3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on Finding Your Passion
Benford's Law of Controversy, 25/5 Rule & Finding What You Love
I. Benford's Law of Controversy
Benford's Law of Controversy is an adage coined by astrophysicist and writer Gregory Benford. In his 1980 novel Timescape, he wrote:
Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real information available.
The more data we have available the less passionate we tend to be about something as it leaves less room for personal opinions and interpretations. The less data we have, on the other hand, the more our feelings, emotions and passions come into play.
II. 25/5 Rule
The 25/5 Rule is an uncompromising approach to time management and increased productivity. It’s often attributed to investor legend Warren Buffett. Even though Buffett doesn’t recall ever coming up with it. It’s still a good rule, though. Here’s entrepreneur and author James Altucher explaining how it works:
- LIST the 25 things you are most passionate about.
- SPLIT THEM into two lists. The top 5 items and then the next 20.
Note, you are still insanely passionate about the next 20. They are just numbers 6-25 on your list.
Now, according to Altucher, the key to the 25/5 Rule is this:
NEVER LOOK OR THINK ABOUT THE BOTTOM 20 AGAIN
The idea is to acknowledge our limited resources and devote ourselves to our top five passions. By prioritising them we’re able to achieve more in our lives.
III. Finding What You Love
Once we’ve found our passions we may as well go all-in. Here’s a misattributed quote from a letter supposedly written by Charles Bukowski. The message resonates nonetheless:
My Dear,
Find what you love and let it kill you. Let it drain you of your all. Let it cling onto your back and weigh you down into eventual nothingness. Let it kill you and let it devour your remains. For all things will kill you, both slowly and fastly, but it's much better to be killed by a lover.
Falsely yours
—Charles Bukowski
If you’re struggling to find your passions in the first place, check out my essay about the Circle of Competence. It’s an idea attributed to Warren Buffett. No, really. He did indeed come up with it. 🐘
Happy New Year,
Chris
themindcollection.com
