Finding Fulfilment in Any Job: Lessons from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang

In a recent podcast, the CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, spoke about his work philosophy, which, in my opinion, aligns more with reality than the average idea that’s thrown around.

He said, “A lot of people say, find something you love. I don’t know about that. I guess I’ve fallen in love with many things that I do. I loved it when I was a dishwasher. I loved it when I was a busboy. I loved it when I was delivering papers. I loved it when I was waiting tables.”

I wrote on another platform about a similar idea some days back, noting that “the quest to separate work from life is a product of a mismatch between the work we are doing and the work we think we should be doing.” Jensen’s idea implies that we should “stop” looking for the work we think we should be doing and love what we are doing now, for therein lies self-emancipation.

I completed the article with this summation: “The most important thing then is a recognition that 1. We are meant to work, and there’s no escaping it. 2. Satisfaction can be found in any work. It’s a matter of perception in most cases. 3. Looking for an opportunity to bring your total self to work is key to attaining satisfaction. 4. Solving problems that give you a sense of pride and fulfillment is all that you need.”

Most people do their work with great dissatisfaction because they think that is not what they should be doing. But what could happen if, for a moment, they give up the idea of “what I should be doing” and embrace the idea of “my working is adding value to XYZ so I will do it well”?

Reminds me of this fine quote by Martin Luther King Jr.:

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'”