Pursue Your Passion

Growing up, we are always told to follow our dreams, pursue our passions and strive for success, but it’s not as simple as it seems. Securing a good future is in your own hands and things can get shaky when it comes to the financial burden of adulthood. In college, students tend to steer toward majoring in something more secure and stable. Having a stable career is more promising than taking big risks to do something you love doing that you know might not be a reliable and steady source of income. And most of the things we love doing, more than likely don’t pay well and have too much competition involved. The problem with this is that we start careers with good salaries and benefits to eventually realize that we don’t enjoy working at our jobs. Although this isn’t the case for everyone who majored in the job they currently have, it is for most and most people don’t even realize it. Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” The logic is simple yet this decision is one of the hardest things to make in life, due to the importance of financial stability.

Throughout our lives it is instilled in our minds that we will not be successful without going to school and as time goes on, we notice that this is not true. School is important, but there are still people in the world who become successful without graduating. School is not necessary for success; Education is, and there are more and more students who drop out of higher learning institutions to pursue their passion because they have the knowledge to do so. According to a 2012 Forbes article, about 16% of the 400 most affluent Americans do not have a college degree. (Greathouse) This goes to show that having a degree does not justify success. Sure, there are many wealthy individuals who graduated from college but most of the ones who didn’t graduate don’t work for anyone but themselves. They are the individuals who are truly enjoying what they do because it is their OWN business, and they work on their own time. “Bill Gates, Microsoft MSFT founder, billionaire and philanthropist, would have graduated from Harvard in 1977 but he dropped out after two years and embarked on a journey that would change the way the world uses computers. Today, his $80 billion dollar fortune is more than double Harvard’s $32 billion dollar endowment, the largest college endowment in the world.” (Sportelli) If Bill Gates did not take that risk of dropping out of Harvard, Microsoft would have never been invented, or something similar may have been created by someone else. Bill Gates had a clear and strong passion for what he did, and when you have that itch to do something you love, success will usually follow. “Stop putting the brakes on life; find out what you love and pursue it. Don’t let your schooling get in the way of your education.” (Joshua Fechter)

One can simply hate school, but love education. Students are all different and some may be academically stronger and more interested in certain subjects than others, but it does not mean they aren’t intelligent if they fail a class.

“Whether 72, or 88, 44 or 68, we will not let exam results decide our fate.” — Suli Breaks.

Many students don’t excel in school because of the traditional education system where we are forced what to learn. This is called Banking Education; a term used by Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire. “The name refers to the metaphor of students as empty garbage containers which educators must deposit knowledge into.” (Dissinger) This reinforces a lack of critical thinking and knowledge in the student, and we all know our professors aren’t always correct. Some may argue that there is nothing wrong with this method of teaching while others would rather have critical thinking and discussion in a classroom. People who would agree with the Banking System might think professors attain 100% of the knowledge for the subject at hand and discussion in a classroom would probably throw them off topic, or only view students’ opinions.

In my opinion, I would prefer to have discussion in a classroom rather than a professor just stating facts and his own opinions on to us to try to understand. Professors can also learn a lot from students today; we aren’t the same as students from 10 years ago. I think Generation Y is becoming smarter than ever before because of technology and the use of the Internet. Try to think of one thing you learn in college that you cannot teach yourself on the Internet today; there really isn’t much. You can literally Google almost anything and learn right in your own home, but we still pay thousands of dollars for the piece of paper we call a degree, simply just to have it. The generation has evolved and school as we know it just isn’t the same anymore. “School has become insanely mind numbing because you end up learning a bunch of crap that will rarely, if ever, be applicable once you graduate.” (Joshua Fechter) For whoever reads this paper, think about the last time you used the Pythagorean Theorem in your life post college? When you think clearly about the education system, you’ll see that there are a lot of irrelevant classes we need to take because it is “required.” I am a marketing major yet I am taking classes like gym, psychology, and writing this semester. These classes are mandatory for my degree, but it does make me wonder why I need to spend so much on tuition for classes that have absolutely nothing to do with my major.

So is it worth it, how much does a college degree actually help you. “On one side are the people who say absolutely, that the pay gap between college graduates and everybody else reached a record high last year, that a college degree is the key to economic mobility and that college-educated adults even have a lower likelihood of divorcing their spouse. On the other side of the debate are people who say absolutely not: students are graduating more indebted than ever before, college isn’t for everyone and a bachelor’s degree won’t guarantee economic prosperity.” (McGrath) The competitiveness for the job market has increased, and the only way to excel is if you have done more than just a bachelor’s degree. You simply need more to get hired over others, whether it’s going for other degrees or having actual hands on experience in the field. But after graduating from college some people realize that they don’t even go into a profession that they majored. Whether they cannot find a job due to the competition, or they aren’t making as much as they presumed, most will seek other jobs that are available and convenient for the time being. I know so many people who are working in completely different fields than what they majored in, and I’m sure you may know many who got the job due to a connection to the company. To most of these people, success is based on the amount of money they make instead of their true passion, and they are looking for whatever job they can get their hands on after college. It is very disappointing when you graduate after so many years at college and have a hard time finding a job in your major.

Studies show, that the more difficult the major is, the higher your salary would be post graduating, but you’ll still have to deal with the absurd costs of paying off student loans after. Student loan debt after college is at an all-time high than ever before. “Student debt has grown so large that it stops many young people from buying houses, starting businesses or having children.” (Is college worth it? The Economist) What this article also implied, is that college does pay off for only certain majors, but gradually over time. Once you graduate you will probably be making the same amount as someone without a college degree, but that salary increases exponentially over time. In conclusion, a college degree could potentially pay off financially, but that leads to the next question. Do you define success by the amount of money you make or by your happiness?

Some people may prefer to have a huge salary doing something they aren’t excited about while others would do the opposite. It all depends on how you view the definition of success. According to CNN Money’s American Dream poll, people’s results showed it would take less than $100,000. “Nearly a quarter of the people who took the poll, conducted by ORC International, said between $50,000 and $74,999 would work.” (Jeanne Sahadi) So past around $75,000, your happiness would come from other factors instead of your salary. “According to the researchers behind the original Princeton study, your emotional well-being — or the pleasure you derive from day-to-day experiences — doesn’t get any better after your household is earning roughly $75,000. That said, a term they call “life evaluation” — or how you feel about your life and accomplishments — can continue to rise with higher income and education levels.” (Kevin Short) This shows that although money makes people happier, there is a certain level of income where human happiness no longer depends on it. It also shows that some people don’t count on their salary to buy happiness and may view success in a different way than others. These are probably the people who enjoy working jobs that they’re interested in but might not make as much.

Entirely, it all depends on what you want to achieve in life. Some may be comfortable working for someone else, but others who have passions and dreams to go beyond the predictable life goals may have a hard time trying to take the first step in pursuing their dream job. There are many people in this world that have innovative ideas and thoughts that are afraid to act on them, and then are surprised when someone else achieves success from the same idea. The risks involved are a major factor of entrepreneurship that influences most people into not taking the chance to follow their dream. But when you truly understand the way the world works, you will realize that life can be a lot simpler than we all make it.

We are raised following the rules of society but many fail to see that you will just end up like everyone else if you go down that same path. There is nothing wrong with having the same future as most citizens today, but some simply want more than that but are afraid to take the risks to get where they actually want to be. By traveling the path less traveled and taking chances, you increase the likelihood of actually achieving your goals, even if you fail a million times. Like any career, if you want to become successful in what you do, you will have to work your ass off and if you really want to change this world, then you have to think and act outside of the box. “The thing about luck is you make your own. Entrepreneurship is all about creating something worth having, and it’s up to you to live a life you love. You are the CEO of your life, and the decisions you make today will set the course of things to come. Do something today that will pay dividends down the road. It doesn’t have to be your job, but leave something behind. Starting today, stop settling for what’s good enough and make room for what’s great.” (Michael Peggs) In this article, Michael writes about his job at Google. He talks about how successful he was at Google, and how the salary was great, but it still did not make up for how miserable he was. He quit his job and followed his passion of building his blog full time. He also states to not only settle for the good in life, but also strive for the great. This is a statement I personally think about every day. Why should we just settle for life’s predictable milestones instead of challenging ourselves to try to pursue more. It is very plain and simply put; if another human being living on the same planet can attain such great successes in life, and work doing something they love doing, then so can you. Anything is possible once you put your mind to it and start to act on it.

Although dreaming big can seem very inspirational, it is still a difficult process to overcome. How can you possibly follow your dream if you are busy balancing work, school, and a social life. But as busy as you are, if you are truly passionate about what it is you want to do in life, you will find the time to pursue it. If you want to attain your dream as much as you want to breathe, you will be more motivated to following it. It also depends on your surroundings. Many of these successful individuals surrounded themselves with other people just like them, who wanted to be someone that made a difference. They also knew that there had to be sacrifices made if they wanted to achieve total success. That meant time that was used for leisure, including family time and time spent with your peers, had to be substituted as work time. These individuals were also not afraid of failure, and did not give up after the first time they failed. If you cannot handle failure, you won’t be able to handle success.

Many wealthy individuals who have gained a lot of fame from their wealth have actually failed many times. People who idolize these affluent individuals usually only see the success, and aren’t aware of how many failed attempts they had. “Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first television job as an anchor in Baltimore, where she said she faced sexism and harassment. Today she is worth an estimated $2.9 billion, according to Forbes.“ (Feloni & Lutz) Many others, including Walt Disney, Colonel Harland David Sanders, and many more were fired from their jobs as well. In his early years, Disney was fired from a newspaper job because they said he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Colonel Harland David Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, was also fired from dozens of jobs before he founded the successful food chain, KFC.

“KFC is now one of the most recognizable franchises in the world, with over 18,000 locations.” (Feloni & Lutz) Most people only see the success these affluent individuals attained but don’t realize the process they went through to achieve it. Although it might seem like a lot of them got lucky, not many know the inside story until actually doing their research. These individuals, along with many others have failed repeatedly but were so determined to follow their passion that they eventually attained it. You will hear many stories of entrepreneurs who’ve failed so they settled for a “real” job and gave up on their pursuit to happiness. These people are the ones who have given up and that is why they fail. If you truly want to succeed as much as you want to breathe, then hard work and dedication will go a long way.

I am going to tell you about how I am currently balancing my school and work schedule with following my passion. I am currently a full time marketing major at York College and part time working at an insurance agency (State Farm). I have never been as busy and exhausted as I am today. My passion in life is music, and my dream is to one day play music around the world and work with other musicians. I am an electronic music producer and within these last 2 years at college, I started to notice that my itch for music was getting stronger. I have finally found my niche in life and after so many times just ignoring it because it wasn’t accepted; I am planning to attain it.

The reason I am planning this “secret” future dream is because a few years ago, during my senior year in high school, I was hospitalized for a spontaneous pneumothorax. A spontaneous pneumothorax is when the lung deflates and stays collapsed so one cannot breathe. I had this twice during my senior year and doctors said I just had it randomly. That was the scariest life obstacle I’ve ever had to face. The feeling of sharp pain when trying to breathe in was like a nightmare that wouldn’t go away. Lying in that hospital bed, I realized that life itself is precious. We take a lot for granted and never truly realize the meaning of life. We stress over small things like test grades, arguments, relationships and jobs and we don’t realize that we can lose our life in seconds. And whatever religion you are and whatever you were raised thinking about reincarnation, as far as we know scientifically we only live one life. During recovery I then realized my life dreams and goals would never happen unless I actually acted upon them. I realized that life is precious, so the one we are living has to count somehow.

When I graduated from high school I was influenced by my teachers and parents on what college I should go to and what I should major in. At that time I remember just thinking about what I wouldn’t mind doing for the rest of my life that would have a decent salary instead of what I actually was interested in. Music came up amongst my family but to them it was just a hobby. I decided I would always be involved in music outside of college, and I would major in something more reliable and stable. I decided to major in Accounting at York, since my dad did the same.

Two years in, I started to dislike it and question if I really wanted to sit in an office doing accounting work all my life making a good salary. It just wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore. At the same time, my music started to get recognized by a lot of bigger producers, who started playing them around the world at shows like Electric Daisy Carnival and Ultra Music Festival. I always looked up to these self-made millionaires who took the chance and clearly achieved success in living their dream job and I thought to myself that that could one day be me. I mean they were playing my tracks after all and I still get to meet these guys and talk to them every weekend. I also started getting the chance to fly around and do shows in other states because people are now starting to actually recognize me as a musician. It’s such an amazing feeling having a small growing fan base and it only motivates me to keep on doing this.

One of my biggest influences is electronic producer and songwriter Calvin Harris, who went from working at a super-market 8 years ago to now being the highest paid DJ in the world. “Less than a decade ago, Adam Wiles was working the aisles of a Scottish grocery chain. Living out of his parents’ house without a college degree, he had all but given up on his dreams of making it as a musician, consigning himself to stock food items on store shelves for the rest of his life.” (Ryan Mac) Calvin Harris was literally on the verge of giving up on his life dream, and was complacent in spending the rest of his life working in a grocery store, unaware of what was yet to come. “That’s become the mantra of Calvin Harris, who pulled in an estimated $46 million over the past 12 months to make him the highest-earning DJ in the world. Like many of the world’s top-earning electronic acts, the Scot earns the bulk of his money from his life on the road, where fees in high-end markets like Vegas could hit $300,000 for a single night’s work.” (Ryan Mac) I’ve never in a million years thought that someone could make a living off of DJing and producing music until I found out about these numbers.

Although money isn’t everything to me, if I can do something I truly love doing and be financially stable, than I am 100% going to follow that path. It is a risky one, but I do plan to do this full time one day, and I am actually taking the safe route by finishing college first. It isn’t easy balancing all of this, and I feel extremely exhausted. A lot of my classmates and family also don’t agree with the music life as being a full time career, because they don’t understand it but with all the support these bigger producers are giving me and all the connections I am making backstage by networking, I am determined to play my music around the world one day and prove everyone wrong. In my opinion, success is defined by being content with one’s own life and achieving desired passions, goals and aspirations.

So don’t just drop all of your dreams because you are faced with balancing a “normal” life with school, work, kids, relationships etc. Think outside the box and start to make your dream a reality and don’t be influenced by people telling you that you will fail just because they gave up. Remember to always practice and persevere, and with hard work and dedication, you can achieve anything you put your mind to. You only live once on this planet, so make it count.