Which Problems?

Most career advice splits between "follow your passion" and "build unique skills." I think the better question is hiding between those two.

"What questions and problems fascinate you so much that you could spend a large portion of your life looking for the answer and be excited to do that?"

Some people want to become 'generalists.' Some people want to become 'experts.' While I think those are both outcomes, I'm unsure if the generalist or expert label is the goal itself. I think both of them come from excitedly peeling away layers of a topic or topics you enjoy learning about, resolving problems you enjoy untangling, and helping those you enjoy supporting.

I'll be the first to admit how lucky I was to stumble on my 'big question' at age 23: "How can I best help the world create a new generation of leaders who are heard, respected, and understood?" That question alone still puts a fire in my belly every day, no matter how rainy it is outside or how lousy I'm feeling.

Just speaking from personal experience, I don't think I would have felt or feel the same way if my attitude was only, 'follow your passion.' There are days (and there have even been weeks) when my passion was even hard to detect in myself. And that's scary to even write down for myself to see, let alone other people. I also don't think the set of skills I have now (which I think are comparatively unique in the marketplace) would have come about if I just tried to 'build a unique set of skills.'

Rather than asking myself how I can 'win the game,' I'm asking myself: "what do I want to learn about?"

It's amazing how quickly learning turns into satisfaction, and a constant stream of energy. I think it largely depends on the problems or issues you're spending your days trying to solve.