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You've certainly heard this phrase many times in your life:

"If you love what you do, you won't have to work a day in your life"

This quote has been attributed to Mark Twain, Marcus Antonius (or if you prefer, Marc Anthony), and probably many others.

But from what I could find, the Chinese philosopher Confucius is probably the one who actually came up with it.

He was a wise man, but that quote is one the dumbest things I've heard in my entire life!

Okay okay, hear me out for a second here...

Maybe the problem is that I merely LIKE what I do for a living, not LOVE it more than anything else.

But maybe you absolutely love what you do . If you love it, tell me, does it not feel like work -- ever?

I bet the house that it does.

In fact I'd argue that if you turn something you love doing into a job, you won't love it anymore.

Let's take soccer as an example from my life. I love occasionally playing it with friends outdoors -- a simple 3-vs-3 where we go for a drink after it becomes too dark outside.

But as soon as I started playing for my village's soccer team, which is more of an 'official' 11-vs-11 with referees, it wasn't fun anymore. I mean I still love PLAYING a game of soccer, but all the activities around it suck out all the fun for me.

These activities can be (depending on whether we're playing away or at home): Arriving at the pitch 1 hour before the game, playing for 2 hours, staying for a couple drinks hours after the game, travelling back and forth... all that makes it so grueling and tedious.

Now imagine if I were a professional soccer player, I'd have to dedicate my entire life to it. Even less fun!

And this goes for any other activity you love doing.

Love reading? Try to earn money off it (aka make it your job) and you won't even like it anymore.

Or whatever you love doing. As soon as it becomes your job or a career, it's not that fun anymore, is it?

HOWEVER don't get me wrong -- I am all for doing something you love, or at least like... but whatever you do for a living, it's still a job, it's still work.

If you don't agree, please reply and tell me why, I'd love to hear your opinion !

The point is: Don't just go around blindly listening to & believing popular quotes -- consider what they actually mean and whether they're true at all.

It will help you be a better and wiser person.

See you around,

Filip