For many of us, coaching football is a passion, to put it simply. If you've decided to make a career of coaching, chances are you've heard your mentors and peers tell you about pursuing that passion with everything you've got.
Well what if someone told you that instead of pursuing your passion, you should instead chase opportunity?
Chances are you probably remember Mike Rowe as a TV personality, more specifically as the host of Dirty Jobs, the hit show that profiled unsung laborers who make a living doing some rather unthinkable things. Well it was that TV job that gave Rowe the perspective on not pursuing your passion, and to chase opportunity instead.
It may sound a bit puzzling, but hear him out. This is especially applicable if you're a guy with major college, or NFL coaching aspirations, and are currently caught up coaching small college or high school football.
"I think when you put passion first, you erect a giant wall, If you can get over it and get over to the other side, then you get to write the biography and tell the world about how you identified your wish...and people love to read that crap," Rowe explains in the clip. "In my view that's simply not how most success works."
"People that I've met on my journey's, by and large, didn't set out to realize their dream. They looked around for an opportunity, they identified that opportunity, and they then exploited that opportunity, they worked at the opportunity and then they got good at the opportunity. Then they figured out how to love it."
"So do you have to have passion? Absolutely. Do you have to rely upon it to drive you? No, I don't think so. I think there's a great case to be made for the cold, hard, unglamorous, calculus of practicality."
What Rowe continues to hammer home throughout the clip is something that we should all soak up, or perhaps share with a friend our players because there is certainly an element of truth to it.
At the end of the clip, Rowe shares a story of a guy that he met on the and ends with "never follow your passion, but always bring it with you."
When I saw this video, I couldn't help but think of the hundreds of coaches out there who are actively searching for coaching jobs, and have the "major college program or bust" mentality. This is where Rowe's advice rings true for me because there are so many great opportunities at high school and college programs across the country where you can impact lives, rather than chasing a title.
To end the video, Rowe leaves by saying "never follow your passion, but always bring it with you."
Do you agree or disagree with Rowe's perspective?