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Hidden Brain

Passion vs. Paycheck

The idea of being driven by a calling goes back centuries. It was the language used to describe religious people who were called to the priesthood — called, in effect, by God. Today, millions of people in secular professions yearn to be similarly galvanized by their work. This week, researcher Jennifer Tosti-Kharas explores the immense power—and the downsides — of finding a job that gives you purpose.
Duration
54m
Broadcast on
22 Sep 2025
Audio Format
other

The idea of being driven by a calling goes back centuries. It was the language used to describe religious people who were called to the priesthood. Today, millions of people in secular professions yearn to be similarly galvanized by their work. This week, researcher Jennifer Tosti-Kharas explores the immense power — and the downsides — of finding a job that gives you purpose.

Do you have follow-up questions or stories that you’d like to share with Jennifer Tosti-Kharas? Have you found a calling that gets you up in the morning each day? Are you a skeptic of callings, or do you have questions about how to make your work more meaningful? If you’d be willing to share your questions, stories and comments with the Hidden Brain audience, please record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at [email protected]. Use the subject line “calling.”

If you love Hidden Brain, please consider joining our podcast subscription, Hidden Brain+. All through the month of September, listeners who subscribe to Hidden Brain+ on Apple Podcasts will have access to an extended 30-day free trial. To access that trial, find Hidden Brain on Apple Podcasts and click the “Try Free” button. Or go to apple.co/hiddenbrain. 

And there are still tickets available for our upcoming live shows! We'll be in Baltimore on October 11, Washington, D.C. on October 12, and Los Angeles on November 22. More info and tickets are at hiddenbrain.org/tour.

 


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Hey there, Shankar here, we're dropping this episode on September 22nd, 2025. That's 10 years to the day since we first launched Hidden Brain into the world. Welcome to the first episode of the Hidden Brain podcast. I'm Shankar Vedantan. You may know me as well. A lot has changed since we started this podcast, but for us, one thing remains steadfast. Week in and week out, we love making this show for you. It's been our calling. So today, we mark this anniversary with an episode about just that, callings, and how finding one can change our lives. If you've been listening to Hidden Brain for many years, please come to my live tour. I'll be in Baltimore on October 11th in Washington, DC on October 12th and in Los Angeles on November 22nd. More dates are coming in 2026. I'll be sharing seven key insights from the first decade of the show. For more information and tickets, go to hiddenbrain.org/tour, again, that's hiddenbrain.org/tour. Hope to see you there, and here's today's show. This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedantan. In 2005, an intense man with a receding hairline and glasses stood before thousands of young graduates in Palo Alto, California. He wore dark robes with a hood of cardinal red. "Truth be told," he joked, "I never graduated from college, and this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation." The speech that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford University's commencement that year didn't just transfix his audience. He would transfix countless other audiences in the years to come. His central message was simple. As he put it, "Your time is limited. Don't waste it, living someone else's life." "I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers." Finding a vocation, the inventor and entrepreneur said, was no less important than finding a soulmate. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it, and like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. And what if you hadn't found something you loved? What if the work you did paid the bills but didn't complete you? The iconoclastic leader of Apple Inc. had very definite advice for the recent graduates. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle. The idea of being driven by a calling goes back centuries. It was the language used to describe religious people who were called to the priesthood, to a life of service and prayer. You were called, in effect, by God. Today, millions of people in secular professions yearn to be similarly galvanized by their work. This week on Hidden Brain, the immense power and the downsides of pursuing a calling. Working as a dedicated fidelity advisor, I always ask, what's important to you? I'll look at those priorities and goals alongside your full financial picture to build a comprehensive

Transcription truncated.

The idea of being driven by a calling goes back centuries. It was the language used to describe religious people who were called to the priesthood — called, in effect, by God. Today, millions of people in secular professions yearn to be similarly galvanized by their work. This week, researcher Jennifer Tosti-Kharas explores the immense power—and the downsides — of finding a job that gives you purpose.