Being passionate about what you do to provide money for yourself and your family if you are married and / or have children, may just be the key determining factor if you view what you do to provide as a career or just a job. If you view your work as just a job, here are several indicators: you are frequently late, you use up all your sick days for a variety of non-serious illnesses, you sleep in on a scheduled workday due to not setting or setting your alarm clock incorrectly more than once per year, you watch the clock and walk out the door at 4:59 or sooner if you can no matter what deadline or what you committed to completing that day, you view your boss as annoying and wish they would just leave you alone, since you know what you need to do and it doesn't matter what they say to you you're not going to do anymore than you are doing right now, and you regularly think or mention quiting to peers or your manager.
On the other hand, if you view your work as a career, here are several indicators: you are consistently on time, you rarely are off from work for being sick unless it is a serious illnesses, you sleep in due to not setting or setting your alarm clock incorrectly on a scheduled workday once per year or less, you are surprised when you look at the clock and it's after 5:00 because you have 45 more minutes until you complete what you need to do or committed to completing that day and you just do it, you view your boss as a mentor or a coach and understand that the feedback they give you is solid honest feedback to help you be better and make more money, you understand that your manager is pushing you to become better than you were before they knew you, and you are committed to what you do so much that the thought of doing something different very seldom ever crosses your mind. To me, passion is the key to these two viewpoints, and as this alternative to Confucius's quote states:
"Find something you love to do, and you'll never work a day in your life."
-Harvey McCay
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