
When you ask people about traits needed to be a successful entrepreneur or have a great career, passion and courage score highly. But they are merely a small part of what really gets you the lifestyle you want—and by far, they’re not enough to create a career that involves not only flexibility but also a steady income.
Have you ever thought that if only you were bold enough, your career would look different? If only you could find the courage to give up your steady 9 to 5 job, then with some hard work, things would work out and you’ll finally be happy?
Stories of people who quit their boring jobs and start their own exciting businesses are visible all over the internet. They’ve been so popular and repetitive that they began to sound like a broken record.
Nevertheless, they still draw attention, especially for those of us who have been dying to do the same – turn our lives upside down. The vision of changing a career path entirely to live a totally new lifestyle, travel all over the world and have time for friends and family sounds very tempting.
But if courage is all it takes to be happy and fulfilled, why do so many people avoid taking the plunge?
If it’s so simple, why isn’t it so easy?
Why don’t we all have careers we love?
Well, the answer is straightforward: taking a plunge is easy, but the euphoria of a newbie is temporary, and without a steady income, things may soon spiral down into desperation. I’ve seen such scenarios many times. Working things out along the way is possible, but it’s risky.
The truth is, courage isn’t what it takes to make your dream come true. On the contrary, you don’t have to be bold to have a great career that gives you flexibility, control and satisfying income that lasts.
Let me tell you how to do it differently.
Finding passion isn’t easy
In general, we all want similar things in our lives: we want freedom, control over our career path and everyday schedules, we want to be appreciated and have a positive impact on the world. But these are all generalities, vague aspirations, dream results of our choices and actions.
And there are numerous ways of reaching these goals. Becoming a digital nomad is only one of them, and it’s not suitable for everyone. Even as an employee working in a big corporation, you may end up having a surprisingly flexible lifestyle with lots of opportunities to travel. Possibilities are endless, so it’s tough to choose just one and stick to it.
Besides, most of us don’t know what exactly their passion is—especially while we’re young and we prefer to explore different possibilities instead of fixing on one career that would be forever. The first years of our professional career usually look like a big mess—a mix of positions that probably wouldn’t be described as dream jobs. After a few years, we still don’t really know what our “calling” is. We may have some ideas about our lifestyle goals (more freedom, possibilities to travel, etc.). Still, it’s not enough to take first, specific steps towards our dream career.
Last but not least, sometimes what seems to be our passion lacks in attractiveness when you think of it as your regular job. You may love playing piano as a hobby, but would you love the stress of giving concerts, the uncertainty of living as a musician and the surprisingly big competitiveness of this type of career?
You may want to be a digital nomad: a traveling freelancer, but would you be able not to see your family and friends for extended periods? Would you be able to accept the uncertainty of employment and lack of steady home? Everything has pros and cons – and sometimes, these cons seem overwhelming when you want to actually turn your passion into a career.
No wonder that when someone gives us career advice to “follow our passion,” we simply don’t know what we should actually do. And we may doubt if this is really the only way to be happy.
And we postpone making essential decisions forever.

Quitting your job and changing career completely sounds exciting, but enthusiasm often doesn’t last.
If following your passion doesn’t work, then what does?
There’s nothing wrong with not knowing what your passion is. In fact, those people who know exactly what they want to do in life are lucky exceptions. Most of us try to figure out our dream career way far into adulthood.
If you feel indecisive, then it’s not necessarily a bad sign!
Tentativeness can also lead to good (or great!) career choices, but don’t confuse it with a lack of self-development and accepting any offer you get. If you stay open to changes, but at the same time, you master your skills in a specific niche, check what works for you and what doesn’t, etc., you may create your own luck.
Remember what Seneca said: “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.”
Nourish your skills and stay open to different possibilities. But be sure that when your time comes, you’re prepared to take a plunge into a success!
There’s a great book by Cal Newport called “So Good They Can’t Ignore You,” where the author shows what constitutes a path to a great career that makes us happy. The essential ingredient in a recipe for a remarkable career is the so-called “career capital.”
The notion of the career capital
What exactly is the career capital?
Cal Newport defines it as a set of rare and valuable skills, which can be used as leverage in determining your career.
When you think about it, this sounds intuitive: you need to have remarkable skills to have a remarkable career.
But if you’re not the type of person who had straight A’s at school or graduated MIT, don’t worry: you still don’t have to settle for the ordinary. Your set of remarkable skills may not be defined traditionally.
Think about it: you don’t want to have a conventional career, right? Since you don’t look for a 9-5 job, you don’t need to have a set of skills that would make you attractive in a corporate environment.
In general, being passionate about your job is fantastic because it fills you with energy and makes you better at selling. But if you want to make your great career sustainable, your skills need to be there, as well.
And what about passion? Is it totally unnecessary?
Therefore, being good at your job may, in fact, make you appreciate it even more and, thus, make you happier about your current career. And on top of that, you gain more freedom and control over your schedule.
Why your skills are far more important than your passion?
Because when you have remarkable skills in a particular niche, you become a sought after specialist. You get more clients or become incredibly valuable to your employer. If you work at a corporation, your unique skills will give you leverage to negotiate your employment contract, your benefits, your salary, etc. and get more freedom. If you’re an entrepreneur, they will give you well-paying clients, and thus the opportunity to have more free time.
Important questions
Of course, finding your own set of remarkable skills sounds just as tricky as finding your passion.
So, start by asking yourself a few questions that will help you clear your head and create a base for your future actions.
- Where have you worked recently? What positions did you have and what tasks were you responsible for?
Make a list of all the jobs and projects you worked on. Even if you weren’t employed and something was just your initiative, put it on your list, too.
- Were you happy about your job? Which tasks were interesting to you, which were boring or annoying?
For each of the jobs/projects from question 1, name the general feeling about this particular job. Then, point out all the assignments that made it enjoyable, as well as the things that were boring or even unacceptable to you.
- Now think about the projects/responsibilities you liked. What did you learn from them? Which of your skills did they highlight?
Think about all the moments when you had the opportunity to shine.
Maybe you got a simple project to complete—and during this process, you realized that you’re great at organizing and managing tasks. Or, perhaps you noticed that you have the gift of persuasion or major selling skills? Whatever felt good about your job, write it down.
- What about the projects/assignments you didn’t like? Are there any clear weak points in your character and skills?
Actually, answering this question is optional. Even you don’t have specific skills, it may not mean that you can’t learn them. Nevertheless, sometimes knowing your weaknesses helps to get rid of unrealistic aspirations. For example, I have trouble paying attention to details, so I consciously don’t choose careers and tasks that require being perceptive and precise.

Get precise about what you can and cannot do; what you like and don’t like. Otherwise, you’ll get lost!
Conclusion
Let’s sum up what we know already:
- Courage and passion aren’t enough to get a great career.
- Following your passion is hard, because: a) many people don’t know what their passion is (and it’s ok!); and b) some people have multiple interests, so choosing one career becomes extremely hard.
- Passion doesn’t attract long-term clients; your skills do.
- The best way to fast-forward your way to a lifestyle of your dreams is by using your career capital, i.e., the set of remarkable skills.
- Working on your skills in a specific niche, combined with openness to new challenges, creates high chances of finding the career you love.
Maybe you’ve already used the career capital intuitively, without knowing that such a theory exists. If not, the questions I mentioned above will set you on an excellent start.
Ok, ready for the next step?
Here you can read the next post, where I show you how to use “career capital” in practice—it’s long, but worth it! 🙂
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