Larry Smith: Why you will fail to have a great career

Quick Overview

Larry Smith argues that people seeking a great career will likely fail because they rely on excuses like being too busy, too hard, or afraid of looking foolish, instead of pursuing their genuine passion, which is the true source of career success and fulfillment.

Key Points: People aiming for a great career often fail because they use excuses like being too busy, finding the work too hard, or fearing ridicule. The speaker, an economist, references Stephen Jay Gould's commencement address where Gould stated his own great career was due to passion, not luck. The speaker recounts a story where his father, an economically rational person, failed to pursue his passion (marrying the speaker's mother) out of fear of appearing foolish. The speaker asserts that passion and interest are what truly matter, not societal metrics like achievement or being a Nobel laureate. The failure to pursue passion leads to creating excuses or settling for less fulfilling, but safer, career paths. The speaker encourages the audience to identify their greatest interest, not just what is deemed an appropriate career by others, to avoid regret later in life.

Context: The video features economist Larry Smith delivering a TEDx talk, recorded at TEDxUW (University of Waterloo), in November 2011. Smith challenges the conventional wisdom that hard work alone guarantees a great career, focusing instead on the critical importance of pursuing one's true passion and the common excuses people use to avoid doing so.

Detailed Analysis

Larry Smith, an economist, opens by addressing the audience who desires a great career, stating they will likely fail unless they abandon common excuses. He lists these excuses as being too busy, the work being too hard, or fearing looking ridiculous when pursuing their true interests. Smith contrasts this with the experience of Stephen Jay Gould, who attributed his great career to passion, not luck. Smith shares a personal anecdote about his father, who was economically rational but refused to marry his mother because he feared looking foolish, ultimately leading to regret. Smith emphasizes that what truly matters is following one's passion and interest, not external achievements like being a Nobel laureate or having a 'great' job title. He warns that avoiding passion leads to settling for less fulfilling careers, using excuses, or having those closest to you (like children) see you retire into a tombstone inscription that reads, 'Here lies a distinguished engineer who invented Velcro... he was afraid to pursue his passion.' He urges the audience to stop hiding behind excuses and actively seek what they are truly interested in, otherwise they risk a life of regret, even if they achieve superficial success.