How do we know the profession we are "made for" or in which we are talented enough to succeed, like maybe cricket?

 Jim Collins asserted a "hedgehog concept" which was the sweet spot where like a hedgehog we do one thing really well. The hedgehog concepts occurred he said at the intersection of passion, talent and demand (who would pay for it). The odds of playing professional sports or music or acting are low compared with the number of people who want to. How many players, actors, writers, and musicians have the passion but not the talent and therefore little demand?

In my 40 years of studying and teaching career management, I’ve settled on “goodness of FIT” between a person’s dominant and enduring “Life Themes” (habits) and the demands made by a job/career/profession. Most people may (or may not) find this fit by trial and error. That’s an expensive way to go as one can waste time, energy and some percentage of one’s life searching, Much less expensive to spend some time/life clarifying with evidence what your life themes are and then searching for the good fit.

I’ve concluded that everyone should have a personal “charter” beginning with one’s purpose in life. One defining sentence. For me, “to help people find themselves.” That grew out of having three last names and personal passions. IF you see your purpose in life to play cricket, you could pursue that professionally or if that doesn’t work out, you could find work at which you could “play cricket” and then play recreationally on the side.

I asked my mentor at Harvard to watch me teach. Afterward, he said I was boring. Thunk! An arrow to the heart. He noted “you play basketball with the doctoral students.” I said, “I do, I love basketball.” “Well, it’s obvious. You come back floating above the floor exuding energy. You need to figure out how to play basketball in the classroom.” I was deflated because I had the VABE ( What are VABEs? ) that “work is work and play is play.” The more I thought about it, there IS a tip off. We pass the “ball” (who’s talking) around the room. Someone says something really good/makes a long shot and then we race down the “court” to the other end. One COULD play basketball in the classroom. That experience transformed my life and career.

BECAUSE I was able/willing to examine my VABEs and adjust them to fit the world around me.

I encourage you to draft/write a personal charter (see below and my website at Level Three Leadership ) then to figure out how to take the joy you get playing cricket with you wherever you go and in whatever you do. MAYBE you’ll persist well enough to play professionally. But if not, you will have created your passion in whatever you do. It’s your life. It’s your choice. Every day is one day farther from birth and closer to the last chapter. Enjoy every day.