Find Things Other People Hate (and You Can’t Understand Why)
A terrible way to figure out what you want to do with your life is to follow your passion.
A great way to figure out what to do with your life is to find things other people hate doing and are terrible at and you can’t wrap your head around why.
Success is about the chasm — the gap between you and everything else at a particular thing. It’s relative, not absolute.
I’m an objectively really good basketball player (or was, two Achilles surgeries and 10 years ago). I spent the majority of my life between the ages of 5 and 22 becoming better than probably 99.9% of other people who play basketball. Unfortunately, lots of people like and play basketball, so, at my peak, there were still thousands and thousands of people better than me which means I couldn’t make a living at it.
Being good at a thing lots of other people are good at and enjoy doing probably won’t be lucrative. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do that thing — I love basketball and don't regret a second I spent playing — but you shouldn't expect it to anchor your career.
A better approach is to look for things other people hate doing and for the life of you you can’t understand why. Because you think it’s really fun.
That’ll create the chasm you need.
For example, I don’t understand why most people hate writing. Specifically, why most people hate editing. There’s absolutely nothing I’d rather do than sit down with 700 words and hone the crap out of it. To play with the words until they bounce and curl to match the point I’m trying to get across. It could be for an email or a newsletter or a podcast or a birthday card. I love it.
Nearly everyone else I’ve ever met hates it.
So, I write a scripted, 4,000 word podcast every week. I spend hours editing it to get that bounce and curl. And, since so few other people like that sort of thing, I have some chasm.
People ask all the time why I don’t do interviews — aren’t those “way easier?”
Sure, maybe. But everyone likes doing interviews and lots of people are good at it. Creating a chasm there would require me to find something about the interviews that everyone else hates and I love and do well, and I haven’t found that.
When it comes to starting a business, I can’t think of better advice. Find things people hate doing and stink at but have to do. Things that hold a ton of value. Things you love doing, or can coax yourself into loving doing. And do them.
What do people around you stink at or hate doing and you can’t figure out why?