Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Us the Duo

Have you heard of this music duo?

US the Duo
(Michael & Carissa Alvarado)
"Missin' You Like Crazy"

This was the first video I saw of them. I started listening to them when I began my long-distance relationship.

I love this couple! They mostly do covers of songs, but they also write their own songs. Their voices complement each other - it's so nice to listen to!

They're also happily married! According to their official website, they're musicians who lived on different sides of the country but fell in love. On YouTube, the proposal and their wedding videos have been posted. They also wrote their vows as a song, and it's featured in the animated film The Book of Life

"No Matter Where You Are"


I think anyone can see how much they love each other. Their love travels far into listeners' hearts, which is why I wanted to share their music with you!

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Is "Follow Your Passion" Bad Advice?


Are you following your passion?  Where did it take you?

Ever since I was little my passion was to help people.  If I ever see someone who needs help, my heart goes out to them and I do my best to assist them.

I thought that was fine until I realized it wasn't helpful during my job search.  I was confused about what kind of job I could do with my passion and became discouraged.  "Helping people" as a passion is very broad, and it didn't help me decide on what kind of career I wanted.  

I worried a lot about my future.  I worried and stressed over questions like "What do I want to do in the future" or "What kind of company or field did I want to work in?".


One night, I watched a video on LinkedIn that changed me.  It was Cal Newport giving a lecture about why "Follow You Passion" is bad advice.  His reasoning was that it's not useful if you don't know your passion.  Even if you do know it that doesn't mean you'll ending up liking what you're doing.

He pointed out three steps that'll help people love what they do:

1) Don't follow your passion.

2) Develop and work on a skill that'll be valuable

3) Do Deep Work


Deep Work is a task that is cognitively challenging but rewarding.  If you do Deep Work, it'll improve the skill you've decided to work on and may even help you find your passion.  Most often than not, passion is found accidentally.

After watching that video, my eyes were opened.  Having a successful career isn't reliant on passion.  Concentrating on your skill helps you find your passion, and you work because you want to nurture your passion.  That's different from what most of society thinks.



Did you find this post interesting?  I think Cal Newport's video is really good so here's the link: