Part 3: "Do what you love and you'll never work." Is that true?

Next week: Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Writing is the most dangerous job I’ve ever had.

But not like you think.

I don’t mean dangerous like dodging explosions on an oil rig or fighting fires in the California wilderness. Physically, the only thing I risk is bad posture.

So what do I mean?

Here’s the final piece of our three-part series examining the phrase, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

3. You are your work. Your work is you.

Working as a corporate cog comes with advantages.

You get up.

You go to work.

You go home.

For a lot of 9-5ers, work can be left within those hours. Of course, some of us take our work home more than others, but when you work for someone else, you can be off the clock when it’s time to be off the clock.

I’ve always identified with my work. I’ve always placed a good chunk of self-perception and self-satisfaction on how good I am at my job. A lot of us do that.

But until I started doing what I love, I was always aware that I wasn’t my work.

Now?

It’s hard to see it that way.

Working for yourself and doing what you love is dangerous because it creates a direct bond between your professional success and your self-identity.

My face is my brand. My LinkedIn is my business. My income, my company and my professional success are me and me only.

Before, there was a buffer between what I do and who I am. Not anymore. 

Now, it doesn’t have to be this way. Every self-employed person deals with this at some point. It comes with the territory. You’re not an extension of the business — you are the business.

But that’s a doomed mindset.

What happens when work isn’t going well?

What effect does that have on how you see yourself?

Are you less in July than you were in February because you made less money? 

The obvious answer is no, but there’s a canyon between what we know to be true and what we feel is true.

As with most problems, the first step to fixing them is recognizing that they exist.

If you’re a business owner, be conscious of your subconscious self-evaluations.

Remember that you’re separate from your business.

Remember that you’re more than a bottom line.

So yeah, doing what you love for work is dangerous.

But isn’t dangerous kind of fun?