Money or Passion?

Welcome to the ninety-second edition of “In-Touch”. As always, I would love to continue the conversation so please hit reply and let me know what you think.

Story of the Week: "Money or Passion?"

On a recent visit to Georgia, I had the pleasure of meeting the CEO of a major telecommunications company. During a very interesting conversation, she began to tell me about her 22-year-old son, whom she described as an exceptionally gifted young man.

When the time came for him to go to university, he chose to study physics in the USA. However, after two years there, feeling that the academic environment wasn’t a good fit for him, he returned to Tbilisi and started work as a baker. In place of his fairly relaxing student timetable, he found himself working the night shift (10pm-7am) five days a week, with just two days off.

At this point, I was expecting this dynamic and successful woman to tell me how those gruelling, unsocial hours had soon made her son realize his “mistake” and that he had returned to his studies. In fact, the opposite has happened.

“My son’s eyes light up when he talks about ‘his’ bakery and his creations,” she said. “It’s been almost a year now and I’ve never seen him so happy. He’s still excited every time he brings me some bread or a cake and proudly tells me that he made it with his own hands. He’s totally dedicated to his job.”

Whatever ideas and dreams she may have had for her son’s future, this was enough for her to reconcile herself with his decision to pursue his passion.

As a father of three young children, I couldn’t help thinking about the way so many parents focus on the imperative need for their sons and daughters to obtain a prestigious university degree and a high-paying job, rather than thinking more about their emotional fulfilment and happiness.

Of course, it’s easy to tell someone to “follow their dreams”, especially if they are dreaming of becoming a neurosurgeon, a company director or a millionaire. But what if they want to devote themselves to writing poetry and are happy to earn tips working in a bar? Is earning a good salary more important than feeling passionate about your job? What should a parent of a successful high-school student tell his child when they say they don’t want to study law or accounting because they dream of acting or dancing?

I suspect that many of us (fortunately my own children are much too young to be posing such a dilemma for my wife and me right now) will try to explain that money and stability are important elements in the search for happiness and fulfillment.

And yes, money is definitely a powerful tool but choosing to chase it may mean not being able to do something you love and look forward to every day.

Perhaps the best answer we can give is that we should listen to our head and heart simultaneously. Together, they will probably come up with the ideal solution. If you think your child would make a great nuclear physicist but they want to spend their days or nights at the bakery, at least give them time to think it over (and perhaps think about the delicious confections you’ll be tasting!).

Words of Wisdom

“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life." Mark Twain

A Question to Ponder, dear friend.

Have you been forced to choose between ‘the right job’ and what you wanted to do? What happened?