I've spent my 20s experimenting.

I was a co-founder of a company valued at over $300M, wrote a song that got 1M+ streams on Spotify, and went viral on TikTok for sneaking art into a museum. (It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows—I also failed a few dozen times, got rejected by girls I loved, got fit, got fat, and found God in an airport terminal.)

Oftentimes, I’m given kudos from friends and family for really pursuing my passions and exploring my interests.

But the truth is, I wasn’t doing much whimsical exploration.

Like many of us, I grew up hearing that quote: "Do what you love, and you won't work a day in your life."

I also noticed that many of the people I found to be the most successful genuinely loved what they did.

So I spent my 20s making small bets of time and energy to discover what I enjoyed doing the most.

In total, I tried 6-8 completely different career paths—from working as a marketer for a Fortune 500 agency to opening my own music studio.

What I discovered surprised me.

I really believed I’d find some kind of work that felt genuinely effortless. I thought my intuition would lead me to actions I’d want to repeat for the rest of my life.

I found the opposite to be true. Whether I was songwriting with friends or working with developers on a dApp, there were parts of those processes that I found fun and exciting and others that were grueling and frustrating.

There was only a small degree of change in enjoyment from one thing to the next.

And the factors that effected my enjoyment didn't have much to do with the work itself.

They tended to be:

• My perceived meaning of the work (some projects I convinced myself were of utmost importance for myself and humanity, while others I defined as potentially meaningless).
• The people I worked with.
• The market response (idc what anyone says—working on a rocketship is 1,000x more fun than grinding away at linear growth).

What I’ve learned in this almost-decade is to move in the direction of your passions and curiosities, but most importantly, to learn to fall in love with all work.

There is a wonderful joy in working—on literally anything—that can be found if you just look for it.

"Even your dream job will suck 20% of the time."

P.S. This is my first blog post, just testing out this platform. If you have any thoughts or want to connect, send me a DM on Instagram @marcelsalapa.