belinda dutch




Begin forwarded message:

From: belinda dutch <belindadutch@...>
Date: 27 January 2017 at 07:59:03 GMT
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] Career ideas

***I have one to add from a Korean Drama called “Healer”: Make the thing you love most your hobby, and your second-favorite thing your career.
“Having” to do something might take the joy out of it.***

My father started the oboe when he was 17, and was totally pasionate about classical music his whole life. Founded an orchestra in his 20s which has outlasted him (60 years and counting), ran lots of other courses and orchestras too, including my youth orchestra. But when asked why he wasnt professional, and didnt want to make his living from it,  he always said he enjoyed it too much. He really believed being professional would take the fun out of it. He won a prestigious award for 'services to amateur music' when he was in his 70's. Not one day did he seek or look for award or recognition, it was all for the passion, the thing itself.

He did a 'sensible' degree in engineering to keep his family happy.  Never used it.

He earned our family's income running a curtain shop. That would be funny if you'd seen how clearly uninterested we were in our own curtains! He actually enjoyed it and nurtured it but best of all it gave him the freedom (with help of staff) to make music.

****It got us thinking about this skill he has honed. I wondered if he will look back one day and say, all those years collecting rare Lego minifigs and selling them, or sifting through millions of coins... those skills I developed made ____ work possible.****


The idea of sifting back and seeing where your passions will lead before you've got anything to sift is premature. Nobody would have seen how my dads life would have panned out before it had. It makes sense only in retrospect.



Belinda