'The day-to-day reality of turning your interest into your job can make you disillusioned'

“WHAT WOULD YOU like to do if money were no object?”

A simple question that not many allow themselves to stop, consider and honestly answer. British philosopher Alan Watts asked his students that question 50 years ago. Their responses? Painters, poets, writers.

This is often immediately shot down by a dose of realism, “But who can afford to live that way?” However Watt’s message back to his students was that if you do what you love, you will work hard at it, become a master and a master can command a fee. So don’t worry about the money – the money will look after itself.

And it will. I dealt with this theme in my last article. But what about the first part of the question? What would you like to do?

For me, that decision came in 2013 when I was about to return to Ireland from a five-month stint as a private chef in the French Alps. Someone shared Watt’s three-minute video on Facebook.

Much as the next person, I am sick and tired of motivational quotes, speeches and self-help books. But this time I stopped and I watched.

My background was completing a business and law degree and a couple of internships with financial services firms. Without thought, I was fully intent on returning to Ireland and getting back into the ‘humdrum’, as everyone expected me to.

But the video made an impression. A dreadful word that my business partner Hannah and I try to avoid as much as possible – but I couldn’t deny – my ‘passion’ was food.

Improper Butter's Elaine Lavery and Hannah O'Reilly

Lemonade stalls to private investors

I was that kid who set up a lemonade stand outside my front porch, clearly having watched too many old-school American movies. I was that teen who used to sell baked goods at break time in secondary school and reached transition year ‘mini company of the year finals’.

I was that student who, in college, instead of getting a part-time job, made my own job running kids’ pizza parties. The theme was food; the output was commercial. I never viewed these experiences as defining. When I grew up I’d get a ‘real job’. A high-school mini company can be for Christmas; a limited company with private investors cannot.

Looking back, Watts had a very simplistic view. A lot of people have interests, but they preserve these for recreation – enjoying cooking over a few glasses of wine does not mean you’re about to quit your job and march up to the kitchen of Chapter One.

Enjoying a round of golf on a Saturday afternoon does not mean you’re going to announce your intention to go pro. The day-to-day reality of turning your interest into your job can make you become disillusioned when you get down to the nitty-gritty and pit yourself against competitors – be they Heston Blumenthal, Rory McIlroy, or, in my case, Kerrygold.

Chef Heston Blumenthal

If you have a passion, it is easier than having a mere interest. But passion is alone is not enough.

While you can be born with the ‘nature’ – the passion and the personality traits that help one become a successful entrepreneur – I believe that many of the required attributes are acquired. That means the ‘nurture’ part of the equation, things like having a loving and supportive family and access to opportunities – both of which build self-belief and perseverance.

There are psychologists and successful business people who are far more qualified to muse on the nature-nurture question, but for what it’s worth, that’s my view.

So while you might be sitting in your job watching Watts and asking yourself what you are doing with your ‘humdrum’ life, remember it’s a simplistic view. In the grand scheme, I am motivated by my passion but most of my ‘humdrum’ days that alone is not enough.

Elaine Lavery is the co-founder of Improper Butter. She and her business partner, Hannah O’Reilly, will be writing about their experiences in a regular startup diary on Fora.

If you want to share your opinion, advice or story, contact opinion@fora.ie.