Keeping in touch for me is not a chore. I answer the emails, I follow up, I explain over emails. I can organize anything and everything. Spaces, data, documents, events, homes. Come up with new ideas for niche events and actually do them from the first idea to the wrapping up of the event.
This was super interesting to me! I’ve always felt that passion comes from talent. I like being good at something and that makes me enjoy it more. I just started a company around naming businesses and brands - the part of copywriting and branding I always seemed to be best at. Hopefully, I’m on the right path for momentum. One thing I’m curious about hearing about is your ability to build online communities. That’s something that I would not qualify as a talent for myself but an area I’m hoping to get better at.
Hi Emma! Thanks for the comment -- your company is a dream company of mine (that I'm not talented enough to do) naming is sooo difficult!! what is the name of your co? I remember I met a guy once in the early 00s who named all these Cambridge based startups, like Kabloom. His name was Sam. Anyway I am going to talk more about community building. I started getting more clarity on what I want to work on, happy to share more as I build out my business, too.
Haha Kabloom is great. My company is called The Nameist. I recently started a substack of the same name a few days ago. I really enjoyed your article on how to be seen online, which resonated a lot as I struggle to be a more ~public~ person and just put my ideas and projects out there. Looking forward to reading more!
What about something you're really good at but you just don't wanna do it anymore? I'm a third generation musician and pretty good on the bass, and I'm like... MEH. And then like, I feel BAD about it, like OMG you have to USE your talents!!!! haha
This was fun! I liked reading this! I'm really good at simplifying things and cutting through the noise...recently since starting consulting for small businesses, I realized I'm just really good at getting to the damn point and creating simple linear paths to solve problems. The issue though is im tired of solving problems for others and have since realized it's too emotionally taxing. It feels like I'm a business therapist and instead want to focus on where my real joy comes from! Writing and creating for myself.....I just got a part time decent paid job so hoping to put the xtra time into my actual passion and we'll see how that goes haha
This is huge: "I'm just really good at getting to the damn point and creating simple linear paths to solve problems" – as someone who does not have this brain, I wish I could simplify my ideas into some kind of order in the disorder.
this was a great read! I have always been sad about not being able to read or write enough because that's what I think my passion is but I also work in a publishing house which earns me good money and also the part of work that I do best there is making work process efficient (finding the easy way out in non-corporate terms) instead of reading! I'll be thinking about this for a while. I keep being upset over how I never knew what I want from my life or what my life goal is or what I genuinely like...but this was an eye opener. Maybe I need to frame these questions the other way round for myself!
This is a huge talent "part of work that I do best there is making work process efficient" – highly valued. Do you enjoy doing this work, too? If you want some guidelines for how to reign in and get into your passion – I found just taking 30mins to read or write freely daily is a lovely, low lift way to dig into passions and get them alive and moving again!
Definitely! But the answers are cross-discipline. So now the challenge is figuring out the right combination of skills and talent and how to optimize them, together.
Not boring! I was just talking with someone about this yesterday and how neither of us knows how to describe our skills or talent, which leaves me feeling like I have none. I’ll tinker on these questions!
This is great! The 5 bullets are v helpful. Relatedly (to number 1), I've found a good bullet for identifying the topics I should write about (which feels tangentially related to my edge) is to ask myself 'What's a topic my closest friends and family are surprised I don't write about?'
For me it’s probably 3 things: travelling full time, the disruptive journey of going from being an electrician to being an artist, and…I think they’d like to see me write more about deeper topics like masculinity
I remember when “Follow your passion and the money will follow,” the book and advice were cultural mantra and moola. Of course the moolah often didn’t follow. No matter. I dropped that passion and pursued another. And another.
Then someone wise and close to me told me “Your vocation in life is where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need.” Advice I hungrily ate up but not sure if I felt any less lost or well off.
The thing is I think my passions and my talents overlap. And while I never thought of it before reading your post, thinking in “talents” feels substantial and affirming where passions, an energy, seems ephemeral and often come undone due to the vagaries of life and circumstances. Well for me, anyway.
I really like the quote you shared: "Your vocation in life is where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need.” There is a lot of overlap with passion and talent. I agree passion is the energy, talent is what you do especially well and when harnessed into the energy – you'll go far! Right?! I think. Talent is harder to see sometimes, it's quiet and maybe boring.
Yes at least my talents, many of which have been called librarian skills are definitely on the quiet side lol. That’s why I learned how to show them off, do self promotion (hopefully not in obnoxious ways, at least not too much). Also I often project a passionate energy (or so I’ve been told). In today’s society we tend to celebrate those you can see or whatever is on trend (like coding was for a while, now Ai). So it can be challenging if yours aren’t as obvious to others as well as figuring out where your talents and joys intersect with what society needs .
hey, don't worry! this post was really interesting to me. i write alot, so maybe my talents lie with storytelling... but storytelling is also my passion. i'm not working yet, but when i think about working in the future i'm worried that i'll begin to hate writing because it becomes a chore. i'm trying to think of ways to fuse my organizational skills with my writing skills, and find that detachment from work and hobby
I hear you on this topic - talent is storytelling, writing is a chore. I'm playing around with new ways of writing. Free writing without pressure is helping, then pulling out the thread of the story from the mess of the free write. And I time bound it. Ex: 30min free write on how to build online community. --- and i let myself be a bumbling mess, there's also kernels that will pop off and lead me to a deeper story.
I’ve been fueled for 25+ years of my career by this idea of passion leads to a super power but these discussions and your article has been an AhHa moment for me! Passion fuels the energy, but your talent may be hard to define - or as you say identifying early communities of users - which is not typically a named “skill” at least in my field of marketing. I think this is incredibly fascinating and so relevant for today’s workforce. I’m “passionate” about this topic! Thank you!
haha. yeah passion drives us - but the talent is grounding. it gets the job done. when i say my talent is building online communities, there's a lot to go into this (talent wise) but passion definitely is the driver.
Keeping in touch for me is not a chore. I answer the emails, I follow up, I explain over emails. I can organize anything and everything. Spaces, data, documents, events, homes. Come up with new ideas for niche events and actually do them from the first idea to the wrapping up of the event.
Dang, this is a huge talent! Lots of directions to work with here, too.
likewise! I actually enjoy emailing and keeping spaces around me clutter free: online or offline
This was super interesting to me! I’ve always felt that passion comes from talent. I like being good at something and that makes me enjoy it more. I just started a company around naming businesses and brands - the part of copywriting and branding I always seemed to be best at. Hopefully, I’m on the right path for momentum. One thing I’m curious about hearing about is your ability to build online communities. That’s something that I would not qualify as a talent for myself but an area I’m hoping to get better at.
Hi Emma! Thanks for the comment -- your company is a dream company of mine (that I'm not talented enough to do) naming is sooo difficult!! what is the name of your co? I remember I met a guy once in the early 00s who named all these Cambridge based startups, like Kabloom. His name was Sam. Anyway I am going to talk more about community building. I started getting more clarity on what I want to work on, happy to share more as I build out my business, too.
Haha Kabloom is great. My company is called The Nameist. I recently started a substack of the same name a few days ago. I really enjoyed your article on how to be seen online, which resonated a lot as I struggle to be a more ~public~ person and just put my ideas and projects out there. Looking forward to reading more!
What about something you're really good at but you just don't wanna do it anymore? I'm a third generation musician and pretty good on the bass, and I'm like... MEH. And then like, I feel BAD about it, like OMG you have to USE your talents!!!! haha
lol. haha. well, if you don't enjoy it – let it go. you can use it as a party trick!
This was fun! I liked reading this! I'm really good at simplifying things and cutting through the noise...recently since starting consulting for small businesses, I realized I'm just really good at getting to the damn point and creating simple linear paths to solve problems. The issue though is im tired of solving problems for others and have since realized it's too emotionally taxing. It feels like I'm a business therapist and instead want to focus on where my real joy comes from! Writing and creating for myself.....I just got a part time decent paid job so hoping to put the xtra time into my actual passion and we'll see how that goes haha
This is huge: "I'm just really good at getting to the damn point and creating simple linear paths to solve problems" – as someone who does not have this brain, I wish I could simplify my ideas into some kind of order in the disorder.
these questions are spot on. love this
Thanks David! Are they helping you at all?
“What compliments do you brush off?” And “what came early?”
I think it’s so easy to ignore the obvious and search for strengths outside of yourself so these are very helpful
these prompts were so rich to work with! i found many an answer that surprised me,,, tsym for this one
Let me know if you got anywhere with them!
definitely not boring, and super interesting! my business has been passion first for too long and that doesn't pay the bills.
Thanks Anna! There is a fine line between passion creating the energy and movement for creation while talent is what carries it to existence.
this was a great read! I have always been sad about not being able to read or write enough because that's what I think my passion is but I also work in a publishing house which earns me good money and also the part of work that I do best there is making work process efficient (finding the easy way out in non-corporate terms) instead of reading! I'll be thinking about this for a while. I keep being upset over how I never knew what I want from my life or what my life goal is or what I genuinely like...but this was an eye opener. Maybe I need to frame these questions the other way round for myself!
This is a huge talent "part of work that I do best there is making work process efficient" – highly valued. Do you enjoy doing this work, too? If you want some guidelines for how to reign in and get into your passion – I found just taking 30mins to read or write freely daily is a lovely, low lift way to dig into passions and get them alive and moving again!
i'll definitely consider that
This is good. Especially the 5 questions.
Thanks M.G. Did you answer any for yourself? Find out anything new?
Definitely! But the answers are cross-discipline. So now the challenge is figuring out the right combination of skills and talent and how to optimize them, together.
Not boring! I was just talking with someone about this yesterday and how neither of us knows how to describe our skills or talent, which leaves me feeling like I have none. I’ll tinker on these questions!
Hey Sarah! Did you get anywhere with the questions? Thanks for the comment :)
This is great! The 5 bullets are v helpful. Relatedly (to number 1), I've found a good bullet for identifying the topics I should write about (which feels tangentially related to my edge) is to ask myself 'What's a topic my closest friends and family are surprised I don't write about?'
I like this question! What is that topic?
For me it’s probably 3 things: travelling full time, the disruptive journey of going from being an electrician to being an artist, and…I think they’d like to see me write more about deeper topics like masculinity
I remember when “Follow your passion and the money will follow,” the book and advice were cultural mantra and moola. Of course the moolah often didn’t follow. No matter. I dropped that passion and pursued another. And another.
Then someone wise and close to me told me “Your vocation in life is where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need.” Advice I hungrily ate up but not sure if I felt any less lost or well off.
The thing is I think my passions and my talents overlap. And while I never thought of it before reading your post, thinking in “talents” feels substantial and affirming where passions, an energy, seems ephemeral and often come undone due to the vagaries of life and circumstances. Well for me, anyway.
I really like the quote you shared: "Your vocation in life is where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need.” There is a lot of overlap with passion and talent. I agree passion is the energy, talent is what you do especially well and when harnessed into the energy – you'll go far! Right?! I think. Talent is harder to see sometimes, it's quiet and maybe boring.
Yes at least my talents, many of which have been called librarian skills are definitely on the quiet side lol. That’s why I learned how to show them off, do self promotion (hopefully not in obnoxious ways, at least not too much). Also I often project a passionate energy (or so I’ve been told). In today’s society we tend to celebrate those you can see or whatever is on trend (like coding was for a while, now Ai). So it can be challenging if yours aren’t as obvious to others as well as figuring out where your talents and joys intersect with what society needs .
Your post is great!
hey, don't worry! this post was really interesting to me. i write alot, so maybe my talents lie with storytelling... but storytelling is also my passion. i'm not working yet, but when i think about working in the future i'm worried that i'll begin to hate writing because it becomes a chore. i'm trying to think of ways to fuse my organizational skills with my writing skills, and find that detachment from work and hobby
I hear you on this topic - talent is storytelling, writing is a chore. I'm playing around with new ways of writing. Free writing without pressure is helping, then pulling out the thread of the story from the mess of the free write. And I time bound it. Ex: 30min free write on how to build online community. --- and i let myself be a bumbling mess, there's also kernels that will pop off and lead me to a deeper story.
I’ve been fueled for 25+ years of my career by this idea of passion leads to a super power but these discussions and your article has been an AhHa moment for me! Passion fuels the energy, but your talent may be hard to define - or as you say identifying early communities of users - which is not typically a named “skill” at least in my field of marketing. I think this is incredibly fascinating and so relevant for today’s workforce. I’m “passionate” about this topic! Thank you!
haha. yeah passion drives us - but the talent is grounding. it gets the job done. when i say my talent is building online communities, there's a lot to go into this (talent wise) but passion definitely is the driver.
thank u for this