How I found my passion
And the "Dr. Dre" question that provides a clue as to what yours might be
My friend asked me to pick up her eleven-year-old son Cameron from baseball practice so that she could attend “Back to School” night a few years ago. I was happy to do it. To pass the time, we went to 7-11 for some snacks. After asking about practice, school, and determining what beverage Cameron was allowed to have, he and I had an unexpected, yet impactful, conversation in the car that has stayed with me.
“Isn’t it funny that I’ve known your mom longer than you?” I asked.
“No, you haven’t,” he said.
“You’re eleven,” I said, “and I’ve known her more than a decade.”
“Yeah, but I was in her stomach nine months before I was born,” he said.
“Right, but I’ve still known her longer,” I said. “What year were you born?”
“2006,” he said.
“Exactly,” I replied. “I knew your mom back in the last century, when we worked at William Morris (now WME) together.”
“Sorry, Miss Krista,” he said, “but I’ve known her longer, because I’ve always been in her soul.”
And just like that Cam won the argument.
The truth is: we all have something in our soul that’s waiting to emerge; it’s our life’s purpose and it’s different for everyone. It could be having a family, making a certain amount of money, traveling, winning an Oscar, running for President, or whatever else we might want to experience. And the fuel for our life’s purpose is passion.
Passion is a trendy word that’s thrown around a lot, and yet it can be elusive. We’re told to “live with passion” and “get a job you are passionate about.” But how does one make that determination? If we mediate on it long enough, will it come to us? Are we born with passion? Can we develop it?
When I graduated college, I truly had no idea what I wanted to do and really didn’t have any passion, per se. For many years, I worked, like all of us, because I had to support my life. I lucked into a career in the entertainment business at age twenty-three, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally uncovered what has always been in my soul. I made that discovery in the same way Michelangelo is rumored to have said he sculpted the statue of David: “It’s easy, just chip away the stone that doesn’t look like David.”
I’ve had jobs with varying degrees of satisfaction, success, and yes, it’s Hollywood, so there has been some pain too. When I would ended a job, I’d slough off another layer that wasn’t me. Sometimes I’d like the work, but didn’t like the pay or the politics. Other jobs, the work was really hard, but the people were amazing! Other times, I liked the money, but not the work. Yet, in every single career opportunity I’ve had, there was at least one aspect (usually more) that was tremendously rewarding.
I didn’t know it at the time, but the flickers of joy that I felt in previous jobs built the fire that burns inside me today. I’m passionate about helping 20somethings launch their careers and every single job I’ve had leading up to it prepared me for it. Passion is found in the doing.
When I taught at USC, I had New York Times best-selling author and now host of “Big Questions Podcast” Cal Fussman as a guest speaker. Cal shared with my class how asking the right questions can change your life. He told the story of the question he asked Dr. Dre; “what’s the longest you’ve gone without sleep while working on a project.” Dr. Dre responded with “79 hours!” If you are losing that kind of sleep, you are absolutely doing something you are passionate about.
Asking yourself a question like that is a great starting place for identifying your own passion.
So what’s the longest you’ve gone without sleep and what held your attention for that long? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
To make a comment, just download the Substack app for free below. I’m new to Substack functions like a social media app, but it’s for writers, thought leaders and journalism. I follow The Ankler which reports up to date information about the entertainment industry and you get a point of view that you don’t find in Variety or THR. I love Bari Weiss’ The Free Press (Bari is a former NYT reporter who is courageously committed to journalism based in facts and sometimes uncomfortable truth.) TFP is a news source that often challenges popular narratives with facts and deep thought.
And truly, thank you so much for following me on Substack for free, I really appreciate the support.