There are different types of definitions. We have the dictionary defintion, which tells you what something technically means, and we have the every day definition, which is what it means to us as a community. These are called extended definitions. I have found a few of these in the article I recently read by Cal Newport and would like to show you what I am talking about.
Cal says to "follow your passion". No, passion usually doesn't leave a breadcrumb trail for you to acctually follow. It means find out what your interests are and what makes you happy, and to keep doing that.
He uses the phrase, "missing our true calling". Now is there actually a phone call from a person named True? No. There is no actual call. I take it to mean there is a certain job that all of us excell at and are meant to do, which is our calling. We have a talent/skill for it, and we are meant to do it. Maybe God made it so, maybe its jut in our genes. For whatever reason, we do not want to miss it, since then we will not be using our skills to our benefit, and missing out on something that would make us happy.
He also says he did not fall into the "Cult of Passion" like others did. Is there actually a group of people doing religious acts that refer to themselves as passion? No. He is talking about the people who have heard the phrase, "follow your passions" and takes it as the focal point of their life. If they are passionate about it, it must be the correct route and that is all that they need to know in order to make a decision. There is a mass of people who believe this, which is why he calls it a cult.
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