Passion vs. Endurance: Choose One
Aug 1st, 2011 by Carlos
Can you be successful at something without having a passion for it?
I’ve written before about the importance of having a passion and the power of passion, and I’ve arrived at a new understanding of how it fits into the things we do.
The answer to the above question is yes—of course you can be successful at something without feeling passionate about it. Look around: how many people do you know that are successful and hate what they do?
And that’s where endurance comes in: if you don’t have passion for something then you’ll certainly need endurance to get you through all the work and effort involved in achieving success.
I’ve quoted long-distance running legend Steve Prefontaine before and I’m going to do it again:
I can endure more pain than anyone you’ve ever met. That’s why I can beat anyone I’ve ever met.
That’s what endurance is all about. Forget about whether or not Pre was passionate about long-distance running (he was) and pay attention to that quote. He could be the best at something because he could endure more pain that anyone else when it came to pushing his body to the edge.
And that made him successful.
Where I Tell Another Baseball Story
Growing up, I played a lot of baseball. I’d go to practice almost every day for two and half hours. Then I’d come home and throw a tennis ball against a wall outside and pretend I was in the big leagues. Then I’d pick up a bat and hit rocks all over the yard. Then I’d take a rubber ball and throw it up against a fence and try to make awesome catches for hours and hours.
If it rained, I got soaked. If it got dark, I went inside and ran down the hallway pretending I was stealing a base and would slide headfirst (with pads on my knees and elbows).
I was always doing something baseball related because I loved it. I wasn’t trying to “always be on” or become better than anyone else, but all that stuff made me better and better.
I was just having fun. It was something I was passionate about and that carried me through. I was successful because of all the work I put in but also because it didn’t feel like work: I was having fun spending so much time polishing my baseball skills.
The moral of the story is it’s way easier to start off with something you’re passionate about and let that be the fuel that pushes you every day. If not, you’ll be testing your endurance on a day-to-day basis. Sure, you can be successful, but like Pre you’ll be trying to endure more pain than the next guy—day after day after day.
And that’s no fun.
So whether you’re looking for a job or starting a new business, I recommend exhausting all the possibilities on the passion side. If you really can’t find anything you’re passionate about that’s viable, then go the endurance route.
Good luck with that.
