You also have to love what you do.
Flipping the slogan of “Do what you love” to “Love what you do” changes how we spend our time. Instead of dreaming grandiose thoughts of succeeding at our passion, we can love what’s right here in front of us– even if we’re struggling with something that’s not so glamorous.
“‘Do what you love‘ is in the future. ‘Love what you do‘ is right now.”
– Paul Buchheit
You’ve probably never heard of Paul Buchheit, but his work helps millions of people everyday. He invented Gmail.
Paul worked at Google and helped build it from the ground up, back when Google was tiny– less than 30 people.
Why do some companies stay small, while some grow to mammoth scales like Google? Is it just luck? Being in the right place at the right time? Or does it have more to do with our choices?
Finding Your Larger Purpose
Paul compares growing a business to launching a rocket. What’s most important is why— our purpose, and our deep human need to explore.
“It’s often assumed that business is all about money. But to me, that’s like saying that rockets are all about rocket fuel. On some level, it’s true. You won’t even make it off the launchpad without fuel…But among the truly significant founders [businesses] I’ve known, there’s always a larger purpose. It’s not just the nihilistic pursuit of rocket fuel.”
Success Comes From Loving What You Do Everyday
For 5 straight years, I lived as a full-time potter but barely made minimum wage. Sometimes I had to fight to keep Cherrico Pottery alive and often traded pottery for food.
Looking back now and admitting that is embarrassing. But at the time, people would constantly tell me, “At least you get to do what you love!”
That’s not how I survived. Cherrico Pottery grew because I woke up everyday and loved what I did.
I was genuinely excited to work 18 hours straight on a kiln firing. To me, it felt like playing with clay and fire day!
I didn’t care that the payoff was maybe a few hundred dollars worth of pottery to sell for the week (before expenses). I loved the artistic process. The work of making pottery, living as a potter, was it’s own reward. And I always sold/traded enough pottery to get by.
And years later, that love also helped grow the business too, starting when I created the “Cosmic Mug” and raised $34,099 in one month on Kickstarter.
“Frugality, Focus, Obsession and Love”
– Sam Altman
Focus is so rare today, with our easy digital distractions. But when you lean into the difficulty of an intricate craft, you reap the rewards. Years of toil and strife set me up for the skills necessary to captivate people in a Guinness World Records spectacle, achieving the record on my first try. But that wouldn’t have been possible without 10k+ hours of deliberate practice.
Frugality taught us how to package pottery with post-consumer and eco-friendly materials, like when we shipped 1,000 pots with 1,000 egg cartons.
We don’t make art because it’s necessary for our capitalist society. We make art because it’s necessary for humanity. Loving what we do means that even when times are hard, when things aren’t going so well, we can still find joy everyday. Long-term, that’s a recipe for success.
GIVEAWAY: What is one thing that you do everyday because you love it?
(ENDED: congrats to the winner, Helen W and she was emailed and notified about her free gifts. Thank you for your wonderful comment Helen, and thank you everyone for participating! To get notified about all future giveaways, please join cherricopottery.com/newsletter
Leave a comment on this blog post before 2pm Central this Friday 8/17/2019 answering the question above (What is one thing that you do everyday because you love it?) and I will pick one person to win one free “Random Cosmic Mug” from our back stock paired with a coin I carry in my pocket almost everyday. It says, “Amor Fati” which means “Love of Fate.” It reminds me to love everything, both good and bad, everyday. It helps me use even my hardships as fuel, like a fire that turns everything in it’s path into fuel. I got it from dailystoic.com because I really enjoy their work, and I’ll mail it to one of you for free (giveaway 21+ void where prohibited, no unicorns, etc…winner will be chosen by Joel Cherrico and announced in the comments around 3pm Central Friday 8/17/2019). Please allow 24-48 hours max for our moderator to approve your comment 🙂
