It seems like the act of creation, fueled by passion, is often what resonates most with others, much more than perfection or technical skill. It's the energy behind the work that draws people in, not just the product. Take that vegan creator, for example.
They're not just making food. They're sharing their love for it, and that authenticity is what makes their work stand out.
So, maybe being "good" at something isn't as important as being truly connected to it. The passion, not the skill, is what makes it come alive.
And perhaps, in that change, in defining our passions as our 'job' or livelihood we sabotage ourselves.
"PS: where do you live? I want to sit on a canon with you." <<< This is the best thing I've read all day 😂 I live back home in Canada now but that cannon and many more like it are in Jamaica. I love all the old pirate history there.
Re: cacao...I recently became privy to it and can't wait to order some and try it. I found a brand called Criobrew (?) and it sounds delicious!
Yea, it would be rare indeed to be paid for the things I like. Used to say my dream job was sitting on a beach, reading a good book and sipping rum. I’ve been watching indeed and have not fount a posting for that position yet
Well hey....I kinda had that life for a decade. I had to create it myself and no, I wasn't always on the beach (as you just found in the other post you commented on) but I did get paid to hang in Jamaica and write about it!
I love it when people take a cruise, stop in Jamaica for half a day and say they have visited there. What a casual tourist sees in a few fleeting hours is mostly illusion.
When I lived in Jamaica the first time, I was in Ocho Rios where several ships a week came in. I avoided the town center on those days lol. WAY too many vendors crawling the streets and I hated being lumped in with the 'tourists'
As a Lawyer and Bioethicist, I've always prided myself on my way with words. But since delving into Substack, I've discovered an unexpected talent for design – crafting my page, logo, and brand with flair. It's been a delightful surprise to uncover this new dimension of creativity within myself!
I'm one of those people who has to have 12 different projects going to feel satisfied. However, this ultimately turns into many side hustles all mashed together to form some sort of a "career." Mostly I just want to use my time as I please... maybe that's what I'm good at? :)
What a question! What am I good at? I spent the past 20 years trying to find my answer. I think I'm good at cooking eggs, making TIRAMISU', listen to friends, make people laugh, cuddle kids, getting emotional for very little things, and I'm good at writing, I hope. But none of these qualities can pay my bills so I will keep looking for my answer. :)
Love this question Kristi! You are so right, we are so concerned with being hyper-productive that we confuse loving to do something with monetising it somehow. Sometimes, we can just enjoy things without having to make anything of it :) great reminder!
I always knew what I liked. It was leading high quality musicians (conducting) in a Fantasia-like experience of the audience and other musicians. It was a rare and distant dream.
Most of us just became music teachers (Mr Hollands of sorts), then we grew to love the teaching with its occasional musical moments that resonates with our best students.
I immersed myself in the writing and composition of music I hoped to someday conduct. Nothing more happened than appealing to the audience of the day by arranging and playing medleys of Olivia Newton-John for beginners. Today it would be Taylor whose songs a fresh generation sings and music teachers reluctantly play.
I still can’t watch Mr Holland without crying inside. My own Opus, long ago completed but never performed is a symphonic band arrangement condensed from the 3 movements of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. Sadly filed away with other arrangements turned down on various occasions.
I’ve been blessed to again conduct a community concert band still performing in 2024 that we started way back when I was arranging an Olivia Newton-John medley for a nearby school band.
My major book I wrote a decade ago turned down by a publisher seems also destined for my archives of personal projects not really suited to the tastes of a significant audience.
Do I know what I’m good at? Not really (so it seems). But God knows that what we do for others can make a huge difference we will never know in some soul we will never meet.
Roger Harned is an author and moderator of TalkofJESUS.com since 2013 CE
A lil bit. I'm great at analysis. I see patterns very well.
I'm good at time management and project management.
I want to be good at writing, but that remains to be seen.
I suck at marketing and selling.
Sometimes, it's not the core skill that you're bad at, it's the supporting cast.
You may seem like a terrible writer because you're a terrible marketer and can't get people to read your stuff. On the flip side, someone might be an awful writer, but because they're great at marketing, they're a bestselling author.
Nneka, I love your perspective on all points here and I've seen both in action. I've read terrible writing that seems to sell out and brilliant writing that nobody knows about.
Maybe we all need to take a page from the vegan kid's book and just share our passions for the love of it. Thanks for the reminder that it's okay to enjoy things just for the sake of enjoying them!
It seems like the act of creation, fueled by passion, is often what resonates most with others, much more than perfection or technical skill. It's the energy behind the work that draws people in, not just the product. Take that vegan creator, for example.
They're not just making food. They're sharing their love for it, and that authenticity is what makes their work stand out.
So, maybe being "good" at something isn't as important as being truly connected to it. The passion, not the skill, is what makes it come alive.
And perhaps, in that change, in defining our passions as our 'job' or livelihood we sabotage ourselves.
Great read, it certainly makes me think.
Joe, I could not have said that better myself. Passion ALWAYS shines through the most…it’s not always “what” people do, it’s how they do it.
Your posts are so fun! I'm hooked.
I'm good at getting hooked:
1) Men in Suits, as long as they stay over there.
2) Jamie on Outlander.
3) Dreaming about the above—really, my dreams are great not sexual, yet healing former imbalances, so it feels.
4) I'm excellent and still waiting for the gold medals for getting up at all hours of the night, and the next day bruised and weary to the bone.
5) drinking cacao - it's my martini replacement of decades gone by.
Sweet dreams.
PS: where do you live? I want to sit on a canon with you.
"PS: where do you live? I want to sit on a canon with you." <<< This is the best thing I've read all day 😂 I live back home in Canada now but that cannon and many more like it are in Jamaica. I love all the old pirate history there.
Re: cacao...I recently became privy to it and can't wait to order some and try it. I found a brand called Criobrew (?) and it sounds delicious!
I love this 🙌. I still don’t know what I want to be and I’m 53 😊
Sometimes that's the best way to be. It leaves you open to possibility!
“I’m anti-social and still want to communicate with the outside world” Brilliant. I wonder how many of us there are.
Lol probably way more than we know!
I have an infinite capacity to do nothing,,lol
😂😂😂 Same! I've always said, "If I could just get paid for walking my dog all day...."
Yea, it would be rare indeed to be paid for the things I like. Used to say my dream job was sitting on a beach, reading a good book and sipping rum. I’ve been watching indeed and have not fount a posting for that position yet
Well hey....I kinda had that life for a decade. I had to create it myself and no, I wasn't always on the beach (as you just found in the other post you commented on) but I did get paid to hang in Jamaica and write about it!
I love it when people take a cruise, stop in Jamaica for half a day and say they have visited there. What a casual tourist sees in a few fleeting hours is mostly illusion.
When I lived in Jamaica the first time, I was in Ocho Rios where several ships a week came in. I avoided the town center on those days lol. WAY too many vendors crawling the streets and I hated being lumped in with the 'tourists'
As a Lawyer and Bioethicist, I've always prided myself on my way with words. But since delving into Substack, I've discovered an unexpected talent for design – crafting my page, logo, and brand with flair. It's been a delightful surprise to uncover this new dimension of creativity within myself!
Betina, I love to hear this! It's amazing what we discover about ourselves once we put ourselves out there!
Yeah, A true question to ask ourselves before presenting to the world. When there is passion there is a way. I agree with you.
I'm one of those people who has to have 12 different projects going to feel satisfied. However, this ultimately turns into many side hustles all mashed together to form some sort of a "career." Mostly I just want to use my time as I please... maybe that's what I'm good at? :)
You could call yourself a "professional leisure-master." 😁 Use all your time as you see fit!
Very important article. Thanks, it’s good!
love this~ I am one who has been fulfilled by a passion for writing and sharing my travels / life / what i love outside my career :)
What a question! What am I good at? I spent the past 20 years trying to find my answer. I think I'm good at cooking eggs, making TIRAMISU', listen to friends, make people laugh, cuddle kids, getting emotional for very little things, and I'm good at writing, I hope. But none of these qualities can pay my bills so I will keep looking for my answer. :)
Love this question Kristi! You are so right, we are so concerned with being hyper-productive that we confuse loving to do something with monetising it somehow. Sometimes, we can just enjoy things without having to make anything of it :) great reminder!
That is the first step in a rewarding life - knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are
I always knew what I liked. It was leading high quality musicians (conducting) in a Fantasia-like experience of the audience and other musicians. It was a rare and distant dream.
Most of us just became music teachers (Mr Hollands of sorts), then we grew to love the teaching with its occasional musical moments that resonates with our best students.
I immersed myself in the writing and composition of music I hoped to someday conduct. Nothing more happened than appealing to the audience of the day by arranging and playing medleys of Olivia Newton-John for beginners. Today it would be Taylor whose songs a fresh generation sings and music teachers reluctantly play.
I still can’t watch Mr Holland without crying inside. My own Opus, long ago completed but never performed is a symphonic band arrangement condensed from the 3 movements of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. Sadly filed away with other arrangements turned down on various occasions.
I’ve been blessed to again conduct a community concert band still performing in 2024 that we started way back when I was arranging an Olivia Newton-John medley for a nearby school band.
My major book I wrote a decade ago turned down by a publisher seems also destined for my archives of personal projects not really suited to the tastes of a significant audience.
Do I know what I’m good at? Not really (so it seems). But God knows that what we do for others can make a huge difference we will never know in some soul we will never meet.
Roger Harned is an author and moderator of TalkofJESUS.com since 2013 CE
A lil bit. I'm great at analysis. I see patterns very well.
I'm good at time management and project management.
I want to be good at writing, but that remains to be seen.
I suck at marketing and selling.
Sometimes, it's not the core skill that you're bad at, it's the supporting cast.
You may seem like a terrible writer because you're a terrible marketer and can't get people to read your stuff. On the flip side, someone might be an awful writer, but because they're great at marketing, they're a bestselling author.
Nneka, I love your perspective on all points here and I've seen both in action. I've read terrible writing that seems to sell out and brilliant writing that nobody knows about.
Maybe we all need to take a page from the vegan kid's book and just share our passions for the love of it. Thanks for the reminder that it's okay to enjoy things just for the sake of enjoying them!
You're very welcome!