As he relates further down in the conversation, there is nothing wrong with doing things for enjoyment. As you say people do this all the time. No one is able to be fully committed to every possible field that interests them.
However, in this life, two things are certain: You'll need to find something to "achieve" rather than just "enjoy" to be properly happy. A quick look a Oprah's book club will show you this.
The second thing is that it is self-defeating to eliminate possible passions or areas to "achieve" in simply because there are elements of them that you may not enjoy or that require greater effort than "comfortable". This is the biggest lie of our society today - that there is something out there that will fit perfectly with you and you will never have a bad day, require practice or fail at.
Every human needs a purpose, but not everything that you do needs to be yours. Rowe isn't addressing the issue you raise, but the idea that you can do everything half-ass and some how come out of life fulfilled and happy. In fact, the "smarter" and more naturally talented you are, the HARDER you need to work at your purpose.
It has little to do with what everyone else thinks, and everything to do with what you think of yourself.
> This is the biggest lie of our society today - that
> there is something out there that will fit perfectly
> with you and you will never have a bad day, require
> practice or fail at.
How many hackers would stop coding just because they hit a wall or found out that their solution was impossible? It's because they love what they are doing, even if they run into issues.
That's what the self-esteem group puts forward when they run from failure in the name of hurt feelings. It's a lie.
Yes, we all do things halfway, but when you are fully committed to a task, a project, or a cause, so much more can be accomplished.
I am an Eagle Scout and I certainly hated a lot of the scouting requirements. They seemed silly, and time-consuming, and frivilous--how many 14 year-old's spend hours weaving a basket?! However, I know a lot of people who got so close to achieving an Eagle rank but chose not to. Did it materially change their life? Obviously not, but a lot of them reflect back on it and think, 'I was so close, why didn't I try just slightly harder?' You don't have to have been involved in Scouting to know that feeling. "I was so close, if I only I had tried harder" is a feeling that sucks and that's what Mike Rowe is trying to tell this Scout.
Don't get me wrong, I learned a ton in Boy Scouts. Many of the skills and lessons I learned have proven to be very useful as an adult. And actually, I quit so I could work full time as a mechanical engineering intern, which started the path to the career I have today.
I don't regret not achieving the Eagle rank at all. The trophy isn't what matters, it's what it takes to get wherever you go.
Because (in the hypothetical case of Scouting) those were goals that someone else picked for you.
To the extent someone convinces you to jump through various hoops to win their approval, that person is controlling you. And yes, it might even be for your own good. But more than likely, it's for the hoop-holder's benefit.
Lets take a dirgression: I have a friend who owns a bike shop. He absolutely loves fixing bikes, setting up bikes, and helping people get into biking. It is a passion and he does good at that stuff. He absolutely hates inventory, book balancing and changing flat tires (well all menial bike maintenance tasks). Those maintenance tasks are a big part of the regular revenue stream, and the other things are just necessary for business. He can't afford to hire someone to do the stuff he doesn't like, it would cut too much into his profits and he would have to take a second job to live. Those can probably be argued as hoops he chose for himself, here are some he didn't: rent, sales tax accounting, business licensing, fire code compliance, insurance rules, and so on.
Had my friend taken your advice and not learned how to jump through hoops (and fucked the man in the process!) he would be fixing bikes at a loss.
Perhaps the overall goal and fun level in becoming an eagle scout is enough that putting up with the hoop jumping is worth it? Maybe that thing they are emulating is "real life" where sometimes you just gotta do crappy stuff before you can do the thing you really want.
Damn, can't you do anything just for fun anymore? Enthusiasm for an activity has to manifest itself as enthusiasm for earning the highest possible certification?
My advice? Quit Scouting today. Or, quit pretending not to care. Because the short answer to your question goes like this – You can be plenty successful without becoming an Eagle. But you’ll never get anywhere by doing things half-way.
People do all kinds of things halfway. It's inevitable. You're going to cook halfway, dress halfway, play sports halfway, appreciate movies and art and books halfway, train your pets halfway, and blog halfway. Sure, you can pick one or two of those and do them in a fully-assed way, but what about the rest? Are you just going to give them up?
Or are you going to hide behind the fact that nobody has instituted a system of ranking and achievements? Well, did you know you can be tested and certified on your ability to taste wine? Better stop drinking wine! Better not teach your dog to sit unless you're committed to earning the highest AKC obedience titles. Not only would you be half-assed, you'd have a half-assed dog, too. (My question: can you keep the dog as long as you don't train it, or does just having a non-obedience-certified dog make you half-assed?) American tennis players, did you know that the US Tennis Association sorts amateurs into numbered levels? Better stop playing tennis unless you're committed to maxing out! So you like to go hiking on weekends? Uh oh, there's adventure racing and orienteering... you'd better go indoors. You're doing the outdoors half-assed.
Well, maybe he'd agree with me on that one.