How Would You Title a Book about My Ideas on Passion?
Uncategorized February 22nd. 2011, 4:28pmExcuse the brief administrative post, but I wanted to take a moment to tap the voluminous collective intelligence of my readers…
Here’s my question:
- Let’s say I wanted to write a book about my unconventional ideas on passion, including, for example, why “follow your passion” is bad advice, and the type of strategies that actually work. What would you title this book?
Here are the constraints for the title:
- It needs to be positive: i.e., give the reader a sense of how his or her life would be improved. (In other words, you couldn’t call it “Don’t Follow Your Passion,” as that’s only negative.)
- It would need to be compelling and make it clear my thoughts are different.
Please share any ideas you have in the comments of this post. I look forward to your thoughts.
February 22nd, 2011 at 4:32 pm
The Passion Myth.
The Mastery Manifesto
Love The One You’re With
Hope this helps.
February 22nd, 2011 at 4:38 pm
A few options:
“There’s more to success than passion”
A Plan is Better than Passion
Effort Trumps Enthusiasm
Passion Wanes, Practice Wins
Just to get the creativity pump going…
February 22nd, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Beyond passion: finding a meaningful life in high school
February 22nd, 2011 at 4:49 pm
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February 22nd, 2011 at 4:51 pm
“Beyond passion: how to enjoy the path you’re on”
February 22nd, 2011 at 4:52 pm
@john looks like you and were on the same wavelength.
February 22nd, 2011 at 5:03 pm
“Happiness Beyond Passion” or “The Dream Job Delusion”
February 22nd, 2011 at 5:06 pm
Become So Good They Can’t Ignore You: how to work your way to finding your passion
February 22nd, 2011 at 5:24 pm
They start rolling off the tongue once you get going…
- Making Passion Work
- Creating Your Dream Life
- Stop Finding and Start Building Your Dreams
- Stop Dreaming and Start Building Your Legacy
- Making Your Mark: Making it Work
- Passions: How to Make them and How to Keep Them Alive
- Achieving Awesome: How to be so Good They Can’t Ignore You.. and enjoy it too
- Achieving Awesome: Having it all while having fun
- Achieving Awesome: Having it all without breaking down
I could go on, but I’ll spare everyone for now.
February 22nd, 2011 at 5:28 pm
I Will Teach You To Be Passionate
February 22nd, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Wrong with Passion – Why most advice on finding your dream job is wrong (obviously doesn’t fit your criteria, but I wanted to include it anyways)
A Different Passion – Uncommon advice on finding what you love
The Passion Game – A new look on finding what matters in your life
Dig In – Why finding your passion is not about thinking
Work it out – A new way for finding your passion (I like this one the most)
February 22nd, 2011 at 5:41 pm
(Why) Passion is overrated: somethingsomething.
February 22nd, 2011 at 5:47 pm
Crystal Clear Passion For Work
Does Passion work? For Your Work?
What I Know Works For Your Work?
February 22nd, 2011 at 5:54 pm
How about something with the words “purpose” or “meaning” (keywords that connect our search for purpose with our career ambitions)
Or… Rethinking ambition: explanatory subtitle here
Or maybe coin your own catchphrase for your definition of purpose – ‘[modifier here] ambition’
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Find your passion in what you’re already doing!
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:29 pm
“Fire Everywhere: Finding Passion in Any Major or Profession”
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:32 pm
How to Win at Being Happy in Your Career: Rethinking the Usual Career Advice
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:46 pm
Dear Cal: I am a total fan of your superb work; it has changed my life and the countless students I work with. I would name your new book
Hard Focus and Productive Passion
because it really sums up the amazing insight you have given me.
Warmly. Barbara Austin
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Whoops! I forgot the subtitle:
Hard Focus and Productive Passion
What it Really Takes to Live a Remarkable Life!
You welcome, Cal. I am so grateful to you!
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:55 pm
Or following your model
How to Create a Remarkable Life
subtitle–Learning how to have Hard Focus and Productive Passion
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:59 pm
The Fallacy of the Golden Ticket: Redefining the Pursuit of Passion
February 22nd, 2011 at 7:33 pm
Better Advice
February 22nd, 2011 at 7:40 pm
Finding your Path Through the Forest (of Passion)
February 22nd, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Livelihood: a different way to build a remarkable, enjoyable life.
And the difference is basing careers on deep, often very transferable skills, and high competence earned through practice. By contrast, dream jobs often involve doing something thought to be unprofitable/unmarketable, and rising above the competition or lack of market through sheer passion. The hard part in your plan is figuring out your deep skills and rewards without a lot of futzing around.
Let me give an example. My fiance loves roleplaying and videogames and tactical miniatures, but to earn a living from these passions he’d have to compete with an endless supply of competent, passionate, and unpaid amateurs. But the reasons he loves these pursuits are that he loves gaining and using detailed knowledge of complex systems, loves crafting quality work, and loves building things with his hands. Those are deep, transferrable, and readily marketable skills in many industries. Thus I am pushing him towards learning a trade that has complex systems, hands-on work, and traditions of craftsmanship. This provides lots of options that will make him a good living yet make him happy, instead of turning him into a starving artist.
February 22nd, 2011 at 8:04 pm
Rethink Passion?
February 22nd, 2011 at 8:25 pm
Tim Ferris mentioned he created an AdWords campaign to promote his book under several different titles, then used the title (4 hour work week) as the one to go with.
Here’s a slight variation on Ron’s title (which I like): So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Crafting Your Passion
February 22nd, 2011 at 8:33 pm
Passionate People Must Die.
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:12 pm
How about
The Passion Trap – somethingsomething
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:28 pm
I really like Ryan Nguyen’s suggestion.
Perhaps “Beyond the traditional: Rethinking old (and new) philosophies of success, ambition, and passion”
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:35 pm
Making passion work for you.
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:44 pm
Pre-order!
How about Real-ize Your Passion as in making it realistic? I do like that Steve Martin quote, “Be so good they can’t ignore you.”
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:25 pm
Another tweak to Rob’s suggestion: Too Good to Ignore: Becoming the Worker With a Passion
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:34 pm
Hi Cal,
I have read your ideas on passion with a lot of interest as they are truly enlightening but they seem to have left something out, which is “how do you apply these in real life?” Also you don’t mention who your target audience is as the title would have to speak to them directly. So a book on these ideas would be awesome if filled with lots of case studies.
As far as ideas on the title, you have some good ones already as titles of the articles. They grab attention and speak to the person who is frustrated by all this “follow your passion” advice which seems to lead nowhere:
-Beyond Passion: The Surprising Science of Finding Meaning in Your Life
-The Passion Trap: How the Search for Your Life’s Work is Making Your Working Life Miserable
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:48 pm
You would always rip off Bruce Lee from Enter the Dragon and title your book Being Passionate Without Following Your Passion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Ycw0d_Uow
Parsons: What’s your style?
Lee: My style? You can call it the art of fighting without fighting.
Parsons: The art of fighting without fighting? Show me some of it.
Lee: Later.
[Parsons grabs Lees shoulder as he turns away]
Lee: Don’t you think we need more room?
Parsons: Where else?
Lee: That island, on the beach. We can take this boat.
February 22nd, 2011 at 11:49 pm
Hi Cal,
A few ideas below, some of which have been directly imported from headings in your blog posts. Best of luck.
–
Sidestepping passion
Leapfrogging passion to live a truly remarkable life
Rethinking passion for a remarkable life
The remarkable life
Expertise is destiny
The dream job delusion: how to live a truly remarkable life
Don’t expect fireworks on your first day
Forget the fireworks
Happiness beyond passion
The passion trap
The passion paradox
The passion conspiracy
Delusions of passion
Building a remarkable life
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:08 am
“Fire in the Belly” … Oops, already taken
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:28 am
Most of the titles I came up with were really corny.
“Beyond Passion: How to create and sustain the life you secretly dream about.”
“How to become a master: Being so good they can’t ignore you.”
“Beyond Passion: A practical guide to living the life of your dreams.”
“Beyond Passion: Because following your dreams isn’t that simple.”
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:40 am
Thinking less to do more; An Atypical Look at the Value of Passion
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:00 am
“Follow your Intelligence”
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:12 am
Even better – Look what I’ve made:
http://images2.memegenerator.net/ImageMacro/5903019/Follow-Your-Intelligence-A-Guide-to-Owning-At-Life.jpg?imageSize=Medium&generatorName=Success-Kid
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:24 am
Cal, I think you’ve already named it with either:
1. Beyond Passion: The Science of Loving What You Do
2. The Passion Trap: How the Search for Your Life’s Work is Making Your Working Life Miserable
Of all your excellent articles on this topic the one thing I haven’t noticed is a description of the characteristics of what it’s like to have chosen the right overall general subject. Is it as simple as picking something that you think is “cool” or “interesting”? I get that the passion is generated after gaining mastery of a subject but how do you properly pick the subject? Now that may seem obvious to you but some of us may have chosen things based on fantasized wealth or prestige or some other uncentered premise. How did you know that computer science was the right overall subject area for you? Was there something “pure” about it that made it seem right for you versus picking something else maybe for the wrong reasons? Your insights into developing mastery to gain “passion” are excellent and easily understood but maybe the underlying “passion” issue is really about correctly identifying the basic subject area to pursue.
Thank you for all of your insights and work on this website…it is extremely valuable!
February 23rd, 2011 at 2:13 am
I like the above mentioned Passion is overrated. I also wonder if it really does have to be positive. We’re all used to hearing that following your passion is the way to go, so something that contradicts this strongly would be a definite eye-catcher. Looking forward to the book!
February 23rd, 2011 at 3:02 am
How about Embracing the Everyday: Finding Satisfaction by Not ‘Following Your Passion’?
February 23rd, 2011 at 3:13 am
Love what you do: Creating Passion
From what I remember, this is the point. You shouldn’t chase things to keep trying to find something fulfilling, but instead grow to excel at and love what you do.
February 23rd, 2011 at 3:43 am
Passion is a skill
February 23rd, 2011 at 3:48 am
Define Your Passion: the foundation to a life well lived.
February 23rd, 2011 at 3:56 am
Fake It Until You Make It: Forget your dreams and love the live you live
February 23rd, 2011 at 4:00 am
*life* you live…. Hopefully at least one editor will actually read the title before it goes to press.
February 23rd, 2011 at 4:14 am
I like the title of a recent blog post: Zen and the Art of Investment Banking – When Working Right is More Important than Finding the Right Work
I would suggest something similar.
* Zen and the Art of Career Planning: Loving what you do
February 23rd, 2011 at 4:26 am
For some reason my older post disappeared –
1. Passion is a skill — The Art of being exceptional and happy
2. Passion is a skill — The Zen of excellence
February 23rd, 2011 at 5:00 am
Logically Passionate
February 23rd, 2011 at 5:08 am
Passion is the Endgame: How to build a career you’ll grow to love.
February 23rd, 2011 at 5:17 am
The Durable Life: How to build a successful career path while avoiding outdated and clichéd career advice.
February 23rd, 2011 at 5:46 am
The Right Way to Find Your Passion
February 23rd, 2011 at 6:47 am
Rethinking Passion: Become so good they can’t ignore you.
February 23rd, 2011 at 7:02 am
Creating Your Passion
I’m not a big fan of subtitles.
February 23rd, 2011 at 7:44 am
where passion fear tread: who said being spectacular had anything to do with passion?
February 23rd, 2011 at 8:00 am
‘I love what I do!’
Oh really?
February 23rd, 2011 at 8:16 am
“In Search of Passion: Find/Live a rewarding Life”
“The Zen of Passion: Live a rewarding Life”
“Live a rewarding Life: From Ambition to Passion”
“Be a [relaxed] student who excels: How ambition leads to passion and a rewarding life.”
“Become a relaxed student who excels: The fallacies of passion and the power of smart commitments” — I like this one most.
Nice to hear that you seem to plan your next book, Cal!
Cheers,
Dominikus
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:54 am
Another, related idea for a title:
“How relaxed students find their profession [have a rewarding life] and excel: The traps of passion and the power of smart commitments”
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:32 am
I think most of these titles don’t offer any thing within the constraints listed. From the past few posts the message I get is your work doesn’t define you. You can spend your whole life searching for the purpose you were meant to pursue during your life. The point being keep your job because you are going to be just as unhappy in your next career. Pursue a passion filled life and be happy you have a great job. I don’t really have any title suggestions sorry. I just am hoping to get others thinking in a different direction.
Finally I think you might have better luck with getting unique and interesting titles of you can block everyone from seeing the posts before theirs. It is obvious once they read the first couple that is what they have a tendency to create as well. Good luck.
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:43 pm
I like Keith’s suggestion
So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Crafting Your Passion
Just enough words and worded perfectly. I personally find the books that say “How to” or “Be so and so” to be a turn off; very generic and easy to look over (not that your How-to books weren’t amazing, but if I had glanced at them without doing prior research, I might have overlooked them).
The title encompasses on the fundamentals that you stress in many of your articles: Be so good they can’t ignore you. I think the word crafting gives the title a feel of unique creation that factors in individualism – no reader is the same, and that personal feel will attract them. It also identifies with your articles, highlighting on your unconventional perspectives of the concept of ‘passion’.
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:43 pm
encompasses the fundamentals, sorry
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Lol any incentives if got chosen?
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Not Another Self Help Book: The Science Behind Success
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:23 pm
These are fantastic. I’m on the road this week, so this will definitely give me a lot to think about. Though I can tell you now that publishers probably won’t go for “passionate people must die”
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:39 pm
How To Win Your Future: Rethinking the Notion of Passion and Success
I like the ‘how to’ thing you’ve been doing in the title for your past few books…It gives the book a much more simplistic, direct feel to it.
February 23rd, 2011 at 2:25 pm
I like:
The dream job delusion
Fire everywhere
I especially like:
Love What You Do: Creating Passion Where You Already Are
People are saturated with certain types of self help book titles.
February 23rd, 2011 at 2:58 pm
“More Than Just Zeal”
Optional subtitle: “‘Following Your Passion’ and other myths”
February 23rd, 2011 at 3:26 pm
My thought as a proposed title or one using some wording of is, “Life’s Conundrum: Succeeding Realism”.
February 23rd, 2011 at 3:34 pm
The Passion Trap – How to live a better life
February 23rd, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Cal,
Unconventional Passion: Life rebooted
Will
February 23rd, 2011 at 4:39 pm
The Problem of Passion (tagline: You don’t need to follow your dreams to find happiness)
The Discontent’s Dilemma (tagline: stop searching for your dream job and start searching for your dream life)
February 23rd, 2011 at 6:03 pm
Beyond Passion
February 23rd, 2011 at 7:11 pm
This is a tweaking of what others have suggested above.
Rethinking Passion: The Unorthodox Guide to Finding and Pursuing Meaningful Work
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:14 pm
The Unchartered Path to Passion
Or
The Unchartered Path to Finding Your Passion
February 24th, 2011 at 12:17 am
You know that booke entitled, “what color is your parachute?”
I would choose a scenario from the book and use that
It would be more eye catching because it would be random. Like, “my parents were right, I should have been a doctor. Subtitle: why following your passion can leave you lost
Maybe thats not the best scenario to use, but the point is the title draws u in enough to read the subtitle…and maybe even the back of the book
February 24th, 2011 at 12:20 am
Sorry. A scenario from newport’s book. Not the parachute book . Had to clarify that
February 24th, 2011 at 1:11 am
“Passion?”
February 24th, 2011 at 1:15 am
Slight aside, dont know where to write it
Cal i love your study blog, been using it, and the red and yellow book for years now. How come you don’t write as regularly anymore? maximum one or two posts a month.
i used to enjoy a RSS feed full of your tips every couple of days now its drip dry :/
are you busy with work or something?
cheers,
one of your adoring fans, and students
Sanjay
February 24th, 2011 at 1:37 am
Create Your Passion
February 24th, 2011 at 2:01 am
Wow, a great set. I can only add a vote here. I love
Rethinking Passion
The Passion Game – A new look on finding what matters in your life
February 24th, 2011 at 3:36 am
February 24th, 2011 at 3:47 am
Passion 2.0: Creating Sustainable Habits for Continued Success
February 24th, 2011 at 4:12 am
Hello Cal,
” How to be a happy human being regardless whatever problems you have ?
It’s simple!
I think this will be agood one, however you need to play with the font to make it fit to the cover page. Like to use 12 italic font for “How to be” then 22 Arial font for ” A Happy ….”…like that .
Anyways, thanks for sharing your personal project.. I think this is the first time you open up like this.. Right forum?.
Thanks again and good luck!
February 24th, 2011 at 4:49 am
Embracing the idea of passion without having one
February 24th, 2011 at 6:00 am
How To Love Your Work
February 24th, 2011 at 6:45 am
Why you need to take a new look at passion
OR
Why everything you thought you knew about passion was wrong.
February 24th, 2011 at 7:28 am
Redefining Passion: Discover Happiness On Your Own Terms
February 24th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Find passion and achievement in your day job.
February 24th, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Do What You Love and the Money Will Run
Do What You Love and You’ll End Up Poor
Staying Focused: Why Success had Nothing to Do With Love
Stay Focused, Achieve Your Dreams
Pot of Gold: some appropriate subtitle here …
All Work: How the Top Performers Achieve Their Dreams
February 24th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Ataraxia: Peace of Mind in the mastery of your Passions and Focus
The Myth of Passion: How to find contentment in a balance of interest and focus
February 24th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Just an opinion – “The Passion Trap” really works. I’d be pretty enticed to pick that off the shelf. Lots of the other ones (especially with subtitles) sound like super corny self-help books or scams. Eek.
February 25th, 2011 at 12:11 am
Success= How to Channel Your Passion and Effort in the Right Direction.
Hope that helps!
February 25th, 2011 at 12:28 am
How about Hack Your Passion
A Life Well-Lived
Finish Your Work Before Dinner
Work Right
Right Working
February 25th, 2011 at 12:31 am
Making Your Passion Follow You
February 25th, 2011 at 8:55 am
Hard work Magical
February 25th, 2011 at 10:44 am
“Passion. Good or Bad?”
“Passion at work.”
February 25th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
How to find a (not the) passion.
From interest to passion, how and why.
Passion, made not born.
February 25th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Make up a new word that captures your unconventional ideas on passion (e.g., Borque).
Then you could call the book: How to Follow Your
PassionBorqueFebruary 26th, 2011 at 1:45 am
Fuel Your Fire: Rethinking the Power of Passion
February 26th, 2011 at 3:13 am
“Observe the Masses and Do the Opposite: How to live an unconventional life for fun and profit”
February 26th, 2011 at 3:30 am
Unfollow Your Passion
you know on Twitter, you can unfollow things that you don’t want to follow anymore.
I love your blog. All the best.
February 27th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
The Art of Knowledge
Putting your Dream into Motion
The Expression of Passion
Purpose Pulls, Determination Pushes: how to align the two.
February 27th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Passionista via Rationista
February 28th, 2011 at 11:42 am
what do you think of:
the passion prescription
the unconventional strategies which actually lead to a passionate life.
February 28th, 2011 at 11:59 am
actually instead of that first one, try this:
the passion prescription
savvy strategies for creating a passionate life
you might try a different word in place of savvy, maybe shrewd, maybe unconventional, maybe something else, but it seemed to be the best I could think of. maybe sensible? I don’t know if you’re going for more of a practical feel, in which case I’d suggest sensible or a breakthrough feel in which case I’d go with unconventional. anyways, that first word is the only one I’m not entirely comfortable with yet.
February 28th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
third time’s the charm, let me know what you think.
the passion prescription
unusually realistic strategies for creating a passionate life.
March 1st, 2011 at 2:04 am
Off the beaten path: Why passion is created not found
Passion is a journey, not a destination.
All paths lead to a passionate life
March 2nd, 2011 at 7:28 pm
THE PASSION TRAP or THE DREAM JOB DELUSION are both great titles (because they show they differ from the standard advice). I’d gladly pick one of those from the book shelf.
March 2nd, 2011 at 10:19 pm
split-test the titles on google adwords.
March 3rd, 2011 at 5:30 am
Make Your Passion
March 3rd, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Castles in the Air
March 6th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
How to Find Your Dream Job – Atypical Advice for loving what you do and doing it well
March 8th, 2011 at 11:27 am
More than Passion – Life
Having a “good” job isn’t just about “loving” it. What is love? It’s about living, and knowing the worth of what we do. In economic terms, it’s deriving utility from out jobs. It’s experiencing life, and knowing why we do what we do. It’s being able to see the big picture, while stopping to smell the chilly air in the morning and just sit there for a few minutes, wondering. It’s being able to realize that wondering is not a waste of time, and that Hamlet may have had a thought that was three quarters cowardice, but without that thought, the last quarter of wisdom would not have existed.
March 8th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Live your passion (and love it!)
March 20th, 2011 at 3:43 pm
“The Passion Pit: Unconventional wisdom for discovering your life’s purpose”
I would buy it
March 21st, 2011 at 5:30 pm
“Redefining Passion”. Though all these ‘passion’ titles do sound a bit adult-ish?
March 22nd, 2011 at 3:22 am
“Follow Your Passion”, and other bad advice.
March 23rd, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Please write this book and send me the link to buy it when it’s published. I’ve read your Straight A Student book and would love to read about finding ones passion. I’m a 27 year old male working in finance who has no idea what I want to do the rest of my life. I’ve searched “how to find your passion” countless times, hoping for a special nugget of information that would send me in the right direction.
March 24th, 2011 at 7:22 am
Pass-ion
subtitled
fueling passion after it passed.
April 13th, 2011 at 12:20 am
Passion Only Counts in Sex and Hand Grenades
or, if that’s too much of a shocker:
Passion Only Counts in Love and War
April 17th, 2011 at 11:33 pm
How to Find Your Path: A New Approach to Becoming REAL-ly Impressive
May 3rd, 2011 at 11:33 am
Here are some:
The Power of Passion
What drives us?
The fire of life
Hope this helps.