This week I talk about why it is important to Do Work You Love! Watch now…
VIDEO SUMMARY
We are talking about Doing Work You Love. And I want to talk about this from a very practical perspective. If you watch my channel, I talk about this a lot. I talk about finding your passion and doing work you enjoy. There is a very practical reason why I talk about this so much. This is actually been studied a lot in business schools. They have found something really interesting: People are more productive doing work they love.
My Early Career Struggles
I learned this lesson very early on in my career. One of my first jobs was working at E! Entertainment. Working at E! was fun, exciting, and interesting, but there was a problem. I did not actually like any of the shows on E! Entertainment. I am not bashing any of their shows, but everyone has their own preferences, and those are just not the type of shows I like to watch.
For example, I have never come home and watched an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Again, there is nothing wrong with the show. I think it is well done. It is just not something that I personally enjoy. So imagine, if you did not like the Kardashians, and your job was to literally go into work every day and watch the Kardashians. In this case, I was working hard, long hours, for little pay, on tv shows that I did not care about. In other words, my attitude towards work was like a lot of other people, where I did not think it mattered whether I liked my job. It was just a job and I was there to make money.
Taking a Risk
This story happened in 2004, and I need to explain what was happening at E! Entertainment at the time. Many people do not realize this, but E! Entertainment is owned by Comcast, and Comcast owns a bunch of different TV channels. One of E! Entertainment’s sister stations, was the Style Network. The Style Network no longer exists, but at the time, it was a growing cable channel. It was much smaller than E! Entertainment, but they were doing a lot of new innovative programming, with some shows that I really liked.
There was one particular moment when my attitude towards work changed. I realized something important: The Style Network was the only channel on television that had coverage of New York Fashion Week. The Style Network did not do that much for Fashion Week, but no other channel was covering it at all. So I had an idea. What if you covered New York Fashion Week like a major sporting event including live video feeds, slow motion replays, and celebrity commentators. You could turn this little week in New York into a major media event. I decided to take a risk and voice my ideas to the executives at E! Entertainment. I wrote up a whole pitch on how they should invest in the Style Network and build this show about New York Fashion Week.
The executives at E! Entertainment were very skeptical. I am sure everyone was thinking, “Who is this kid?” You have to realize what a radical idea this was. Back in 2004, no one had fully realized that you could make successful mainstream television based on the fashion industry. America’s Next Top Model had just premiered in 2003. Project Runway aired its first episode at the end of 2004. This was a very new idea in an untested market. The executives at E! ended up not funding the idea, but they did give us a little bit of money to shoot a new show. This new show would be a panel show where we would bring in celebrities to give commentary on fashion.
Learning the Lesson
I started working on this new show, and it was a blast. We were building this channel, doing something brand new that had never been done before. It was exciting. Working on that show was one of my favorite experiences working in Hollywood. Unfortunately, when the show aired, it was a flop. The ratings were not very good. I think we were ahead of our time, and it was not what audience’s were looking for. But I learned a very valuable lesson from that experience. I went from working on shows at E! Entertainment that I did not care about, to working on a show where I was truly engaged in the process. The difference was night and day. I experienced on a practical level that you are more productive doing work you love.
I have always been so thankful that I figured this out when I was so young. This concept of “doing work you love” will help you make meaningful career choices. I know there is a lot of people out there who are unhappy at their jobs. I would encourage you to ask yourself the question “Am I excited about the product or service my company provides?” If your answer is no, go out and find a company that you can get excited about. In the US, there is around 30 Million different companies. You have a lot of choices of places you could work. Go find the right place for you. It makes a difference. What you will find is you will be more effective in your job, and happier in your life.
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Neither Zach De Gregorio or Wolves and Finance Inc. shall be liable for any damages related to information in this video. It is recommended you contact a CPA in your area for business advice.