Never worked a day

A lot of motivational speakers or people who have been successful and are trying to give advice talk about finding a job you love so that you 'never work a day in your life'.

I think this is partly true if you find something you are passionate about, but it hides a few things that maybe make it misleading. Even those who love their jobs have to fight through some things they don't enjoy. Ask a professional sportsman who is going through a bad patch of form, and though he loves the game... it will feel like work.

I think it comes down to perspective. If you are passionate about the goal, and have a mindset that allows you to step back and view the difficulty from the outside... you can learn enjoy the tough bits. Like the cyclist training for the Tour De France hurting as they climb a mountain in training, the pain isn't fun, but with an eye on the goal and viewing the pain in a different way, they can look back on it as being enjoyable.

I think the same applies to good old fashioned work. Whether you are an Engineer, Teacher, Architect, Actor, Artist, Waiter, Masseuse or Investment Professional... there will be times when the challenges seem overwhelmingly difficult and it feels very much like work even if you love what you do. If you are mentally able to take a step back and put it in perspective, then when looking back maybe one day you too will be able to say 'I never worked a day in my life'.

That said, if when you step back you still say... 'what the hell am I doing?'. Then perhaps its time to change what you do.