The Acid Test

The Acid Test: Finding Work that Feels Like Play

On a regular basis I encounter individuals who are floundering to find their life’s work. They may have lost steam for what they are currently doing and don’t know what they should pursue next, or they may have been presented to two enticing choices and are having trouble choosing.

I tell them to apply the acid test. That is, to answer the question, “What is the work you would do (purely for the pleasure of it) even if you were not being paid?”

Entrepreneurs do not always make more money than those in the corporate world. They seldom work fewer hours. The greatest payoff in being an entrepreneur is that you choose your own path. It’s pointless to choose one that doesn’t bring you joy.

Thanks to the Prouty Project (www.proutyproject.com) for this quote from Francois-Rene′ de Chateaubriand, that seems to sum it up:

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp line of distinction between his work and his play; he simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.”

I can think of no better definition for the life of an entrepreneur.