Stop searching for your passion | Terri Trespicio | TEDxKC
TLDRIn this insightful talk, the speaker shares her journey of professional and personal growth, challenging the conventional wisdom of finding and pursuing a singular passion. She recounts her experiences of job loss and the subsequent search for purpose, emphasizing the pressure society places on individuals to identify a passion and the limitations of this approach. Instead, she advocates for a more flexible and open-minded approach to life and work, suggesting that passion can be developed through engagement with various activities and solving problems that matter to others. The speaker encourages the audience to focus on being useful and generous, arguing that meaningful relationships and careers often come from unexpected places and that passion is not a fixed destination but a dynamic process that follows from our actions and contributions.
Takeaways
- 🎯 **Finding Your Passion**: The speaker emphasizes that the idea of finding one singular passion and pursuing it exclusively is a limiting concept.
- 🚀 **Pursuit of Success**: Success does not necessarily come from following a pre-defined passion; it can also lead to discovering what you are passionate about.
- 💼 **The Job Market Reality**: In the professional world, it's not always about doing what you love; sometimes it's about taking any job to sustain yourself financially.
- 🤝 **Creating Life Through Living**: Life isn't about having a perfect plan before you start living; it's about creating it through the act of living itself.
- 🔥 **Passion as a Byproduct**: Passion can emerge from doing a job well, rather than being a prerequisite for starting a job or a career.
- 📈 **Success Fuels Passion**: The speaker shares personal experiences where success in a job led to passion, rather than the other way around.
- 💰 **Financial Stability Matters**: Having a stable income, even from a job that isn't your passion, can provide a foundation from which to explore other interests.
- 🧐 **Trial and Error**: It's okay to try different things and make mistakes; they can lead to unexpected opportunities and the discovery of hidden talents.
- 🌱 **Entrepreneurial Seeds**: Engaging in entrepreneurial activities can plant seeds for future endeavors, even if they don't directly relate to your current career.
- 🤔 **The Pressure of Passion**: The societal pressure to know one's passion can be stressful and unhelpful, especially when it's not clear what that passion is.
- 💖 **Passion in Action**: True passion is found in the energy and attention you give to whatever task is at hand, rather than in a specific job or hobby.
Q & A
How did the speaker feel after being laid off from their job at Martha Stewart?
-The speaker felt relieved after being laid off, even though they loved the job. They felt it was a relationship that was over, and they didn't know how to end it.
What was the speaker's initial reaction to losing both their job and radio show?
-The speaker felt lost and unsure about their next steps, experiencing a sense of emotional distress as they were further removed from their previous identity and roles.
What did the speaker do to find new work after losing their job and radio show?
-The speaker started making phone calls to friends and acquaintances, asking about job opportunities and mentioning their availability to work.
What is the speaker's view on the idea of having a singular passion?
-The speaker finds the idea of having a singular passion to be dangerously limiting, unrealistic, and a source of stress and pressure, especially for those just graduating from school.
Why did the speaker's mother encourage her to take any job?
-The speaker's mother believed that life is not created by agonizing over it but by living it. She encouraged taking a job to have a reason to get up and start creating a life through action, rather than inaction.
What was the speaker's first full-time job after being laid off?
-The speaker's first full-time job was as an assistant at a management consulting firm, despite having no knowledge or experience in that field.
What was the speaker's opinion on the advice not to loan money to someone following their passion?
-The speaker agreed with the advice, citing Scott Adams' example, and believed that success can fuel passion more than passion fuels success.
How did the speaker's experience with selling jewelry influence their career path?
-The speaker's experience with selling jewelry planted an entrepreneurial seed that influenced their career path, even though they initially had no background in sales or passion for jewelry.
What does the speaker suggest as an alternative to waiting for passion to guide one's career?
-The speaker suggests focusing on solving problems, being useful and generous, and allowing passion to emerge naturally as a result of addressing needs and contributing positively to others.
How does the speaker define passion?
-The speaker defines passion as the full force of one's attention and energy given to whatever is right in front of them, rather than a specific job, sport, or hobby.
What is the speaker's final advice on how to live a life full of meaning and value?
-The speaker advises not to wait for passion but to start doing things, solve problems, and be useful to others. They emphasize that a meaningful and valuable life is one where passion follows you, rather than one where you follow your passion.
Outlines
😀 Embracing Change and Redefining Success
The speaker begins by sharing their relief at being laid off from Martha Stewart, despite loving the job. They discuss the pressure of finding and pursuing a singular passion, which they find to be a limiting idea. The speaker reflects on societal expectations post-graduation and the stress of choosing a life path. They argue that passion is not a plan but a feeling that can change, and share their personal struggles with anxiety and depression in their twenties. The speaker's mother advised taking any job to gain structure and income, leading to a job as an assistant at a consulting firm. They emphasize the unrealistic nature of expecting everything to fit into a 'passion vertical' and share Scott Adams' perspective on success fueling passion rather than the other way around.
💼 From Wigs to Writing: A Journey of Unexpected Passions
The speaker recounts taking a significant pay cut to pursue their first job as a magazine editor, having previously worked as a catalogue copywriter at a wig company. They humorously acknowledge the laughter from the audience and explain the need to find a way to make money. This led them to attend a jewelry party, which sparked the idea of becoming a Silpada Designs representative despite having no background in sales or passion for jewelry. Initially awkward, they eventually improved, made money, and became passionate about the business. The speaker highlights the entrepreneurial spirit this experience instilled in them and criticizes the cottage industry built around finding one's passion. They argue that focusing on passion can be paralyzing and that people should not be overly concerned about identifying it. The speaker shares personal anecdotes about feeling different and not knowing their passion, emphasizing that it's okay not to have a singular obsession and that life is more fulfilling when it can still surprise you.
🤝 Finding Passion in Service and Problem-Solving
The speaker advises not to wait for passion to find you but to actively engage in solving problems and being useful to others. They argue that passion is found where your energy and effort meet someone else's need. The speaker challenges the common answer of 'helping others' when asked about passion and encourages taking action. They conclude by stating that a meaningful and valuable life is not led by following passion, but rather by allowing passion to follow you as you live it. The speech ends with a call to action, a round of applause, and a powerful message that passion is an outcome of meaningful contribution and engagement with the world around you.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Passion
💡Success
💡Career Path
💡Limiting Beliefs
💡Job Security
💡Entrepreneurial Spirit
💡
💡Tunnel Vision
💡Problem-Solving
💡Fulfillment
💡Self-Discovery
💡Risk-Taking
Highlights
The idea that you have one singular passion and your job is to find it can be a dangerously limiting belief about success and life.
The pressure to find your passion starts really young and continues throughout life, often intensifying after graduating from school.
Passion is not a plan, it's a feeling that can change. Using passion as the sole yardstick to judge everything is flawed.
The cultural imperative to choose your passion is stressful and not just the speaker, but everyone she talks to agrees.
Passion is like the fire that ignites when you start rubbing sticks together, rather than the driving force behind everything.
The speaker took a full-time job as an assistant at a management consulting firm despite knowing nothing about the field.
Having a reason to get up in the morning, shower, leave the house, and get a paycheck is a good enough reason to take a job.
The idea that everything you're supposed to do should fit into a passion vertical is unrealistic and elitist.
Scott Adams of Dilbert fame wrote that in his life, success fueled passion more than passion fueled success.
The speaker had to take a big pay cut to become a magazine editor, but she was thrilled because she enjoyed the work.
She became a Silpada Designs jewelry representative despite having no background in sales or passion for jewelry.
As she got better at selling jewelry, she started making more money and became passionate about it because people wanted the product.
The entrepreneurial seed she planted by selling jewelry still bears fruit in her life today.
Asking someone what their passion is can be triggering and make them feel like they need to have a compelling answer.
Passion is not a job, sport, or hobby. It's the full force of your attention and energy given to whatever is in front of you.
If you're too focused on finding your passion, you could miss opportunities that could change your life.
The most fulfilling relationships and careers are those that still have the power to surprise you.
Instead of waiting for passion to show up, spend your time solving problems and being useful to others. That's where passion lies.
When asked what they're passionate about, people often say helping others. This shows passion follows action, not the other way around.
Don't wait for passion to guide you. Just start doing things, and passion will follow as you find what you have to contribute.
Transcripts
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