Do what you Love!

"I don't live to work, I work to live, and live at the weekend." Say the Stereophonics in their track Last of the Big Time Drinkers. And I agree with them. But only whilst doing jobs that I’ve not enjoyed.

Since I was youngster I’ve wanted to make computer games, it's been my dream since I was about 10 years old. 11 years, 3½ A levels and a 2:1 later and I finally got to live out that dream by working for a company called Blitz Games. I started as a junior programmer and 4 years later I was Technical Manager on their flagship next-generation project, Possession. Life was all good.

At that time, I was offered a job working on some business software. I was promised all sorts of perks including a stake in the company after a year, profit related bonuses and a 30% pay increase! I put my new management training to use and drew up a list of weighted pros and cons, and the job offer scored fractionally higher than my current job. So I went for it.

I've been in this job for several months now, working from home. And I don't enjoy working alone, I need to be around other people.

Ok, so what am I going to do about it? I could sit here and moan to the World Wide Weblog but I’m not going to do that. I’m going to get a new job. Something were people are around me to bounce ideas off. Something I enjoy.

When you do a job you love – a job like making computer games – you are more motivated and committed to achieving great things. You'll work hard and you'll accomplish far more than you could ever imagine in a job you dislike. Getting up in the morning is not a chore as it means you'll soon be able to crack on with that challenging problem.

So you don't have to work to live, working can be living if you really love what you do.