There is this deadly assumption that not all passion career match up with the job market1 hence our passion career is constrained by geography, culture, circumstances and timing. They further complicate the matter by saying those that have succeeded in following their passion are lucky hence giving credence to fate. Please, do not confuse fate with destiny – Fate is what happens to us but destiny is what we make inspite of our fate.
In his latest flick, “Django Unchained”, Quentin Tarantino showed us how a slave valued at 300 dollar became 12, 000 dollar – it was not about the intrinsic value of the slave but the perceived value. Value is perceptive and perception is fickle and temporary. Relying and letting the perception of people dictate the direction of your passion career is like entrusting raw egg to a 2-year old boy for safe keeping and expecting it back in the form you gave him. It appears ludicrous but that is what you do when you cower to the dictate of people’s perception.
A driver calls himself a chauffeur and earns 250K per month
A tailor packages as a fashion designer and earns millions in dollars.
A teacher takes the name of a consultant and earns 7 Million Naira daily.
A mechanic learns computer diagnostic and would not touch your car until you drop 200K
A servant regards himself a valet and commands thousands of naira.
Time will not permit me to talk about the other perceived “low-paying” jobs like caterers, nurses, nannies, traders, etc. This people who have placed value on their passion career did not rely on fate, they understood what Tarantino was trying to depict in his movie that everything is a perceived value if you understand how to manage the constraints of geography, culture, circumstances and timing to establish and increase the appeal of your career passion.
I was watching the interview of Iyanya of “Kukere dance” fame on Ndani.tv:
Interviewer: You kind of ventured into a different direction with the music that you were doing – Every one was used to you doing the ballad – show casing your beautiful voice and I heard the Kukere song and I could not believe it was you. Why did you change direction?
Iyanya: For you to be relevant, you have to be versatile…. I want people to see a different side of me and I also want to make MONEY. When you do the ballad, people appreciate you but you do not make money. When you sing groovy songs like Kukere, the money starts coming in.
Iyanya is a talented musician with a beautiful voice – he proved this by winning Project Fame. He also knew the constraints of geography, culture, circumstances and timing, will limit him from making money with the kinds of ballad songs he loves to do – he did ballad for five year and was not valued economically. Instead of complaining about the constraints, he used the constraints to his advantage and became hugely successful with the Kukere song.
The key to economic value is studying and utilizing your constraints to your advantage. Do not bother trying to change people’s perception about you instead try to align your passion career to their perception – this is the foundation of economic value. Package your passion career to what people want (perception) NOT to what people need (necessity) and you will be widely economically valued. In Steven Spielberg’s latest movie “LINCOLN”, the message was clear – enduring progress is forged in a caldron of principle and compromise.
In Part 3 of this series, I will highlight the role of mentorship to passion career and the misconception about mentorship.
Have a nice day!
