Do you love what you do?

“Dad, do you love what you do for a living?”

That’s what my 9-yr-old son asked me in the kitchen a couple weeks ago. He’s actually a thoughtful kid so that wasn’t as random as it might sound.

When he was little he asked, “Why did God create bad guys? Was it so the police would have someone to catch?”

I was preoccupied with some stressor at work so at that moment . . . no, I wasn’t loving it.

But before I responded I paused and thought about it.

Candidly, if I could do anything I want with my time I’d probably go hiking in the mountains more, or take my kids to more national parks, or learn how to cook Cajun food, or watch college football.

But as I thought about it, I realized after indulging myself in those pursuits for a while, I would probably get intellectually restless.

I’m a news junkie, so I know I’d keeping watching and reading the news. And inevitably, I’d see a company or nonprofit covered in such a way that I’d wonder, “How did they get them to do that story?”

And I’d Google around for a while and make some guesses, and I even would reach out to the company’s PR reps and ask. Once I found out, I’d want to email my friends in PR and tell them what I’d learned and see what’s working for them.

And you know what? That’s kind of what I get to do for my job! I get to seek out and study the best practices that today’s most successful PR pros are using, and then share them with you.

As part of that I get to rub shoulders with really smart, dedicated PR pros who are also really good people. That’s something I’d keep trying to do if I didn’t have to work, too.

So yes, I do love what I do for a living. Not every day, not all the time, but even if I didn’t have four kids to put through college in the next few years, I’d still do a lot of it.

Do you love what you do? You don’t have to in order to be successful, or even to be happy. But it helps.

If you don’t, have you put yourself on a path to get to the point where you’ll love it? Contrary to Silicon Valley start-up propaganda, most careers require a probationary “dues paying” period. If that’s where you’re at, just make sure the ladder you are climbing is propped up against the right wall, so when you get to the top, it’s a spot you’ll love.

If you feel like you’ve put in the time and you’re not feeling it yet, earn the results you need to demand the right to re-shape your job into one you would love – most of the time :).