When it comes to kids, I think about their desire to create things -- draw/paint pictures, write stories, play an instrument, take pictures/videos, teach a pet to do a trick, help arrange a party with friends... These aren't just fun things to do, but are actually fun with a purpose. Often times, these activities in themselves are self-rewarding.

Some kids, like Taylor Wilson (the boy who created a nuclear reactor in his garage) are light-years ahead of any child/adult regarding what excites us -- unfettered by the nitty gritty details or reason.

So, it seems to me that reaching out to kids about what they like to create can be a bridge to other professions like IT where there is often the opportunity to make some "thing" or to make something happen.

When I was in junior high in the late 1970s, a classmate of mine described how his dad had just finished creating some sort of computer program on a TSR-80 to calculate the probability of various events. That was the first time I'd heard about a personal account about someone using a computer -- my only other source of knowledge of a computer was from the original Star Trek tv show. Ultimately, my classmate's story was enough for me to investigate about computers. I deteremined that I'd choose between an Atari vs an Apple. In the end, I begged my parents to get an Apple II+ --> my goal was to create my own programs, not play video games (which the Atari seemed to be mostly about). I wanted to see what I could create using a computer.

Now, do young adults possess the same sort of "look what I made" or "look what I can do" level of enthusiasm that children express? Possibly. Can an adult harness the intrinsic rewards of doing a job that is personally inspiring, or at least seen as a means to supporting other activities that do inspire? I'd like to think so.

But, as Steve Jones mentioned in his article, sometimes you need to figure out what you don't like to do. Here in lies a trap, however, of "I'll know it when I see it." -- it can become a passive, persistent stance of merely ruling out opportunities. A trap of waiting for something wonderful to come to you, instead of seeking it out. Thus, Steve's first point seems to come true -- reach out to others, get to know people and what they do (and hopefully enjoy doing).

--Pete