Do What You Love, or Love What You Want, or Love Doing What You Want, or Love What you Want to Do, or...

Hey guys, it’s been like half a year, so I thought I’d come back and talk to you a little bit about Jesus.

Nah, kidding. I thought about doing that before, but decided against it for the time being. Maybe I still will. Whether it’s a blog post idea, food, a crazy stunt or a job, I usually never rule anything out.

And perhaps that’s part of my problem.

My mother is a big fan of “inspirational,” self-help books about building a better future. Most recently, she gave me a book for Valentine’s Day (along with a cubic  ton of candy that really helped me get ready for this) about how people become innovators.

A few years ago, though, she gave me a book called “Should I Do What I Love?” (Or, if you're Michael Young, "Should I Do What I Want?" The basic question of the book is whether you should pursue a career in a field you truly love, or a career that’s financially stable.

Friends, family and motivational speakers have told me regularly that if you do what you love, you won’t work a day in your life. Others say it could ruin your passion for something that is probably best relegated to hobby status. Conversely, a financially stable career could give you the means to pursue your dreams in your free time (which is totally just asrewarding), or it can cause you to act negatively in your workplace.

If there is a surefire way to determine what path to take, somebody better get me a copy of their map. (I thought that one up all on my own). Obviously, talent and knowledge of your subject is a huge determining factor – if you love taming lions but can’t tell the difference between a lionand an anteater, it probably isn’t happening for you.

The key, though, seems to be how much you’re willing to sacrifice to have even the slightest chance of doing something remotely related to your dream job.

I potentially have an opportunity for a job that would get me “in the building” (both literally and figuratively) somewhere where I could pursue my dream of working in broadcasting. It’s for a position that’s quite far removed from “radio talk show host,” and it’s no guarantee that taking it would ever lead to “radio talk show host,” but it’s something. It’s also nearly an hour and a half from where I live now and would require moving even further away from my friends and family than I already am, not to mention moving to a city that, aside from a few weekend trips, I’m basically wholly unfamiliar with.

Now that I’ve said something, I will of course not be offered said job, because that’s how life works. But regardless.

The process has made me understand the true nature of the “should you do what you love” question. It’s not necessarily whether you love something enough to make it a career; it’s whether you would rather love your work or love the things it affords you. This is something people far more intelligent than me probably worked out much earlier in life than I did. (In my defense, I spent a lot of time doing this as a kid)

Yes, I spend large chunks of time wishing I worked in radio, wondering what I could do to find a job in radio, or pretending I already do work in radio. But do I spend so much time thinking about it because I work at a job that doesn’t force me to work excruciating hours, or because I don’t have to work two jobs to support myself? If I had a ground-level job in broadcasting or journalism, would I grow to resent the job because I’d be living in a studio apartment without cable, internet or working utilities and constantly without money to go visit or hang out with friends?

I truly loved hosting my college radio show and writing for my college newspaper. (Whether I was any good at it is mostly a matter of how much you enjoy jokes at PETA’s expense). I also happened to write and broadcast with some of the best people I’ve ever met, both as friends and as journalists. Did I love being the small-time college equivalent of [insert asshole Philly sports media personality here] because I loved the field, or because I loved my friends?

Ultimately, the best way to figure that out is to see how willing you are to write, record, and spew your thoughts when your friends aren’t around and when nobody’s reading/listening. That’s why I’m giving one more crack at it. One more crack at blogging, one more crack at podcasting, one more crack at discovering whatever “magic” encouraged me to believe that I might want to make a living out of this nonsense.

It would be great if you wanted to read along. If not, that’s fine. I don’t blame you. If I were my friend, I wouldn’t have wanted to read 900 words of me trying to “find myself” or whatever. In the end, this isn’t about the people who read or don’t read. It’s about me and what I want. (And maybe my esteemed co-blogger, despite how wrong she is sometimes). After all, no matter what your friends and loved ones think of your dream, the whole point is to find what makes you happy, because the right people are going to follow you one way or another.

-Matt