Work vs Passion
Recently I’ve been confronted with one of life’s biggest challenges: Do I choose work or do I choose passion?
I wish it was an easy choice like choosing my job over the man of my dreams (hehe), but alas, it was a bit more complicated than that. I think we’re all confronted by the dualities of life on a daily basis, yet when something so life-changing pops us, it is difficult to make a quick decision.
As with all challenges, I like to discuss my options at length with the people I love and trust. So, in my quest to make this decision, I ended up having coffee with my good friend, Johan de Goede.
We spoke about the challenges young people face, how on the one hand we are encouraged to build empires, be successful, get to the top no matter what. On the other hand we hear so often that life is short, that we should pursue our dreams, we’re still young, we can make mistakes…
Which brings me to the drawing…
Passion {vs=><} Work
So, while we were chatting, I drew him the picture of the “Passion vs Work Challenge”. Your work can either be your passion (=), you can work to fund your passion (>), of you’re so busy working that you don’t have time to live out your passion (<). And there there is the perfect symbiosis: Where passion and work “live” together in your reality, where they complement each other, feed of each other, and keep each other alive.
I have two very dear friends, Hennie and Maggie, who admit that they do a relatively boring (but obviously well-paying) job to fund their true passion: Food and Wine (>). My brother, on the other hand, recently launched his own wealth portfolio management company and he admits he is living his passion (=).
I have yet to meet someone whose passion and work is so entertwined that there isn’t a difference between the two*.
Sometimes in life, it is important to weigh up all the options… and then follow your heart… That is what I did.
*If you know of someone like that, let me know! 
Filed under: Inspiration | 2 Comments
Tags: *mdp marketing, Batonage, Hennie Coetzee, Johan de Goede, Maggie Mostert, Mariska du Preez, marketing, Marketing Engineer, Passion, Van du Preez, Van Wealth Portfolio Management, Work
so true – unfortunately I used to have that perfect balance in my work & passion, but now have come to realise that is harder to come by than I thought. life is filled with hardships – for yourself, your family & your friends, and we both know that it is far too short to be unhappy – or worse, live a life with no passion, for any moment in it. hence my recent big decision. is it risky? – hell yeah! – but no risk, no reward as they say!
So onwards and upwards, in the constant search for that ideal ying/yang balance once again! xx
I couldn’t agree more! Perhaps your passion wouldn’t be a passion anymore if you live it every day? Hennie certainly did for a while when he was in the wine industry and it did not work! There is so much pleasure in taking off work sometimes to just…indulge…and if you do it every day it’s no indulgement, is it?
I feel we have a good balance & thank you or the mention; now if we can just convince the bank manager!