Moment 64 - What You Need To Know About Following Your Passion: Patricia Bright
The episode features Patricia discussing how consistency, driven by enjoyment, fueled her YouTube success despite no initial pay. She shares insights on maintaining intrinsic motivation, making career transitions with data-driven decisions, and defining success beyond popularity.
Deep Dive Analysis
5 Topic Outline
The Role of Enjoyment in Sustained Consistency
Impact of Extrinsic Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation
Strategies for Maintaining Creative Passion in Work
Making the Leap from Corporate to Full-Time Creator
The Evolving Definition of Success and 'Making It'
2 Key Concepts
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation stems from the inherent enjoyment of an activity, while extrinsic motivation is driven by external rewards like money. Studies suggest that when a task previously enjoyed for its own sake becomes associated with payment, internal motivation can decrease, making the activity feel more like a chore.
Moving Goalposts of Success
The concept that one's definition of success or 'making it' is not static but continuously evolves as achievements are met. What once seemed like a pinnacle of success (e.g., a certain number of followers) often shifts to a new, higher aspiration once reached, making the journey itself the continuous pursuit rather than a fixed destination.
4 Questions Answered
When an activity someone enjoys doing becomes associated with external payment, they can lose their internal motivation for it, as studies have shown that extrinsic rewards can diminish intrinsic drive.
One strategy is to consciously frame the work as 'creation' and be willing to decline opportunities, such as sponsorships, for a period if they detract from the feeling of creating and enjoying the process.
Patricia Bright found confidence by creating an Excel spreadsheet to project her long-term potential earnings and lifestyle in both her corporate job and as a creator, ensuring the numbers looked healthy enough to take the leap, and also by easing into it with a part-time job.
For Patricia Bright, 'making it' is not solely about social media popularity but about 'world domination,' creating things she wants, monetizing them, and bringing value, acknowledging that her definition of success is constantly evolving.
7 Actionable Insights
1. Protect Intrinsic Motivation for Hobbies
Be aware that getting paid for a task you love can diminish internal motivation, as studies show people lose interest when extrinsic rewards are introduced. Try to maintain the enjoyment factor even if it becomes work.
2. Regularly Check Your Feelings About Work
Continuously ask yourself “how do I feel about this?” regarding your work to ensure you stay aligned with your intentions and avoid drifting into an undesirable path, even if it means declining financial opportunities.
3. Prioritize Creative Process Over Demands
Focus on the inherent desire to create, even if it means declining work or sponsorships for a period, to preserve the joy and feeling of creation.
4. Use Data for Career Leaps
Build confidence for a career transition by using an Excel spreadsheet to project potential earnings and lifestyle outcomes for both your current path and the desired new path, making the leap when numbers look healthy enough.
5. Take Gradual Career Transition Steps
Instead of a full jump, consider taking a part-time job to support yourself while transitioning to a new career, and manage external expectations by not immediately sharing major career changes with those who might worry.
6. Embrace Slow, Consistent Growth
Understand that significant success can come from consistent, slow, and steady effort over many years, rather than relying on immediate viral moments, as sustained work eventually yields results.
7. Define Success Beyond Popularity
Establish a personal definition of success that extends beyond social media popularity, focusing instead on creating valuable things on your own terms and monetizing them.
5 Key Quotes
You lose internal motivation when it becomes when when some of the um reason for doing it becomes extrinsic monetary.
Steven Bartlett
You end up gradually becoming someone you never intended to be and ending up somewhere you never intended to go.
Steven Bartlett
For me my confidence came from an excel spreadsheet.
Patricia Bright
I didn't get paid for like four years but I was always uploading every weekend it was my hobby like it wasn't this is going to be my new job.
Patricia Bright
I never feel like I've made it not even now not yet.
Patricia Bright
1 Protocols
Transitioning from Corporate Career to Full-Time Content Creation
Patricia Bright- Create an Excel spreadsheet to project long-term potential earnings and lifestyle for both staying in the corporate industry and pursuing a creative career.
- Ensure the financial projections for the creative path appear healthy enough to justify the career change.
- Consider a gradual transition, such as quitting the full-time job but taking a part-time job to allow time for content creation while maintaining some income.
- Delay informing parents or others who might be worried about the career change until a later, more established point.