Why So Many Young People Are Failing to Launch

It's a vexing question. How can you make a living following your passion, when your passion does not easily lend itself to a money-making vocation? The answer is remarkably simple: Passion for certain activities is like passion for certain foods.

There's a restaurant in Basel, Switzerland that has no menu. You are given a piece of paper to write down three foods you love and two foods you dislike. This is then given to the chef, who prepares a dish that he knows you will enjoy. How does he do it? No one really loves food — it is instead the flavor and texture of the food that we love. Using the flavors of the foods the patron loves and leaving out those they hate, the chef is able to concoct a completely new dish.

Our Passions Work the Same Way

Our passions for certain activities are similar to our love of certain foods. No one really loves swimming, skiing or playing basketball. Rather there is something about each of these activities that the individual enjoys. For skiing it could be the achievement factor or the thrill. For basketball it could be the teamwork, and for swimming it could be the competitiveness. Whatever it may be, there is something — a flavor — about the things we love that make us enjoy those things. We call them the "aspects you enjoy" of your passions.

Often we will enjoy multiple activities but when we analyze them we will see that they all share similar "aspects." Following your passions to a lifelong, money-making pursuit that you'll love involves identifying the aspects of your passions you enjoy and manifesting them in a calling for which there is a need in the marketplace.

The Passion Naysayers

Luminaries such as Warren Buffet and Steve Jobs have advised young people to do what they love. As research from the Greater Good Science Center confirms, having a sense of purpose is fundamental to well-being. Steve Jobs said, "You've got to find what you love… don't settle." Yet none of these people explain exactly how to turn your passions into a lifelong pursuit of a purpose that will also allow you to earn a living.

In 2012, billionaire businessman Mark Cuban posted a blog with the title, "Don't Follow Your Passion, Follow Your Effort." He starts his post saying that the advice to follow your passion "is easily the worst advice you could ever give or get."

The voice of the passion naysayers has increased considerably with the publication of Cal Newport's popular book, So Good They Can't Ignore You. Echoing Cuban, Newport says, "The passion hypothesis is not only wrong, it's also dangerous."

Why They're Wrong

From our perspective, the suggestion that had Steve Jobs followed his passions he would have become a Zen monk results from a simplistic understanding of human passions. When Steve Jobs' life is analyzed more closely we see a pattern emerge. One of Jobs' good college friends Daniel Kottke said, "Steve is very much Zen, it was a deep influence. You see it in his whole approach of stark minimalist aesthetics, intense focus."

There is clearly a connection between Jobs' love of Zen, his attraction to a calligraphy course, and his passion for building beautiful yet simple products. They all share similar "aspects": minimalism, simplicity and aesthetics. Jobs' involvement with computer design was entirely consistent with all his previous passions.

The Failure to Launch Problem

We know it's an uphill battle. It is very common to find young people in their mid to late twenties who are still trying to "find themselves." According to U.S. Census Bureau data, a growing share of young adults in the U.S. live with their parents — a trend driven by rising housing costs, student debt, and lack of career direction.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median tenure for workers aged 20 to 24 is just over one year. And according to the Conference Board's Job Satisfaction Survey, only about half of Americans are satisfied with their jobs — a figure that has improved modestly since its 2010 low of 42.6%, but remains well below the 61% recorded in 1987.

Job dissatisfaction is highest among younger workers. Clearly, trying out multiple jobs and careers is not a recipe for job satisfaction down the road.

What Bill Cohan's Story Teaches Us

William D. Cohan was perfectly suited to become an investigative journalist. His undergraduate degree from Duke and graduate degree in journalism from Columbia prepared him perfectly. But when the Wall Street Journal didn't offer him a job, his father persuaded him to go into banking instead. He spent seventeen years as an investment banker — successful by all measures, but the work ate away at his essence.

When the economy took a dive after 9/11, he was fired. This was the best thing that could have happened to him. He went back to investigative journalism and wrote "The Last Tycoons," a New York Times bestseller. He is now back where he always belonged.

Bill says that he hated his job on Wall Street. "There was only one good day a year on Wall Street — bonus day. Now as a writer every day is a good day."

How many bestsellers has the world lost out on because Bill Cohan was working in finance for seventeen years rather than pursuing his real passion?

The Solution

Our purpose discovery program is designed to help people find their life's purpose and make long-term goals they are passionate about. Starting with the simple idea that everyone has something unique to contribute, based on their own set of talents, abilities and passions, we have created a proven process that does exactly this. Learn more about why passion matters more than grades.

We call them the "aspects you enjoy" of your passions. If you're a young person struggling with direction, explore our guide to finding purpose in college. Understanding what motivates your passions and then applying those strategically is a recipe that leads not only to a hugely successful life but also to one full of meaning, passion and joy.