Choosing Between Money and Passion at Work - Jocko Willink

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@jockowillink @echocharles

Excerpt from JOCKOPODCAST 151

[MrIchbins]

There is a golden way between money and passion. Look at Echo''s bicep and just be happy .

[charleshurstreinvention]

This is key--assessment of what is half of your waking life. This is my weekly topic for my own subscribers. Career. One thing that can really bring a person into depression is 40 hours a week of hating their job. The job is literally almost half of the waking life. The problem many people have is that they have a craving for security. The person will tolerate being unhappy if that is their normality. People would rather have secure bitterness than the fear of stepping off the cliff. The fact is that you can change your career anytime. At 40 or 50. I once knew a car salesman of 30 years who did really well but started to hate his job--so became a nurse at 57. He is now a travel contractor. His friends told him he would be 57 by the time he got licensed as an RN. He told them he would be 57 anyway. So he will now spend the next ten years doing something he likes instead of something he hates. But you have to decide if it is life on the sea you hate or just that ship you're traveling on. In other words--do you hate your trade or just the company you're at? But whatever you aren't happy with you must change and continue to advance yourself. Hope this helps someone---Charles.

[greyman]

Jocko speaks like a warrior sage who knows secrets and gives it to you without the sugar coating.

[CaseyBurnsInvesting]

If you must, work at a mindless job and relentlessly pursue your passions outside that job until it makes you money.

[barnesrm]

Work to live, dont live to work. Been there done that and its not worth it. In my 44 years on this earth more money has never made me happier, ever. I think its important to keep an open mind and be honest with yourself about what you are and arent willing to accept in your life. Opportunities abound but are often missed by folks whos thinking has become too narrow. I made it a point to try out all the different occupations I thought I might be interested in to see what each was all about. This allowed me to expand my skill set while deciding if that career path was right for me. We do kids a great disservice with that whole 'what do you want to be when you grow up?' nonsense. Its fine to remain focused once your eye is on the prize, but life doesnt care about your goals so you need to be able to adapt, which a lot of young kids are unable or unwilling to do because it doesnt fit with their 5 year plan. And always remember that life is too important to be taken seriously. My 2 cents

Semper Gumby

[TheCoffeeNut]

If you don't have money you can't do what you are passionate about.
My passion is writing, my job is an electrician. With enough smart investments I can retire and write full time and hopefully make it as a writer

[AaronALopez-ovsn]

Be Determined no matter what. I will never let anyone tell me different. I love my dirty gritty job because it makes us stronger mentally. Which is so important to me. I love pain, grit, dirt, ect.

[thedarkknight]

I can see what he’s saying. When I first started training kickboxing and mma as a hobby I loved it. I’d go every class but then when I started competing it was less about having fun and learning new things to “this is a job” “someone is training hard to hurt me in front of my family and friends” “I want to win” “I don’t want to lose” I want to put on a good show” “I could possibly die”. Completely changed my mindset on training. And that’s why I have a ton of respect for pro fighters when it all comes down to it (yes even mctapper to an extent) To decide to try and make a living going from training camp to training camp is very taxing physically and on the psyche.

[lmv.]

This is so true. One of my good friends loves motorcycles but became a car mechanic. He told me he became a car mechanic because he didn't want to lose is love of motorcycles by working on them all day.

[cmx]

Man Im 17 and Ive been thinking about this alot this came at the Perfect time

[DavidM-ljyv]

I worked for a large company for 20 years. Four years ago I went off on my own. I'm 46yo now, and although I'm making 2/3 of what I made at my large company 8 years ago at age 38, it was the BEST move I ever made becoming my own boss. Quality of life has improved 10x. I really love what I do now-- I never loved what I did before. And I will continue to grow as the years go on. As always, great presentation.

[TheBnary]

I've worked in IT for 25 years. Passionate about it - but I am also passionate about things outside of IT. Find something you are passionate about -- when work gets you down and introduces stress, your passion for what you are doing will carry you through. The problem comes when people look at the pay a career offers without being passionate about the thing for its own sake. That's a road to disaster.

[saved]

Seems like you guys should have had Mike Rowe in the studio to answer that question. His advice is to not follow your passion. Follow opportunities and find you passion within those opportunities. His did a PragerU video on this issue.

[shannonisokay]

I make about $1500 less a month now that I’ve switched to a career that makes me feel whole but I no longer drive home at night and have the urge to drive into a tree. I switched to this career and for the first time in my life I’ve also learned to set boundaries and not always be a yes man. All that changed was the career and yes I’m not as financially stable but when I had money. I didn’t even have time or energy to spend it anyway 🤷‍♀️

[napieracz]

Wow you just hit the nail on the head with the consumerism. I have a job that i don"t really enjoy and i tend to reward myself for doing it :) yeah probably a lot of people do, it's a trap really. You really got me thinking on this

[spookycrossaint]

Here's one thing that helped me choosing jobs and what I wanna do when I become an adult.

You are in the middle of an intersections between two paths.On your left is a job that pays well but takes years to get (for example for me it's being a general surgeon), on the right is something you've always dreamed of or a job that you've admired and showed a whole lot of intrest but dosent pay as well (firefighter) you have two paths to choose. Now you have all the money in the world right now and you have to choose, what is your passion which one do you want to do more and if your thought leans to the left or right then that's what you choose and that's the right choice. You do what you want without the thought of money, "a man only needs so much money the rest is for showing off". Do what you love and not what you have to for money. Now this is only for kids or teen maybe for adults who have struggle choosing what they want to do in life. Money is temporarily and won't buy a second of time.

[sethballance]

I love hearing jocko talk about finance. I'd listen to that podcast too

[igorkizejev]

I am trying to be a DJ and Producer, still have a day job at the same time- but believe me, there is a massive difference between people that do it as a hobby, and the difference between those doing it as a career. The level of actual work both in the studio and outside the studio- social media, website, youtube, soundcloud, possibly merch.. etc, not the same as making music and DJing for fun in the bedroom.

[littleripper]

My hobby became my career and I don't regret it but what I learnt is that work is work. I do more of it and it's harder but it's also far more satisfying being self employed.

[bryanramirez]

Summary:

The reason we enjoy our hobbies is partially because we get to do it for fun, not all the time or money. Look at your life situation, and see if you can have both a life of passion and money, this doesn't mean to have money and passion from work, but instead maybe have the money come from your job and your passion outside your job. As your financial situation improves, you can dedicate less and less time to work for money and more time towards a mission or passion that you value. The main key to make this work out, is to avoid becoming a slave to to money by instead mastering it.