Should you follow your passion?

And what does that actually mean?

Greetings,

There was a time when I used to say ‘passion is overrated’ in response to the refrain that, by living and working as a writer, I was following my passion and that’s a cool thing. The general view of what is often labelled the ‘creative world’ is one of simply doing what you are passionate about and everything falls into place, which is often so far from the truth that it is mildly laughable.

Writing may have been my passion when I was writing for myself, for recreation, or just because I could. The minute it became my job, I had to apply the same professional principles anyone in any other profession has to apply to theirs. Another line of mine was, “if I don’t write, my children don’t eat.’ It does seem a tad extreme but, to a certain extent, my intention was to jolt, to get people thinking about the creative economy as an economy and those within it as professionals, with similar challenges and considerations as other professions.

The product I am providing is stories and words, that’s the only real difference.

Do I still feel passion is overrated? I don’t know, to be honest.

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1

What you should follow instead of your passion.

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2

“Jazz and blues are synonyms. Jazz is just blues that learned to speak all languages.” So says musician and composer Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah in this short video by filmmakers Amitabh Joshi and Erik Spink.

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3

In writing a book, I have looked to other writers for advice on writing books. My favourite, so far, are Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, Stephen King’s On Writing, Mary Karr’s The Art of Memoir and Steven Pressfield’s The Art of War, three of which are in 40 Quotes From The Best Books On Writing and the Writing Process.

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4

During the first 60 days of lockdown in South Africa, due to the coronavirus pandemic, cultural entrepreneur, photographer and director, Rhulani Anthony Bila (also known as ‘The Expressionist’, wrote, directed, shot, edited and starred in The Isolationist, which he called a ‘self portrait film’.

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5

I create all kinds of playlists for myself on Spotify and Apple Music, but never really share them. Someone on Twitter was looking for a jazz playlist and I shared one of mine. She seems to have enjoyed it, which prompted me to create a couple more. Thought I would share one of my most recent here. If there is interest, I will share more in future.

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6

The psychology behind loyalty programmes is fascinating. One can’t help but think that the ‘house’ always wins, because it can get so intricate. In my last full-time job, as editor for South African men’s business and lifestyle magazine Destiny Man, I used to travel a bit and eventually signed up for a bunch of airlines’ loyalty programmes. Now that I don’t travel much, and with lockdown globally, it often feels like airlines are trolling me with their monthly emails listing my zero miles. It is such a complex space to navigate. The Man Who Turned Credit-Card Points Into An Empire.

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7

I just finished with the two-part Questlove Supreme podcast with Greg Phillinganes.

Don’t know who he is? Neither did I but the stories of his time working with Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and the Jacksons, and Quincy Jones, amongst others, are priceless.

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That’s it for this week. If you enjoyed, please share. If it was shared with you, please subscribe. If you want to see past newsletters, check out here:

And a thank you to those of you who have reached out, both online and out in the world, and shared your thoughts on both Zebra Culture by Kojo Baffoe and some of the stories shared.

Easy

Kojo