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What If You Are Not Passionate About Anything? [Updated]

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What If You Are not Passionate About Anything?

Well, there are a lot of us out there who are not passionate about any ONE thing. We are passionate about a combination of things!

I have talked about those interests that you must fulfill to be happy. In my last post, I talked about my wife and her very high outdoors interest.  She knew about this — kinda but she was not aware of it to the extent that she would go outdoors when she felt blue or just needed a boost.

What happens when you are not passionate about anything?

What if you have so many interests that there is not one thing that drives you? Society tells us that being passionate about one thing will drive you to success.

I hate to tell you but that is BS! I am not passionate about any one thing, but a lot of things, and I am fine just that way I am!

Note: This post was originally written in May 2012 and has been the most popular post on CareerPivot.com ever since. It was updated in June 2018.

Interests = Passions

I do have a lot of interests but nothing I am passionate about.  The following graphic came from my Birkman assessment. A score of 85 or above is a strong interest and a score over 90 is something you must have in your life to be happy. Notice I do not have any interests over 82. I like to do a lot of different things.

What you will notice about me is:

  • I like putting things together, either physically or logically. (Mechanical)
  • I like helping people.  I have run help desks, support groups and been in training most of my career. (Social Service)
  • I like to research stuff and figure things out. (Scientific)
  • I like to propose ideas and communicate. (Persuasive)
  • To a lesser degree, I like the outdoors. (Outdoor)

For More: Do your skills match your interests in your career?

Multipontentialite

Multipotentialites have a lot of different interests. The problem is there is no single interest that drives them. The one common theme is they love to learn.

You could describe me as a multipotentialite. I like to do a lot of things, not just one.

For More: Are you a Multipotentialite?.

What do I not like to do?

  • I am not a reader AT ALL! (Literary)

If you have read earlier postings you would have learned that I graduated from high school reading extremely poorly.  I read at maybe 30-40 words per minute.  Reading was hard work! Even though I have overcome that in the last 30 years, I still do not read for enjoyment.  I read books when required.

I do not love to do anything.  I like to do a lot of things.  This is both good and bad.  On the good side, I have been able to move around in my career: programmer, engineer, trainer, IT consultant, public speaker, salesperson, school teacher, help desk support person, non-profit fundraiser and now a career designer.

On the bad side, I have been directionless from time to time. I wrote about this in my post when I left teaching titled, Dealing with that Directionless Feeling.  Rather interesting –  this post is found by readers using Google search every week. I am not the only one who gets this feeling from time to time.

What Can You Do About It?

I have long accepted that I need variety in what I do on both a daily and long-term basis. In my career, I have typically changed jobs or area every 3-5 years. This means I have made a lot of lateral career moves, which as a baby boomer, I was told was not something you wanted to do. We were supposed to always be looking for that next promotion.

I followed my own drummer!

I now try to make a change to my business every year to add variety.

I started the Repurpose Your Career Podcast in 2016, which has added a lot of variety. Learning how to produce a podcast has stretched me considerably.

The Career Pivot community website project was started in 2017 and is currently in beta. Building a membership website and community is something I have never done before.

In 2018, along with my virtual assistant, we have been re-organizing the website. You will probably notice the section –

Do You Need Help With …

at the bottom of every post and in the sidebar. We spent a lot of time digging through the nearly thousand pieces of content on the website and organized it into portals. This was fun! We created a Start Here page and eight portal pages.

I purposely make changes to keep things interesting. I am not passionate about anything. I am passionate about a combination of things.

How about you?  Do you feel that you are not passionate about anything?

Are you NOT driven by a single calling? Check out my post about being a multipotentialite and let me know if that resonates with you.

Note: This post is found daily! If you have found this article you are not alone. There are a lot of us who are not driven by any single interest. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH ME OR YOU.

Marc Miller  

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Are You Likeable? Does It Matter for Career Success? [Updated]

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Are You Likeable?

Is it important to be likable as it relates to your work and career? Do you consider yourself a likable person? Think about some of the best people you have worked with. Have they been likeable? Is it important to be likable to be successful?

In most cases, the answer is “yes.” Now, Steve Jobs was not exactly a likeable guy and for many years neither was Bill Gates. However, I think you will find a lot of very successful people found their success through being likeable.

Likeability and Your Career or Business

Currently, there is much being written on this topic.

Likeable Business: Why Today’s Consumers Demand More and How Leaders Can Deliver by Dave Kerpen.

It pays to be LIKEABLE!

You can have a rock-solid business strategy, unlimited resources, and the most talented people on staff. But only one thing is guaranteed in today’s hyper-connected society: if your business isn’t likeable, it will fail.

Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust, Influencing Behavior, and Inspiring Action by Rohit Bhargava

How to become a trusted resource for consumers in a society of constant manipulation

People decide who to trust, what advice to heed, and which individuals to forge personal or transactional relationships with based on a simple metric of believability. Success, in turn, comes from understanding one basic principle: how to be more trusted.

Likeonomics offers a new vision of a world beyond Facebook where personal relationships, likeability, brutal honesty, extreme simplicity, and basic humanity are behind everything from multi-million dollar mergers to record-breaking product sales. There is a real ROI to likeability, and exactly how big it is will amaze you.

 Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant

Givers are at the top and the bottom of career success. Bottom early in their career and at the top later in their career.

For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, givers are the rare breed of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return.

13 Habits of Exceptionally Likeable People on Forbes.com by Travis Bradberry

Too many people succumb to the mistaken belief that being likeable comes from natural, unteachable traits that belong only to a lucky few—the good-looking, the fiercely social, and the incredibly talented. It’s easy to fall prey to this misconception. In reality, being likeable is under your control, and it’s a matter of emotional intelligence (EQ).

The 13 habits of exceptionally likeable people are as follows. They:

  • Ask questions
  • Put their phones away
  • Are genuine
  • Don’t pass judgment
  • Don’t seek attention
  • Are consistent
  • Use positive body language
  • Leave a strong first impression
  • Greet people by name
  • Smile
  • Know when to open up
  • Know who to touch (and they touch them)
  • Balance passion and fun

Being Likeable and Career Success

We all know that not all successful businessmen or women have been likeable. There have been a lot of evil or mean people who have been very successful. I believe that is changing and changing fast. Just look at the #MeToo Movement.

Being likeable will be even more important to your career success moving forward.

What has changed?

The speed of communication has accelerated. Just look at what has happened in Hollywood. Look what is happening in Washington D.C. with the sexual and ethical lapses of our politicians being called out and now being forced to resign.

Those who are not likeable will not create good karma and it will cost them…eventually. In this day in age, where everything you do is recorded, if you are not be working on being likeable, it will cost you. It may not cost you immediately – but in the long run – it will catch up with you.

This does not mean becoming someone you are not. It is being respectful, considerate and treating others the way you want to be treated.

It has been said many times that:

People hire people they like!

In my opinion, it is more important for your career success to be likeable than knowledgeable.

Yes, it does matter to be likeable!

What do you think?

Marc Miller  

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Are Your Emails Ignored? Call Them on the Telephone!

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Emails Ignored?

emails ignored
Copyright: thingass / 123RF Stock Photo

I was trying to reach out to a LinkedIn connection last week and it appeared my connection ignored all of my email attempts. Emails were sent to their personal and business accounts. I sent them a LinkedIn message.

I got crickets back.

Most of you at this point would have given up.

Not me! I started looking for their phone number.

Yes, you can reach out to them on that device called a telephone.

We have all run into this situation where we send an email and we get nothing back. No response.

It could be:

  • The email ended up in their SPAM folder
  • They say it went ehh…
  • The volume of email that day pushed your note way down
  • They do not like you

Why they did not respond is completely unknown to you. You can make all of the stories up in your head and the reality is you do not know. I call this the MSU (Make Stuff Up) disorder.

Too Many Emails

We know a lot of time emails are ignored because we get too much email. By the way, I use a product called SaneBox to categorize my emails. If you are interested here is my affiliate link.

We all are afflicted by too many emails especially during certain times of the week. This depends on how many newsletters we are subscribed to, the email habits of our work colleagues and so forth.

What can we do?

Pick up the telephone! I know it is old school but then I am old school AND IT WORKS!

I Don’t Have Their Telephone Number!

In the old days, you could pick up the telephone book and find someone’s telephone number but now we have the Internet.

I wanted my LinkedIn connection’s phone number – so where could I find their phone number?

I looked on their LinkedIn profile. It was not in their contact information.

I scanned through their summary section of their LinkedIn profile looking for their phone number. Nope, not there.

I located their employer’s website and went to the contact page. No phone number there. Not to be deterred I googled “company name phone number.” I found the company phone number on several websites including the reputable website, Bloomberg.com. Great! I called the number.

First time I called I was shuttled to someone’s voicemail. Hmm.. later I called back and got a recording “no one is available to take your call.”

I then went to Whitepages.com and typed in the name of the person I was looking for. Bingo! It popped up with someone that was likely my contact. In fact, this person lived relatively close to me.

I called the number and got a voicemail. I left a message and I had an email response in less than 30 minutes.

Is My Phone Number Out There?

You may be wondering what information is available about you. Go to Whitepages.com and type in your name and zip code. You will likely be surprised that they know your age, address, names of your immediate relatives and other information. If you are willing to pay, you can find all kinds of information that is available to you or anyone else.

If you find that your emails are ignored, figure out how to find the person’s phone number and call them.

You might want to reach out to a close friend, relative or work colleague to get their phone number.

It reminds of the old AT&T commercial that said reach out and touch someone.

Go ahead and use the telephone when your emails are being ignored.

Marc Miller  

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Our Perceptions of Ourselves and Others and Their Impact [Updated]

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Our Perceptions

PerceptionsOur perceptions of who we are is our reality!

Our perceptions of others is our reality!

That is some pretty heady stuff.

What about others’ perceptions?

How others perceive you is their reality.

Do you know how others perceive you?

If you think you know how others perceive you, where do you derive that from? Did you ask them?

When our perception of ourselves is different from others’ perception of us, we run into problems at work. More than likely, it will cause us stress.

How Do Others Perceive Us?

I recently updated a post Do Others Prejudge You Based on Your LinkedIn Profile? [Updated] where I talk about how people prejudge us for a whole variety of reasons. Their perception is based on our profession, family, race, gender, education, social standing and social media presence or lack thereof.

This is even more true in our connected society where people’s perceptions are based on what media channels they listen to or watch.

No matter what you think, people perceive you differently than you think. I like to tell people you do not see yourself as others see you.

Roger Birkman and Perceptions

I wrote this post originally several years ago after attending the Birkman Next Generation Conference in Sugarland Texas. The conference was attended by hundreds of Birkman consultants who use the Birkman Assessment to help individuals and companies reach peak performance. This was the first conference not attended by Dr. Roger Birkman, who passed away at the age of 95 earlier this year.

Dr. Roger Birkman, a World War II pilot, was fascinated by the impact that perceptions had on pilot and crew performance. Dr. Birkman went on to study psychology in the war and later developed the Birkman Assessment.

The Birkman Method, as it is formally known, is a personality, social perception, and occupational interest assessment used to identify behavioral strengths, motivational needs, stress behavior, and occupational interests.

I have been using the Birkman Assessment for six years on hundreds of clients. I am still fascinated by what it reveals and how there can be major disconnects between our perceptions of ourselves and how others perceive us.

The science behind the assessment is how we perceive other people is how we want to be treated. The latest version of the reporting structure presents how we perceive others and compares it to how we perceive ourselves. This is probably as close to measuring emotional intelligence that you can get. It does not measure EI but it does give you a framework to explore how our perceptions of the world and ourselves and how they differ.

Deep stuff!!or

Example #1 – Introvert Who Likes Crowds

I am currently working with a gentleman who you could describe as an introvert. In the Birkman Method, he is referred to as low acceptance. He likes working by himself or with a small group of close colleagues. Many would assume he would want to work from home.

Does he want to work from home? NO! In fact, %^$& NO!

He very much needs to be around people. He does not necessarily want to interact or work projects with others, but he needs to be around people. You would never know this unless you talked with him about his need.

The world of coworking spaces has arisen just for these kinds of people.

Example #2 – Structured Anarchist

I have written before about my client that I refer to as a Structured Anarchist.

Bob appears as a very orderly person. He loves rules and structure, or at least that is how he appears. In the Birkman Method, he is referred to as High Structure.

What Bob really loves is creating rules and structure. By the way, he is phenomenally good at creating systems. He just does not want any rules or structure placed on him when creating these systems.

Others’ perceptions of Bob did not align with Bob’s own perception of himself. He kept being placed in very orderly roles, but what he really wanted was to be placed in total and complete chaos where he could create order.

It was not until we worked through the Birkman Assessment that we identified this disconnect and he could articulate this strength. He no longer waits to be placed into a role, but he actively seeks out opportunities where he gets to create order out of chaos.

Example #3 – Closet Introvert

I admit it, I am a closet introvert. You would never know it from seeing me present or work a room. I am highly social, however, my need is to spend lots of time by myself. When I am done working a room or presenting I am exhausted. I am toast.

People look at me and think I am an extrovert. I am not! I have learned to behave like an extrovert but I do not get energy from being around people. The reality is being around people consumes massive amounts of energy. I like being around people but it is a giant energy suck!

You can read more about being a closet introvert in my post 3 Signs You Are a Closet Introvert and What to Do! [Updated]

We Are Actors at Work

When most of us went off to start our careers we became actors. We go to work and play roles. We learn to play these roles and if we stay in character long enough we may start believing we are that character.

We learn skills that will pay us an income. Some of those skills pay us a lot of money but with a cost. I learned to be quite a good presenter. When I worked for IBM, I spent 10 years as an articulate techno-weenie or a geek that could speak.

The cost was it exhausted me. I would cycle through periods of back problems that would send me to bed, then I would take a break, get better and go back at it.

You can read more about this in my post Search actor Are You Your Authentic Self or an Actor at Work? [Updated].

How Are Your Perceptions of You and Others?

If you would like to learn more about Birkman Assessment, watch this excellent video below!

This video was created back in 2014 and it charged me up. I wanted to share this video with you.

Do you see the impact that perceptions have in the workplace?

Feel free to reach out to me through my contact form if you want to discuss the Birkman Assessment any further.

Marc Miller  

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Are You Seeking Respect and Failing in Interviews? [Updated]

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Seeking Respect in Interviews

seeking respectAre you seeking respect and backing off your usual style when you first meet someone?

I have several new clients whose natural style is to be direct in their communication. In contrast, they have a high need for respect in their dealings with other people, as defined by their Birkman Assessment.

In other words, the way they communicate is not how they want to be treated. Hmm…an interesting combination. This is far more common than you think. Most of us communicate in a more direct fashion than we want others to communicate with us.

These clients, who are seeking respect, will often back off their usual style when they first meet someone. They will ask more questions and listen more to get the respect they desire.

Does this work in an interview situation? Not necessarily!

Have you been failing in interviews because you are not your authentic self?

Note: This post was originally published in December of 2014 and was updated in April of 2018.

Salespeople

This “style” is actually fairly common with really good salespeople. They tend to be fairly aggressive in their communications style except when they meet someone new like a new sales lead. What they do is back off from their naturally aggressive communication style and start to ask really good probing questions. At this point, they become very good listeners which is what a good salesperson is supposed to do. Once they gained the new client’s respect they can start reverting to their more natural direct style of communications.

This works really well in a sales call but is disastrous in an interview situation. If you want that next sales position you had better be prepared to sell yourself from the outset.

Interviewing with Unfamiliar People

It is very common that you will interview with the hiring manager and potential future peers that you are unfamiliar with. What can you do? Try the following:

  • Court everyone on the interview list, but please do not stalk!  Learn as much as possible about the people you will be speaking with. You may want to research them on FaceBook and particularly find pictures of them on social media. Make sure you can recognize them when you first meet them in the interview. The more familiar you are with them, both personality and visually wise the quicker you will revert to your natural style.
  • Be prepared to tell stories to answer any question they may ask.  “Let me tell you about the time when…” If you have your stories down cold, you can tell them with authenticity and be your natural self. You do not want to memorize the stories but be able to tell them in a natural way.
  • Be prepared mentally by following these three steps for walking into your interview with confidence. This is far more important than most people think. If you walk into this situation feeling good about yourself, your confidence will exude from every pore in your body.
  • Be prepared to tell the interviewer why you want the job. Are you excited about the job opportunity? If so, be prepared to show it. I have always said you cannot fake passion.

Probing Questions

Bring a set of probing questions with you to the interview. You want to probe for pain points. The more insightful the questions you ask, the faster you will gain the respect you want. My favorite is “what keeps you up at night?”.

Hopefully, you have used some of these questions during the screening interviews which would allow you to tailor them to each person you are interviewing with.

We are setting ourselves up to get the respect we want as fast as possible. The more we know how we fit into this new organization the faster we will revert to our natural communications style. We all are human and should seek to become comfortable with the situation as quickly as possible.

Use probing questions to get yourself comfortable quickly.

Closing the Interview

Be prepared with a set of questions that will help you determine whether the job is a good fit for you. Please rehearse asking these questions so that they roll off your tongue. This does not mean memorizing them but know them well enough that you can tailor them to any situation.

Practice asking these questions with others and in front of a mirror. Be as natural and direct as your usual style.

Pay Attention to You

Do you know what is your natural style of communicating? Pay attention to how you naturally communicate. Ask your friends and colleagues (who you trust) to describe your communication style.

One of my favorite exercises that I use with my clients is to ask 3 people who know you from work and 3 people who know you from your personal life for 3-5 words or phrases that describe you.

The more you understand how you communicate, you will be able to identify when you are seeking respect in an interview and adjust accordingly.

If you have been getting to the final round of interviews and losing each time this may be the reason.

Marc Miller  

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FROM OUR BLOG

Can Juan Repurpose His Career? Part 1 of 4 [Podcast]

Episode 83 - Marc works with “Juan” (not his real name) to pivot his career, in the first of four episodes featuring “Juan.” Description: In Part 1 of this series, Marc covers the first half of a feedback session with Juan about his personality assessment. … [Read More...]

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