What’s Behind Great Work

Recently, we bought a new piece of wall art for the Whiteboard office. It centers around a quote from Steve Jobs, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” I recite this line in client meetings, but I often find myself at a loss trying to explain why its true.

I know its true, but the why alludes me.

In the same conversation I will get questions like “How can we get people to get behind our idea?”, “How can we make people follow us?” or “What’s the best strategy to start a real movement?”

“We want everyone involved!”

Usually three or four influencers come up — celebrities, politicians, entrepreneurs, social do-gooders — people who have sponsored a campaign, “really do it right” or served as the original source of inspiration for the current conversation.

We wonder, How do they make it? What characteristics do they possess that others don’t? How do they garner all that influence?

Part of me wants to say it’s because those people work harder than others at their objective, allowing them to make it to positions of power and influence, but we all know someone who has worked their life away but never get their feet off the ground.

Maybe they are given an opportunity that elevates them over the hurdle that others have to jump over, but I know people who have made it to the top without a jump start and I know people who got the jump start and landed flat on their face.

So what then? What is it about influencers that gives them their power to influence? What is the magical, magnetic quality some people posses that seems to grant them social superpower?

Think about someone you know who is a great cook, and think about the last meal they cooked where you ate with them — odds are they are someone who loves being in the kitchen. The kind of person who bakes awesome cupcakes when no one is around just because they can.

Think about the last song you listened to — the person may or may not be physically attractive, socially stable, or even sing on pitch. But despite their downfalls we still love their music and find inspiration in it.

My greatest moments of fulfillment have come from spending time with someone who loves what they do, regardless of pay or notice. There’s nothing more rewarding than celebrating with someone in their greatest moments of joy.

I can only imagine having been there to celebrate with Leonardo Davinci when he finished the Sistine Chapel, or with Abraham Lincoln when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, or with Thomas Edison when he finally (after more than 2,000 tries) flipped the light switch and the bulb turned on. Think about the legacies that each of these men left behind. It wasn’t just because they worked hard, or they fought through battles, or they were renegades or rebels or challengers of the status quo — they were all these things because they loved what they did.

The reason you have to do what you love is because loving what you do is the key to influencing others.

It’s that simple.

People are drawn to others who allow themselves to do what they love. That admiration has a magical way of overcoming all hesitations we have about others — about their lifestyle choices, about their stability, about their character — if they love what they do, we just love them back — it really is that simple.

The bottom line is this — if what you’re doing isn’t what you love to do, then your ability to influence others, and therefore gain a following, is significantly impaired. Your ability to generate a movement is limited before you even start.

Steve Jobs was a hard-headed, stubborn jerk who was often ruthless — but he changed the world, gained the admiration of millions of followers — because he simply did what he loved, and he didn’t let anyone tell him otherwise.

So now then, what is it you really love to do?