If you had one chance at surviving through surgery, would you permit a doctor who is fueled by passion or one who is fueled by money to do it? Exactly! Your answer summarizes all that I’m about to say.
When I was working with the Environmental Protection Agency, it was so fun for me. I remember how I would randomly get a call at 9pm that we would be going for an inspection to a mining site out of town around 5am. And I would just be so happy about it because that was where my heart was.
It was long hours, hard work, a lot of work trips, encountering a lot of hazards but I was always energetic because I was passionate about everything that I did. I really enjoyed my field work no matter how tedious it was and I got to learn so much. It was the same thing for when I used to work with the Timber Industry Division.
It was very tedious, I won’t even lie about it. I think this was even more tedious than EPA but I loved every bit of it. I loved inspecting timber sawmills, going around for defects inspections. I remember always being on time each and every day because I was passionate about what I was doing. I got to meet a lot of people and learn a lot of things.
Let’s move away from that yeah? I interned at the Final Inspection where timber containers were inspected before being shipped to other countries. It was not a paid internship but I was still getting a little token from my boss. I was mostly vetting timber contracts and trust me when I tell you that I was never happy. My heart was on the field and someway somehow I found myself in the office.
I was always anxious going to work and it’s very funny because I always knew I was going to get money at work. But that’s the thing with not being passionate about something, no matter what amount of money you get from it, it feels like a tough chore that you always struggle to perform. You never put your heart in it no matter how good you are at it.
I always say that if not that I needed to finish up those months and get my recommendation from my boss, I don’t think I would have gone again. And don’t get me wrong, I think the richest I ever was as a student was during that internship because of the kind of monetary incentives I was getting but I was always looking forward to 5pm. It always felt like I was suffocating even though it was very easy. But that’s the thing, I had no passion towards it.
People begin a career thinking all about the money and the moment their financial expectations are not met, they get frustrated. I know we all have bills to pay but come on, a little passion towards what you do won’t hurt anyone. So if you ask me according to what I have experienced, I think to be able to be successful in a particular career, you need to be passionate first and then the money comes after.
Images are mine