Why You Need to Find Your Passion and Commit to It

What keeps you awake at night?

One night during the lockdown phase, I had a long conversation with my daughters about career, money, and happiness. I could sense the tension with all uncertainty around us with the pandemic’s complexity and all the questions we face regarding the future of work. These bring unprecedented challenges to our careers and lives. Then there was the aha! moment. I thought: What would I tell myself if I had the chance to talk to a 20-year-old me?

What Matters: 25 years of my global career in 4 episodes

I needed to summarize what I learned from my career spanning 25 years. I decided to travel (with all precautions) across my beloved country, Portugal. I went to places dear to me in and around Douro River. I went back to the port wine cellar that I visited when I was at the first steps of my career as an engineer in Brazil.

What Matters short series on YouTube was designed for young professionals starting their professional lives.

The first challenge we need to agree on is: what is success? For many people, success is about money, is about fame, is about power. But for me, success is all about fulfillment.

“Success is not about money; it is about fulfillment. And fulfillment is the pleasure and happiness of doing something that matters to you”.

The series does not aim to tell you what kind of career you should choose. It discusses what may make your career joyful and prosperous.

Passion is non-negotiable

What if you did not have to choose between passion and your livelihood? What would you do? During my global career, I learned that passion, a sense of purpose and reputation, associated with an adequate personal planning level, can help you create options.

I would tell the 20-something Ricardo: It all starts with passion. It may sound cheesy, but passion is like the fuel that helps you drive towards planning your career and building your options.

Eureka!?

How will you know what your passion is? The answer is not straightforward. Sadly (or maybe happily), there are no shortcuts for success. You must work hard. I took up several roles that were not perfect for me, but they all lead to the road that unlocked my true passion.

My only challenge is to see people working for his/her whole career doing something that they do not like just because they need to pay the bills at the end of the month.

Of course, you, I, and everyone else must pay the bills. I am not suggesting that you just follow your passion and forget that food must be on the plate later today. I am not suggesting that you should be irresponsible. I am just saying that there is a way to find things that fulfill you and make your living out of it.

I work with Project Management. I am passionate about getting things done. I enjoyed taking things from paper and turn them into reality.

For me, without passion, life became gray. I learned more and more about myself and what I truly liked or disliked. To be on this path of exploration, you must be willing and passionate.

So, what makes your heartbeat stronger?

What keeps you awake at night?

If you are trying to discover the next step in your career for a successful life, let us travel together to find out what truly matters.

Subscribe to What Matters on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/rvvargas/

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