Passion for your work is a little bit Meaning Factcheck Usage

Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery… but that’s just the very beginning. It’s a powerful reminder that passion isn’t a lightning bolt; it’s a slow, deliberate burn that you build over a lifetime.

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Table of Contents

• Meaning
• Explanation
• Origin & Factcheck
• Context
• Usage Examples
• FAQ

Meaning

The core message is that passion isn’t found fully-formed; it’s constructed through a process that starts small and deepens forever.

Explanation

Look, so many people get this wrong. They think passion is this magical thing you just stumble upon, like finding a twenty-dollar bill in an old jacket. And that initial spark, that “discovery” phase? It’s real, but it’s tiny. It’s the easy part. The real work, the part that separates the truly gritty from the rest, is the development. That’s the unsexy, day-in, day-out practice, the honing of your craft, the boring stuff no one sees. And then, if you stick with it, that’s when the magic happens—it becomes a part of you. A lifetime of deepening. It stops being something you *do* and starts being who you *are*.

Quote Summary

Context	Attributes
Original Language	English (3685)
Category	Career (195)
Topics	career general (7), growth (413), passion (23)
Literary Style	insightful (43), reflective (255)
Emotion / Mood	hopeful (357), provocative (175)
Overall Quote Score	83 (302)

Origin & Factcheck

This is straight from Angela Duckworth’s 2016 book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, which really put these concepts on the map. You sometimes see this idea paraphrased all over the place, but the specific phrasing is hers, born from her research in the United States on what drives high achievers.

Attribution Summary

Context	Attributes
Author	Dr Angela Duckworth (58)
Source Type	Book (4047)
Source/Book Name	Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (58)
Origin Timeperiod	21st Century (1891)
Original Language	English (3685)
Authenticity	Verified (4047)

Where is this quotation located?

Quotation	Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening
Book Details	Publication Year/Date: 2016; ISBN/Unique Identifier: 978-1501111105; Last edition: Scribner 2016; Number of pages: 352
Where is it?	Chapter 5: Grit Grows, page 103 (2016 Edition)

Context

In the book, she’s dismantling the myth of the “overnight success.” She uses this quote to frame passion not as a fixed trait you’re born with, but as a dynamic, evolving quality that is cultivated deliberately, almost like a gardener tending a plant from a single seed.

Usage Examples

I use this all the time. Seriously. When a junior team member is frustrated that they haven’t found their “calling,” I tell them this. It takes the pressure off. It’s not about a grand, singular discovery. It’s about choosing something interesting and committing to it.

• For a mentee feeling lost: “Stop looking for the one perfect passion. Pick something that engages you now and dive in. The passion will follow the effort, I promise.”
• For a team tackling a long-term project: “Remember, we’re in the ‘development’ phase. It’s messy and hard, but this is how we build something remarkable.”
• For yourself, on a tough day: “This isn’t a sign I’m on the wrong path. This is the ‘development’ part. This is where the depth comes from.”

To whom it appeals?

Context	Attributes
Theme	Wisdom (1755)
Audiences	career coaches (3), leaders (2626), professionals (753), students (3117)
Usage Context/Scenario	career guidance talks (4), corporate leadership workshops (1), mentorship programs (37), personal growth blogs (28)

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FAQ

Question: What if I never have that initial “discovery” moment?

Answer: That’s more common than you think. For many, discovery isn’t a moment, it’s a slow-dawning realization. You can actively choose an interest and the discovery happens *through* the development.

Question: How long does the “development” phase last?

Answer: There’s no set timeline. It could be years. The key is to understand that it’s a necessary, non-negotiable stage of building competence and, eventually, passion.

Question: Does this mean I should stick with a job I hate?

Answer: Not at all. This is about persevering through the *challenge* of mastering something, not about enduring misery. There’s a big difference between a difficult path and the wrong path.