You May Never Work a Day in Your Life, but Bobby Jones Knew There was More to It then That.
“I’m an amateur. Do you know what the origin of that word is? It’s from the Latin root…to love…to be an amateur is to love the game…once you play for money…you can’t call it love anymore”. – Bobby Jones
Bobby Jones never became a professional golfer even though he could have bought Augusta, Georgia with less than half the prize money and endorsements he would have earned. He refused to turn pro because he knew that the second you agree to receive payment for something, regardless of whether or not you love it, it becomes work, and going pro is a decision you can never take back.
Bobby Jones is an icon of success (as a scholar, a businessman, lawyer, and golf prodigy), but he never pursued his greatest talent professionally. It’s interesting that one of the most important quotes attributed to one of golf’s greatest players contradicts one of the most basic principles of success.
If you listen to success experts and personal improvement gurus like Darren Hardy or Tony Robbins they’ll be the first to say if you love what you do it isn’t work. In my experience if you love what you do you may enjoy doing it, but work is always work. I think I reaffirmed that point for myself the other night when I was watching John Wick. John Wick was an amazing action flick with some anything but Oscar worthy acting. However, instead of enjoying the movie I caught myself visualizing what a spec script for the movie would like, Master Scene Heading: EXT. RUSSIAN CLUB – NIGHT. Since coming to grips with the idea that I may never break even on Average Joe’s Story: Quest for Confidence because reading appears to be a dead pastime I began looking into writing my first screenplay. You gotta follow the money, and money is in TV.
I acquired a few books on the subject and industry, I purchased a couple hundred dollars worth of industry specific software, and I sank my teeth into screenwriting. Now I can’t turn on the TV and just enjoy a movie or TV show. No! I’m asking myself, “Was this an original work or an adaptation? I wonder if that is how the scene was originally written or if an editor chose to shred the writers original vision?” Never again will I be able to walk into a movie theater and just checkout into someone else’s reality; I made a decision that can never be taken back.
This isn’t the first time I made such a decision, the first time I was much younger. I was looking for a career that would be fulfilling financially and professionally. I settled with real estate. I studied diligently for the state’s real estate licensing exam, and upon passing it ventured into the wonderful land of commercial real estate. To tell you the truth it was more like I was issued a temporary tourist’s visa, but that is neither here nor there. Regardless, now I can’t help but estimate Common Area Maintenance (CAM), evaluate points of ingress and egress, or question who in their right mind let a developer squeeze two directly competitive businesses into the same grocery anchored retail plaza every time I go to the grocery store.
It goes without saying that you will enjoy your job more if you love what you do, and for that reason you will surely be more successful. However, work is work, and once you trade love for work that love will never be a pure love again.
© Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
