Stop Searching for Your Passion (and what to do instead) | Google Admin Event

Stop searching for
your passion
(and what to do instead)
Terri Trespicio

It’s been a year.
Copyright © 2020 Terri Trespicio All rights reserved.territrespicio.com/5ways

No one feels the same right
now as they did this time
last year.

Let’s consider the
effect of 2020 on
you.

Copyright © 2020 Terri
Trespicio All rights reserved.
meQuilibrium did a
study in June 2000 of
7000 members.
territrespicio.com/5ways

Employees who felt
unsupported reported that
their jobs were
10x as stressful
as compared to those who said
they felt strongly supported.
“The Impacts of COVID-19 on Workforce Resilience” meQuilibrium.com/covidimpact

Those <40 experienced a 23%
increase in disordered sleep, (vs.
1% increase in older workers).
Among the hardest hit by stress?
Younger workers and women.

an almost 30% drop
in motivation.
Workers in the tech industry felt the
most negative impacts, with double-
digit increases in job stress, disordered
sleep, burnout, and

getting things done.
From getting information to

It’s natural to feel a little
disconnected.
How do we plug back in?

I’ve spent my career crafting
ideas in and for media.

Today, I change the way people
think about, talk about &
communicate what they do.

Copyright © 2019 Terri Trespicio All rights reserved.Copyright © 2020 Terri Trespicio All rights reserved.
Why did so many people
watch this thing?

The idea of a singular
stand-out passion is
a cultural myth.

Passion is a feeling.
And feelings change.
(You also never run out.)

Passion is not a  
pre-requisite.

Barbara Corcoran is the
biggest name in the
brokerage business.
She does not, and never
has, had a passion for real
estate. (Her words!)

Photo by Ben Hershey on Unsplash

I’d never caught a
football in my life. 
Mainly because no
one had ever
thrown me one.

But the “search” for
passion can be a
way of hiding.

Stop Searching for Your Passion (and what to do instead) | Google Admin Event

“If you persist in hiding,
you will be unable to do
the generous work you
want to do.”
—Seth Godin

• The “need” for more information
• The “need” for better credentials
• Not ready
• Not my job
• No one asked
• I’m busy
We hide behind…

Sometimes we don’t
feel seen.

What if we saw
things differently?

Meaning
Value
Connection
Enjoyment
Fulfillment
What do we want?

What we want is a
life that matters.

You can be inspired by
the work, even if you
aren’t inspired to do it.

“Speeches don’t provide lasting
motivation. Progress provides
lasting motivation.”
Jeff Haden, The Motivation Myth

Where have you given
yourself a chance to
experience progress?

Get the slides:  
You don’t have to
write this all down!

Do you have…
a job, a career, or a
calling?
Amy Wzresniewksi
Yale School of Management

Work is a means to an ends,
necessary evil, supports life
outside of work.
Jobs, Careers, and Callings: People’s Relations to Their Work, A. Wrzesniewski et al.
JOB

Work is a path to upward
mobility, achievement,
status.
CAREER

Work is integral to identity
and self-expression; it’s
meaningful and satisfying.
CALLING

• Reported notably and significantly
higher life and job satisfaction 
• Ranked work satisfaction
significantly higher 
• Missed fewer days of work
Those who see their work as a “Calling”

Is it just about money or rank?
Nope.

Satisfaction with life and with work
may be more dependent on
how an employee  
sees her work.

ASK
YOURSELF
What have you
mastered, and how can
what you’ve learned
serve you next?

Have you given
yourself the chance to
really DO the work you
want to do?
ASK
YOURSELF

Your job isn’t just to do
your job. It’s to create
meaning & value.

“The value we create is directly
related to how much valuable
information we can produce, how
much trust we can earn, and
Seth Godin, The Icarus Deception
how often we innovate.”

Creativity is not:
A rare gift
A static trait
Someone else’s job

Creativity is:
Inherent
A skill
A habit
The only path to individual
contribution

“The ability to transcend traditional
ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the
like, and to create meaningful new
ideas, forms, methods, interpretations.”
Creativity is…

—Brene Brown
“There’s no such thing as creative
people and non-creative people.  
There are only people who use their
creativity and people who don’t.”

When we see things in a new way…
We see, and solve,
problems differently.

Art isn’t just
painting, or
music, or dance.

“These are the
new performing
arts.” – Seth
Godin
Creative services
Team work
Technology
Leadership
Customer service
Administrative support
Human Resources
Communication

Made a bold suggestion
Advocated for an idea, or a
person
Did something for the
sheer joy of doing it
Performed a generous act
Made a thoughtful gesture
Took the lead
Committed to a decision
Devised a clever solution
Nurtured a relationship
Delivered a little more
than was required
Really listened
Surprised someone
Surprised yourself

When’s the last time
someone told you what
you were doing
right?

You know what doesn’t help?
criticism

Your brain has a
negativity bias
(so negative
thoughts stick
more).
Rick Hanson, Hardwiring Happiness
Copyright © 2020 Terri Trespicio All rights reserved.TerriSentMe.com

You’ve been
taught to
believe
criticism is
“good” for you.

You’ve been taught to
compete with instead
cultivate creative work. Copyright © 2020 Terri Trespicio All rights reserved.

Criticism
shuts down
your
creativity.

Instead of “what is the best
way to give feedback?”
“What is the right way,
the best way, to help
people thrive and
excel?”

“Telling people what we think of
their performance doesn’t help them
thrive and excel, and telling people
how we think they should improve
actually hinders learning.”
The research is clear:
Marcus Buckingham, Ashley Goodall
“The Feedback Fallacy”

“Focusing people on their
shortcomings or gaps doesn’t
enable learning.
Buckingham & Goodall
It impairs it.”

There is a time and place for
productive criticism.
But it’s not when
you’re in creation
mode or cultivating
excellence.

How much more powerful do you think
positive attention is. 2x’s? 5x’s?
Maybe 10x’s?

more powerful than negative
attention in creating high
performance on a team. “
“Positive attention is
30x

“People don’t need feedback.
They need attention to what
they do
best.”

Originally developed to
help writers get past
writer’s block.

Where we got
shut down.

We focus on what’s
working.

Why? What you focus on,
flourishes.

(Sound familiar?)

The same premise applies.

Suzanne Kingsbury looked at the
intersection of neuroscience,
Buddhist meditation, and
literary masters.

What if we felt really free?

Not sure about that.
“Gotta get out of your
comfort zone!”

…It’s where we’re most open
to possibility, most creative,
insightful, and productive.”
“We learn most in our
comfort zones.

This IS your comfort zone.

What does it mean to have a
“safe space?”

Keep you (the writer)
safe.
So what’s the point?

To give you a sense of
ownership/sovereignty.

To learn to listen
differently.

When you train yourself to
see the genius in others’
work, you’ll start to see it
in your own.

The Rules of Engagement

Focus on the work
(keeps the speaker safe and able to
listen without feeling attacked)

Listen & respond to what’s
working (points in the direction we
want to go; see what’s already there)

Do not disclaim, fix, or
criticize.
(builds trust, morale, lowers
allergic response to feedback)

Stay on the page  
(prevents distraction and
subjectivity to sway discussion)

Ready to try it?

You’re not writing an essay
for publication.

Write what comes up—and
use all five senses.

The prompt
A time when you told the truth.

5 Ways to Unlock Your
Creative Genius
Get your free ebook + audio guide

Thank you!

Stop Searching for Your Passion (and what to do instead) | Google Admin Event

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