Adam Grant once asked for the "worst piece of career advice you've received," and Mark Cuban delivered:

"'Follow your passions.' No. Follow your effort. No one quits anything they're good at. If I followed my passion, I'd still be trying to play professional basketball."

You might be interested to know that Mark Cuban is 6’ 2’’ (1.88 cm) and cannot even jump over a folded newspaper. That is wet. And stepped on.

Ok, I might be exaggerating but you get the point. He would never make it as a pro basketball player.

He did make it as an entrepreneur though, and he made it big time.

We’re big believers in following whatever makes you wake up in the morning with the energy and appetite to go after it.

But when we are talking about careers, it’s more than passion or energy; it’s also about money.

The Japanese have a concept they call Ikigai: they say that if you can find something that you love, you are good at, the word needs, and can get you paid, then you’re there.

What we know for sure is that people are very good at what they do when they like it. When you like something you don’t quit it. You don’t cut corners. You go after it loud and bold, and you make it work.

Want to call it passion? Go ahead.

Effort? Be my guest.

Ikigai? Sure.

Just make sure you know why you do what you do.