Most people don’t love their jobs—and that’s not only normal, it might be healthier. Jay Schwedelson unpacks the toxic myth that everyone should “do what they love” and explains why chasing passion often backfires. He shares why he doesn’t love his own job (and why that’s fine), what actually matters more than love, and how redefining career fulfillment might be the smarter move.
ㅤ
Best Moments:
(00:30) Jay admits he doesn’t love his job—and that’s more than okay
(02:00) Why “do what you love and you’ll never work a day” is terrible advice
(02:45) Chasing passion can ruin the thing you once loved
(04:00) What really matters more than loving your job
(04:45) The quote from Eat, Pray, Love that nails it
(08:00) Jay’s gym rant: mirror flexing, water jugs, and the unholy sin of not wiping machines
ㅤ
=================================================
Check out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->
Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!
Register here: www.GuruConference.com
=================================================
Check out Jay’s YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelson
Check out Jay’s TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelson
Check Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/
=================================================
AND don’t miss out on this awesome FREE upcoming Quick Hit!
Marigold: Should I Switch Email Platforms? 5 Truths & Myths!
6/24 11am – 12pm ET.
Register HERE: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7325947932031991808/comments/
=================================================
MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!
Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.
Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).
Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma
Transcript
Jay: We are back for do this, not that podcast presented by Marigold. And usually I do these episodes where I rattle off, here's a, something you put in your subject line, here's a new way to get, uh, people to react to your social media posts. But I want to talk about something a little bit different today 'cause it's been coming up a lot on different calls and zooms I've been having, which is this idea of loving.
Jay: Your job. Let me just cut to the chase and then I'll get into the details. I do not love my job, and by the way, that is more than, okay, why am I talking about this? Why does this matter? Because I think we've all been taken down a weird path with we're supposed to love our jobs. And it came up because I was on a bunch of calls this week and on all these calls, at some point somebody said, your job looks like so much fun.
Jay: You look like you're always having the best time. I bet you love your job. I wish I could have the job that you have because you look like you really love it. And I don't know what to do because I don't love what I do, and I'm trying to figure out how to love something the way that you do. And this is all coming from this nonsense that's out there, okay?
Jay: That we're all supposed to love our jobs. Now listen, if you do love your job, okay, and genuinely you wake up and be like, I love my job. Amazing, great. You're in the 1% of 1% of people, okay? But for everybody else, it is okay. Not only that, it's more than okay not to love your job. So you know that quote, the one that says, uh, do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.
Jay: What? What? Trash garbage. Ridiculousness is that that quote by the way, has been attributed to everybody on the planet. Alright. And I think it's bs. I really do. So there was this book written by this guy, Cal Newport. The book was called, so Good They Can't Ignore You, and he called this nonsense. The Passion Hypothesis that telling someone to follow their passion is dangerous.
Jay: It assumes we all have pre-existing passions just waiting to be discovered and most people don't. I don't, I didn't, I didn't grow up every, maybe when I was four I wanted to be like a fireman or something. But then after that I didn't grow up being like, I really wanna do this one thing. I didn't. I wanted to have enough money to, you know, put a roof over my head and be able to go out to dinner once in a while and all of that.
Jay: But I didn't have a passion for whatever, and the data even backs it up. There's this study that was done. By the psychological, uh, psychological science and they found that people who chase passion often quit faster when things get hard 'cause they expect, loving it to mean it's always enjoyable. And that's so true.
Jay: You know, people that I know that have a passion for whatever. They then go and follow that passion. They get a job in that quote unquote industry. Oh, I love music, I'm gonna work in the music industry. But then they find out, it almost ruins their passion because work becomes work. You're sort of in the music industry, but you're wind up doing the same zooms and garbage and, and spreadsheets and all the stuff that we all have to do.
Jay: And just because you are sort of in that industry. Okay. You're like, well, it's my passion. No, you, you are passionate about that thing. Okay? What's important? And listen, you may listen to this and be like, this guy, Jay's full of garbage. Who is he? To tell me I shouldn't love my job. Love your job. It's amazing.
Jay: But this is for everybody else to know. Most, almost everybody doesn't love their job. I don't love my job. I don't now it's important though, to feel fulfilled. Do you feel appreciated? Do you feel competent? Do you feel challenged? Do you feel like you are learning something? Are you helping maybe people in some way?
Jay: Right? This matters? So there was this psychologist, Barry Schwartz, and he wrote this book that says Why We Work, and he, what he said was, we don't need to love every aspect of our work, but if we feel we're doing something worthwhile, it gives us purpose. That's it. That is the thing. And you know, you have to almost stop searching for this unicorn, stop searching for the dream job.
Jay: 'cause it's still a job. You wanna have a job that you enjoy. You enjoy the people that you're around, that you're growing, that you're getting better at it, that you might be good at it. And for me, the number one thing for me is. Does it give me the lifestyle I want? Does it allow me to, uh, uh, go out to dinner once in a while?
Jay: Does it allow me to do whatever I want to do? And if it does, and maybe if I'm helping people, maybe if I am passionate about doing it, not that I'm just passionate about the job, then great. That's a great fit for me. That means I, I feel good about that. So I think this idea that we're all out there, you have to love your job.
Jay: I think it hurts people. I think it holds us back. I think it makes us feel that we are not on the right path. I must be in the wrong industry. I must be at the wrong company. I, I'm, I really need to go back to square one and find the thing that I love. 'cause people love their jobs. No, if you're miserable.
Jay: You hate everything. Yeah, you gotta shake it all up. Okay. There's a big gap between loving and hating, alright? But if you like what you do, you feel energized by what you do. It's giving you the life that you want. You are challenged, you're learning. There's opportunity there. You like the people around you.
Jay: You have won. You have won the lottery because checking all those boxes is rare. Okay? So chasing the rarest of rare that you love your job. I kind of think it's ridiculous. You just have to not hate your job, and you have to make sure, like they said in E Pray love. I love e Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, e Pray love.
Jay: What did she say? You don't have to love your job. You have to not hate it, and you have to not feel like it is killing your soul. That is the North Star. I totally agree. Alright, before we get into what is always the absolute most ridiculous portion of this podcast, which, uh, it's called since she didn't ask, this podcast has a sponsor.
Jay: I happen to love my sponsor though. See that? Look, I flipped the script. Marigold Emma by Marigold is a sponsor of this thing. They're awesome. I use this email sending platform. Why don't you, you gotta try it out. And just for listeners of this show. Okay, they've given us a 50% off for three month discount.
Jay: If you're thinking about a new email sending platform one that is not terrible, one that is awesome. All you gotta do is go to j schon.com/emma j schon.com/ema to check it out. Alright, let's get into the ridiculous portion of this podcast. So. I'll tell you something else I don't love doing. I don't love it, but I do it.
Jay: I go to the gym before work. Uh, during the week I go, uh, three days a week. On the weekend I also go twice. I hate it. I'm the worst worker outer in the world. I hate it. But I go, I've been doing this routine for years, but I have to say that I. There's a lot of people at the gym, especially in the morning, they're absolute weirdos and they do very, very strange things.
Jay: And it's on my mind 'cause it happened this morning and I don't know what do it, first of all, who are the weird people? Who are the people I can't send? Um, I'm at a gym where nobody is like, you know, it's not like a Gold's Gym where everyone's like jacked or whatever. Everyone's like me like. Barely, you know, getting through here.
Jay: And there are, there's this one dude who flexes in the mirror in between every set as if he's about to go and try to win the Mr. Olympia contest. And I'm always looking at this guy. I feel like if I stare at him hard enough, maybe I'll stop. It is so embarrassing. I'm like, what are you doing? You look like a, a nerd.
Jay: Um, then there's another person who always staring at who brings this jug of water. That it almost looks like, like one of those big plastic jug things that you put on top, that you get it out of like out of a machine. It's so big. I'm like, dude, are you gonna be here for seven days? Are you worried that like, I don't know, you're gonna get trapped in here?
Jay: I'm like, why do you own that thing? It's so weird. But the, the thing that's kind of the most disgusting, 'cause I think everybody on earth is disgusting. It's like somebody will use like a bench or a machine or whatever, and then they'll get up. They won't have put a towel down and they won't have like, you know, wiped it down with a thing of a bob or whatever, and they just move on their merry way and.
Jay: I think that's gross. Like, what are you doing? You know what I mean? It's like, Hey, be a be a human. Realize there are other humans here, and don't be disgusting. You're like sweaty and nasty and whatever. Come on. What is wrong with it? What's wrong with me? I have no idea. Uh, I have no, I just get annoyed. I get annoyed by everything.
Jay: So this is my gym etiquette for everybody. In case you're wondering and listen. I would really appreciate something if you could leave this thing a review, if you've never left a review or if you could follow the show that would really be meaningful, uh, because it helps to circulate the show. And, uh, oddly we're top 10 in the country right now in marketing outta 50,000 marketing podcasts.
Jay: I have no idea how that happened, but, uh, you're awesome. So hopefully leave a review. Hopefully you do love your job and this was a meaningless episode and I appreciate you checking it out and keep it real.