Why “do what you like” is bad advice?

As you know, many motivators say, “Do what you like,” but it’s a stupid suggestion. In a moment, I will say why I think so. 

For the sake of clarity, I will give you an example.

Imagine a man named John. John dreams of bags of money. To dream is his hobby. But to work hard to turn these millions into a reality, he doesn’t want to because it’s complicated. After all, the most important thing is to do what you like, right? So John only does what he likes, lies on the couch watching movies about successful entrepreneurs, and continues to dream. Maybe he would move his ass, but he sees the following phrase on Instagram every day: “Do only what you like.”

Interestingly, John starts to feel like shit if he doesn’t do what he likes. It begins to tear himself. Psychological problems arise. But why be sad after all Alex Monaco is not sad when he has to do uninteresting work? Oh yes, reader, you understand what’s happening here, but many people think that I ONLY DO WHAT I LIKE!!! It’s an illusion, people!!! The truth is, I often do things that I don’t want to do. Why? Because: It’s impossible to create a life out of pleasant work and activities. Whether I like it or not, I need to brush my teeth. Show me someone who enjoys this procedure? Not to mention visits to the dentist… However, a visit to the dentist can save your teeth, which is fantastic. That’s the way it is; the more unpleasant things you do in your life, the more success you can experience in the future.  

Arnold Schwarzenegger would agree with me because he has been doing boring jobs for many years. In order to do what he wanted, he initially did what he NEEDED TO DO. Re-read the last sentence. Put it in your head. Or maybe you thought Schwarzenegger went to the gym because he liked the smell of sweat? No… His goal was not to feel the sweat. (At least he didn’t say this in interviews or his books.) 

He loves attention. He liked to be photographed by showing off his muscles. However, it took a hundred times less time to show the muscles than exercise. In other words, if you want to be successful, there should be thousand times more boring jobs than ones you will enjoy. 

“I don’t want such a life, I want to work unliked jobs for one minute a day and do what I like all the rest time!” you will say. Unfortunately, this is not the case. If you want success, this desire will not work. It certainly won’t happen. There is no chance.   

For example, for you to read and enjoy this article, I had to write for over five years… 

“But, Alex, I understand you, I started to love jobs that I don’t like, and now I’m enjoying challenges,” you will say. I UNDERSTAND what you want to say, but you don’t have to convince me that you love all, all, work, even the hardest. In my opinion, you must learn to be honest with yourself in life. And learn to admit that you don’t like certain jobs. For example, I love spending time with my daughters. But I don’t like changing diapers. Nevertheless, I changed them anyway. But I really doubt if there are people who love to change diapers. And… By the way, once Facebook deleted my account. While I like challenges, I didn’t like correspondence with Facebook administrators. Although I was able to come to an understanding with them, it wasn’t the job I wanted to do. So I look askance at people who say they only do what they want… It just doesn’t happen… And when you say you like everything, other people start to think that you have put your life in order? Why do you need to make others believe you’re so cool that you’ve got it all sorted out? Maybe you are participating in a competition of cool people? Why convince others that you are perfect? Perhaps you don’t need to be cocky? For example, I’m not saying I’m the best. That’s why I put my flaws in my book “Soul Clothing.” Because the essence is sincerity, not perfection, understand? And…

Eh, it’s true; sometimes I deviate from the topic… But let’s get back to the point. I repeated, I repeat, and I will repeat: In life, you need to do not only what you like but also those jobs that increase your value provide knowledge and emotional stability. 

Of course, it’s not a good thing when a little-liked job at McDonald’s takes up 100 percent of the day. I really don’t envy the Tesco and Target staff. However, the successful people we see on-screen work more than Tesco employees. 

When working in England, I had to work 8 hours a day. 

When I started my own business, I dealt with accounting and other paperwork, so I only did my favorite jobs on the weekends. OR Maybe YOU THINK THAT I WANTED TO BE A DIRECTOR? 

No, I didn’t want to.

I wanted to be a creator. I dreamed of drawing designs. But my friend who drew designs said, “I know we both want to be designers, but who will then sign the agreements and do the other work? Maybe we can find a director? But he will ask for money, and we don’t have it.” 

So I became a director… 

But after a good five years, I started to like it. 

Anyway, when I felt good, there were new works that I didn’t expect. For example, in one of my books, I wrote how almost all of the employees left me. They just conspired and went to start their own company. I was left on the ice with projects with no one to do. So I had to work more than Tesco employees again.

Additionally, I had to pay fines. I have received a summons. Do you think I enjoyed explaining myself to the lawyer? 

But that all is left in the past. 

However, unpleasant work still takes up a solid part of my day. For example, I hate computer work, especially on Christmas Eve. Oh yes, it was like that again this year. However, I’m committed to posting articles on alexmonaco.net daily. I want this site to be read by hundreds of thousands of foreigners, so the site, for now, has six different languages ​​(Spanish, Chinese, Polish, etc.). Do you find these jobs easy? I would rather lie on the beach, but who would share my thoughts if I lay there? 

Understand me well. I enjoy talking about self-study, but typing letters on the keyboard is not a fun job. In other words, I hate manual work, but I like to create. That’s why I wrote over 100 articles last year (2021)! And I’m not sad about it. I believe that only hard work gives experience. Oh yes, only hard work can add to your value. I believe what I’m saying with all my heart—it’s really impossible to create a life where you only do what you like.

“You talk nonsense, ALEX; you only have to do what you like,” one of the readers will say. I have an offer for him. Dear reader, please pass this thought on to your children if you believe what you are saying. When they start going to school, tell them that the most important thing is to do only what they like. Agree with them if they refuse to go to school. Accept their choice when they start playing computer games.

So I suggest you don’t avoid jobs that you don’t like. Just don’t have too many of them.

For example, if you want to feel good, you need to train your body. Many people don’t like to do body exercises, but it gives a good feeling after. That’s why it’s so important to do not only what you like.  

If you have a website, it’s not enough just to write articles. You should also work with old articles that you have written in the past (or products on your website) so people can find you via Google Search. Because the more time you spend on uninteresting (without romance) jobs, the more people will read your articles.

That’s why today I was improving content and keywords, although I don’t like this job. I prefer to be on the coast of Monaco, but I want to do as much good work as possible. I want the whole world to read my articles with marvelous content. 

Therefore, I periodically read sites like Ahrefs or Neil Patel. These pages contain excellent tips for anyone who wants to conquer Google Search Engines—to be visible on Google. Guys who created these sites invested a bunch of months, so they are everywhere. And all this because they don’t only do what they like 😉

For the last word: Why you should don’t only do what you like

It’s okay to do what you don’t like if it strengthens your brand, helps improve your personality. That’s not all. Usually, only hard work adds value to our lives. For example, lying on the beach (doing what you like) is easier than creating a business and working at a children’s shelter every day. Even if it’s hard work, it adds to your value. 

And you, do you want to do a lot of complicated and sometimes uninteresting work, or do you just want to do what you like?