“Hello?”

“Hey, man.”

“Hey, bud. What’s up?”

“Nothing. You know what’s annoying?”

“Please tell me.”

“At work the other day, this lady said she loves what she does.”

“How dare she?”

“That’s not the point. It was at the all company meeting and she was being given an award for doing a great job.”

“Is that the actual name of the award?”

“No. It’s like the ‘Outstanding Achievement’ award or something. It’s basically the awards they can give out to people who aren’t in sales or who don’t have benchmark deliverables. It’s like a morale award.”

“Got it.”

“Anyway, this lady was given an award for doing a great job and as she accepted it and everyone applauded, she said, ‘It’s easy when you love what you do’.”

“And this bothered you?”

“No. But, I question whether her performance was actually superior to other coworkers.”

“Why is that?”

“Because it’s easy to do well at a job you love. Anyone can do that. But, doing well at a job you hate? That takes some talent.”

“Never thought of it that way, but I see your point.”

“Right? I mean, if I tell you I’m passionate about something and that I love doing, should it come as any surprise that I’m also diligent and good at that thing?”

“Nope.”
“But, if I tell you how much I detest selling widgets, yet I’m also the leading producer at the company, that shows real ability.”

“It does?”

“Of course. If you can overcome your hatred for an activity and still perform it better than your peer group, I think that demonstrates superior talent relative to someone who truly loves that activity.”

“I guess that makes sense. On a different note, are you trying to tell me that you hate your job but are still pretty good at it?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? Are you that widget salesman you speak of?”

“Let’s just say I can relate to him.”