Love What You Do

Do what you love.

It's the most repeated advice at every graduation. Steve Jobs gave a version of it at Stanford in 2005.

Read what he actually said.

"You've got to find what you love."

Then, 2 sentences later:

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do."

Those sound like the same idea. They're 2 different instructions.

Do what you love is a search. Love what you do is a skill.

Most people only kept the first one. So they go looking. The next job, the next city, the next idea, each one checked for the feeling. If it hasn't shown up by week 3, they move on. The speech told them to: keep looking, don't settle.

A search like that never has to end. There's always another door to try.

Now watch someone who loves what they do...

A cook who has made the same sauce 4,000 times still tastes it before it leaves the kitchen. She didn't find that love waiting for her. She built it, one batch at a time, until she could taste things most people can't.

That's the part the search skips. The love usually shows up after the skill does.

You can't love what you can't do yet. Most of what bores you is the part you don't understand. Get good enough to see what's actually going on, and the boring part starts to get interesting.

The search keeps you a beginner everywhere. Every new door starts you back at the part that bores you.

No wonder nothing feels like love.

I'm still curious about the next door.

But I'd rather be great at this one.