Why “Follow Your Passion” Is Bad Advice — with Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
The Prof G Pod with Scott GallowayShow Notes
Stanford professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans argue that finding your one true purpose is the wrong goal. Recorded live at Odoo Experience in San Francisco, they join Scott Galloway to discuss why “follow your passion” is often bad advice, whether your job needs to provide both money and meaning, and how small experiments can help you move forward when you feel stuck. Scott also opens up about sending his son to college—and what happens when the role that gave your life purpose begins to change. Their latest book, How to Live a Meaningful Life, is out now.
More from The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
Ethan Mollick, Wharton professor and author of Coexistence: The Next Phase of AI, joins Scott Galloway to discuss how AI is changing work, education, and the skills we need to stay valuable. He explains the four advantages worth developing and how to tell whether AI is helping you learn or doing your thinking for you. They also explore why AI could disrupt internships before universities, how personal agents could change the way we negotiate and spend, and why replacing workers may backfire for companies. Plus, listener questions on young people’s AI backlash and using ChatGPT to navigate relationship disagreements. Follow Ethan, @emollick.
From Washington to Wall Street to our credit cards, borrowing has become a way of life. In this Deep Dive, Scott examines America’s reliance on debt and who ultimately pays the price. Then, Morgan Housel joins him to discuss the difference between borrowing that builds wealth and borrowing that leaves you vulnerable, how housing costs are reshaping young people’s financial choices, and why lasting financial success depends less on predicting the future than being able to withstand it. Follow Morgan, @morganhousel.
This is a bonus episode of The Prof G Pod — beginning this week, we’re publishing an extra Conversations episode every Tuesday. Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks and Meditations for Mortals, joins Scott Galloway to discuss why our obsession with optimizing every part of life is making us more anxious, not more fulfilled. He explains why productivity systems and “maxxing” culture tend to backfire, how embracing our limits can be freeing rather than defeatist, and why AI won’t solve the deeper problem of trying to outrun our own finitude. Plus, how to tell the difference between healthy discipline and an optimization mindset that’s gone too far.
Scott Galloway answers listener questions on whether frontier AI labs can compete with cheaper open-weight models, his college stint as a sperm donor, Flock license plate cameras, taking a job at an online sports betting company, and what consulting firms look for in new hires. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to [email protected], or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Plus, you can now call or text Scott a question at our new Office Hours hotline: (201) 472-3656.
As read by George Hahn. https://www.profgmedia.com/p/each-other