Why You Will Fail to Have

aGreatCareer
Larry Smith
November 2011
TED Conferences LLC 2011

Video

Rating

8 Applicability
5 Innovation
5 Style

Focus
Leadership & Management

Take-Aways
Everyone wants a great career, but most will fail to land their dream job.
People know they need to follow their passions to succeed, but they let their fears
impede the realization of their ambitions.

To discover your passion, explore the full range of humanitys activities.

Many individuals who fail to pursue their passions choose to sacrifice their careers to
build a family. This decision can lead to resentment later in life.

You have a choice to go through life ruing your decisions or to follow your passion
and pursue a great career without regret.

Strategy
Sales & Marketing
Finance
Human Resources
IT, Production & Logistics
Career & Self-Development
Small Business
Economics & Politics
Industries
Global Business
Concepts & Trends

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Recommendation

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As an economist, Larry Smith is familiar with dismalness. His bleak lecture delivers harsh lessons about career
choices and lives wasted. Oddly, his audience nevertheless frequently punctuates his presentation with laughter and
applause. Smith has perfected the art of wry, morose humor. Although Smith doesnt elaborate on his idea that good
jobs have all but disappeared, getAbstract recommends his quirky, offbeat oration to anyone deciding on a career
move or to those with regrets about their chosen path.

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Summary

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Passion is your
greatest love. Passion
is the thing that will
help you create the
highest expression of
your talent.

You must look for

alternatives so that you
find your destiny, or
are you afraid of the
word destiny? Does
the word destiny scare
you?

You're afraid to
pursue your passion.
You're afraid to look
ridiculous. You're afraid
to try. You're afraid you
may fail.

Do you really ever

want to look at your
spouse and your kid
and see your jailers?

Most people will fail to have a great career or even a good career. In recent years, good jobs
have all but disappeared. Whats left is just a handful of great jobs and an ever-increasing
number of high-workload, high-stress, bloodsucking, soul-destroying jobs.
Although you are familiar with the adage that you need to follow your passion if you want to
succeed, you wont apply this advice. The reasons are manifold : Perhaps you are too lazy,
you perceive the feat as too difficult, or you are too scared of failing and looking foolish.
Or maybe you are waiting on good fortune to intervene. Perhaps you compare yourself to
the geniuses who have achieved their dreams like Steve Jobs and find yourself wanting.
Or maybe you think that people who are consumed with passion are weird and dissimilar
to you. Instead, you may choose to earn a great career through hard work. If you set out to
work hard, youll always find an employer who is willing to oblige you. But will you end
up with a great career that way? All the evidence is to the contrary.
Some people resolve to find their passion and, in doing so, identify activities they like or
enjoy. But enjoyment doesnt amount to passion. You could have 20 interests, but does one
entice you? Could one be your greatest love in comparison to all other things? You need
to delve into an inventory of humanitys activities to find your true destiny.
Even if you discover your passion, you will likely still find an excuse to weasel out of
chasing your ambition . Perhaps you will prioritize relationships, marriage or family over
the realization of your dream. Such decisions sow seeds of bitter resentment, which will
sprout later in life. You will believe that you sacrificed your goals on behalf of your family
and put the burden of blame on your kin. And when your child grows up and declares a
genuine love for, say, magic, you will try to quash his or her desire to become a professional
magician, recommending a stable career path instead. You should encourage your children
to emulate you and follow their aspirations, but since you didnt pursue your goals, you
cant dispense that advice. Your fear, not your family, is holding you back. You have a
choice: Do you go through life ruing your decisions? Or do you follow your passion the
only way to land a great career without regret?

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About the Speaker

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Larry Smith is a professor of economics at University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He has advised numerous
start-ups, including Research in Motion, which created the Blackberry.
Why You Will Fail to Have aGreatCareer getAbstract 2013

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