Holly Hoffman is another Gen Y blogger writing at worklovelife.com. I came across her blog on a short list of Gen Y bloggers, and after a quick browse, I subscribed. Today, she posted an entry about being good at what you do – even if you don’t like it:

In a word, what I am talking about it responsibility. I may not be passionate about my 8-5 job, but I am passionate about being a quality employee and coworker. To buck Gen Y stereotypes, I guess you might say I am passionate about responsibility.

Holly Hoffman, worklovelife.com

That reminded me of this excerpt from a book I read last year:

Rather than quit work and go on a sabbatical to discover some burning career passion, which, by the way, might be just the ticket for some people, I’ve decided to go all in with my work because, well, it’s my work. Seriously. I decided that whatever work I do can be a source of fulfillment and even joy, depending on the extent to which I go all in with it.

It can be a chicken-or-egg question. Should I wait until I find work that I love before I commit to go all in? Or should I go all in so that I will begin to love the work that I’ve got?

Why would I conceivably not want to be the best I can be at whatever I’m doing? I like the idea that whether I’m sweeping a street, weeding my yard, playing drums in a band, teaching a class, taking photos at a wedding, working as a customer service representative, selling insurance, washing cars, running a company, being a personal fitness trainer, bagging groceries, or writing a book that I take the attitude that I will knock your socks off with how I do what I do. Or maybe it’s my own socks that I want to knock off.

Work Like You’re Showing Off: The Joy, Jazz, and Kick of Being Better Tomorrow Than You Were Today (p. 72) by Joe Calloway Read more about this book…

Go and knock your own socks off.