that there seems to be a stigma attached to spending time with oneself. You have to constantly be doing something, whether it’s going to the game, drinking beer with the buddies, going to that hot party or club downtown, etc. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with doing all that, but I suspect the vast majority of people who engage in this ‘I have to be doing something every minute because I can’t be by myself’ mentality are just putting up a front to show people how satisfying and fulfilling their life is when, in reality, it’s just the opposite.* […]
October 24th, 2006 at
[…] Brian Kim presents How to Find What You Love to Do posted at Brian Kim. […]
October 29th, 2006 at
[…] By far the most practical advice that lays out a step by step process to work through this that I’ve ever seen was laid out by Brian Kim in his post back in July called How to Find What You Love to Do. I just found the post a couple days ago and I am working through the steps he laid out now (I’ll let you know how it goes.) […]
October 30th, 2006 at
I just posted a link to this on my blog. I also copied the link in my email and sent to everyone important in my life. I was directed here by a link on the SuccessCREEations blog. This is by far one the best things I’ve read on the Internet, not just on a blog, on the entire INTERNET. I’ve actually done this in the past but no to this extent. Tomorrow I am blocking out my calender and I’m going to do the entire exercise from start to finish. Thank you for this and I hope more people have the opportunity to read and benefit from this.
October 30th, 2006 at
Chris,
Thank you very much for your comments and for sharing the article. I’m glad you’re taking some time out to do this as few people do. I have no doubt you will find the answer you’re looking for!
November 16th, 2006 at
[…] How To Find What You Love To Do by Brian Kim […]
November 18th, 2006 at
[…] But it was working through the very practical steps in the post I found in Brian’s archives about How to Find What You Love to Do that lead me to start making some course adjustments here at SuccessCREEations. […]
November 23rd, 2006 at
I have just read Steve Jobs’commencement and I like it very much.SO glad to read this article.I am a junior college student in China who don’t konw what to do in the future.thanks.
November 23rd, 2006 at
Hi icecream,
Glad you came by and read the article and also glad that it helped. Hope you find what you love to do.
December 3rd, 2006 at
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December 3rd, 2006 at
Hi, Brian Kim, thanks for your writing. I’ve translated this article into Chinese without your permission. Cause I’d like to share your idea of thinking to Chinese.
[url=http://imacee.com/blog/12]Chinese Translation of this article.[/url]
[url=http://imacee.com/blog/12]æ€æçäžæçż»èŻćšæ€.[/url]
December 3rd, 2006 at
Thanks for your understanding!
December 3rd, 2006 at
Hi imacee,
Thank you for translating the article and notifying me of it. I appreciate it. The more people that know about it, the better.
Thanks again for all your work!
December 10th, 2006 at
Dear Brian,
Thank you for the insightful information above. I am following up your method. Richard Bolles, “What Color is Your Parachute” also have some similar method but yours is detailed.
When you mentioned “ideas”, do I choose for skills and interests I listed from my columns that make me feel good from deep inside and come up with ideas and make a story? What happens after that? Can you give example? I hope you don’t mind if I ask you to ellaborate for me starting from page 6 of the last paragraph to page 7 just about “…if you feel it in your gut..”. Or, please email me at the above email.
Again, thanks for opening the door for us.
Best Regards,
Maqueda
December 10th, 2006 at
Hi Maqueda,
Thanks for stopping by. I will email you shortly so please check your inbox.
Thanks.
Brian
December 22nd, 2006 at
[…] Brian Kim helps us find what we love to do. Brian will tell you that it’s not hard to find what you love to do, but you’ve got to ask the question. Once you understand why people don’t ask the question and you look at Brian’s steps for finding what you love to do, you’ll be a heck of a lot closer. […]
January 5th, 2007 at
[…] How to Find What You Love to Do […]
January 7th, 2007 at
[…] Brian Kim presents How to Find What You Love to Do posted at BrianKim.net. […]
January 7th, 2007 at
I am a student studying at University in England and I was very confused. I left school not knowing what to do and picked the wrong university course for me, but went to try it out anyway, ignoring the fact that my heart was telling me not to go. Finally, thanks to your exercise, I have actually considered what I like doing rather than what is respected and considered appropriate for me. As a result i feel much happier than before i found this site and I am going to stop doing my university course and go travelling while I am young and care-free enough to do so, then i will come back to my list and see where to go from there. Thanks for helping me out and taking the time to write such a well articulated and carefully considered essay.
Emma xx
January 7th, 2007 at
Hi Emma,
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your story. I’m glad to see that you have become much happier by doing what you want to do, not what others expect you to do. It’s refreshing to see.
I also thank you very much for your kind words. I really appreciate it!
Have fun traveling and when you come back, I think you’ll find what exactly what you’re looking for.
Brian
January 14th, 2007 at
I happened upon this site while following the links from another site. Your site is wonderful and i bookmarked it. Thank your for the hard work you must have put in to create this wonderful facility. Keep up the excellent work
January 14th, 2007 at
Hi Alberta,
Thank you for dropping by! I’m glad you found the site and bookmarked it. It’s comments like these that make me want to work even more
Brian
January 25th, 2007 at
[…] How to Find What You Love to Do (3528) by Brian Kim was written as far back as last Summer, so it equals the top five along with the others although in my opinion, it’s the best entry in this carnival. Reserve some extra time for it, as it will drive you to act in discovering what you love to do. Do you know your answer? […]
February 13th, 2007 at
I very much enjoyed reading your article. And I would like to thank you for printing it on the internet. I’d write more, but I can’t wait any longer…I’ve got to get started with your guideline so I can find what I love to do!
February 13th, 2007 at
Hi Dawn,
Thanks for the kind words and you’re very welcome!
Glad to see you jump right on it so fast
Brian
February 14th, 2007 at
[…] 1) Find work that you love to do. (see Brian Kimâs article) […]
February 23rd, 2007 at
Some one tell me that your website is very good !I do think so!
February 24th, 2007 at
Hi Alabama,
Thanks for dropping by and for your kind words. I really appreciate it! And please say thank you on my behalf to the person who told you about my site!
Brian
March 3rd, 2007 at
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March 7th, 2007 at
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