How to Do What You Love

Paul Graham’s essay How to Do What You Love tackles why doing excellent work requires genuine passion—and why society makes it so hard to discover what we truly love.

The False Work-Fun Dichotomy

Childhood conditioning teaches us that work and fun are opposites. Schools present learning as tedious preparation for even worse adult labor, creating the harmful belief that “work = pain.”

This is a lie. The best work comes from people who genuinely enjoy what they do.

Three Persistent Lies

Young people absorb misleading narratives:

1. Schoolwork isn’t real work
2. Adult employment is worse than school
3. Successful adults genuinely enjoy their jobs (often false)

Dangerous Temptations

Two forces derail authentic career choices:

Prestige: Others’ opinions lure us toward careers that seem impressive rather than personally fulfilling. Prestige is like a powerful magnet that distorts the compass.

Money combined with status: The “sirens” that lure people toward lucrative but unsatisfying paths.

The Right Framing

Doing what you love doesn’t mean pursuing momentary pleasure. It means: “do what will make you happiest over some longer period, like a week or a month.”

The work must:

• Surpass leisure activities in satisfaction
• Produce something admirable
• Be something you’d do even if unpaid

Two Career Paths

Organic route: Gradually increase preferred tasks as you advance within a field.

Two-job route: Maintain separate income work and passion work. This offers freedom but risks becoming permanent.

My Takeaway

Finding meaningful work requires discipline, realistic self-assessment, and resisting societal pressures. The question “what would I do if I didn’t need money?” is worth asking seriously.

How did you find work you love? I’d love to hear at persdre@gmail.com.