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In my new book 'How to Better Hate Your Job' I advocate the exploitation of things you hate, for fun and profit. What does that mean? Isn't it more profitable to do what I love? Shouldn't I concentrate on activities I love just because love feels better? And anyway, isn't love morally superior to hatred?

Instead of filling another useless book with the futile attempt of a dissatisfying answer, I shall give you two practical examples of individuals whose lives are clearly expressing how enjoyment and--if you so desire--monetary gain can be derived from subjects you did NOT like so much, originally.

We talk about freedom a great deal, but since freedom is not expensive--it's free, in fact, unless you live in Russia or in South Korea (South, you read that correctly, where blogging the wrong thing can get you arrested)--we don't value freedom as much as we could.

Half the nation complains that something they hated has been taken away from them?! We hate our jobs, but we demand not to be deprived of what we hate. Hey, don't give the subject of our hatred to people in developing markets. The stuff we hate is still too precious to be wasted on desperate people in China and Vietnam. They deserve worse than that. Individuals in India may love what we hate, and that is a clear sign our hated jobs are still too good for them.

Looks to me that the only thing we love about our work is the absence of individualism and freedom! At least 87% of employees hate their jobs, but the truly disturbing news is that they seem to hate their own individuality MORE. I am wrong? Of course, I am wrong: we bring the kids to soccer practice; we buy expensive rims; and we tattoo our asses to express how cool and individualistic we really are. Right, nobody else does that! You mean fashion equals individualism?

Apropos 'fashion:'

Enough ranting! Here are the examples I promised you. Nancy Judd used to work for the city of Santa Fe--the trash department, to be exact--wearing a furry blue "Carlos Coyote" costume and raising awareness for recycling in new Mexico (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 13th, 2009). She ran workshops and aired radio advertisements to get New Mexicans to recycle. And she hated that people weren't paying attention.

Today, Nancy Judd produces Dumpster Couture, "trashion." She crafts clothing from plastic bags, electrical wire, old cassette tapes, Obama campaign posters and fliers, glass shards, rusty nails, vinyl convertible tops, door hangers, etc. On Saturday, her work will be shown in Washington at the Green Inaugural Ball honoring President-elect Barack Obama.

Ms. Judd cannot sketch. She has no training in fashion. She gets her design ideas from old paper dolls. She solved the problem of making a saucy cocktail dress from a shower curtain.

Nancy refuses to make money with her work, even though she could: she markets her stuff as educational tools, illustrating problems with solid waste and raising awareness through instructive art exhibits (shown at the Pittsburgh Airport, for instance).

The creation of a single piece has taken her as long as 200 to 400 hours of work!

Now, I am asking you, can you see hatred, passion, fun, yes and even your damn love, profit potential, and above all: individuality in the mix?

Next case, Gilbert Kaplan (source: The Economist, November 2008), an economist and former publisher of a newsletter for investors, analysts, and money managers: In 1965, he heard Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in c minor, the "Resurrection" for the first time, and he just found himself "sobbing, absolutely hysterical."

Mr. Kaplan, a perfectionist, wasn't pleased with the way professional conductors interpreted Mahler's work. He didn't like Leonard Bernstein out-mahlering Mahler, for example. Kaplan had no tolerance for conductors overruling or ignoring Mahler's meticulous instructions, while caring more for their own egos.

Ergo, Gilbert Kaplan began conducting Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 himself! I believe, he does not conduct anything else. Mr. Kaplan has dedicated the last 40 years to conducting this one symphony. A nut? Probably, in the eyes of many. But with a sober scholarly approach, this bloody amateur and unskilled dreamer is now acknowledged as the leading technical authority on Mahler's 2nd symphony.

Meanwhile, Kaplan has conducted ensembles at La Scala in Milan, Munich, Vienna, and opened the prestigious Salzburg festival. He gave Mahler's work its Chinese premiere in Beijing. His recording has outsold Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Claudio Abbado, and everybody else's. On December 8th, 2008, Mr. Kaplan conducted the New York Philharmonic 100 years to the date after Mahler, with the same orchestra, conducted the American premiere of this piece.

Gilbert Kaplan has done something that Gustav Mahler failed to accomplish himself: he diverted public attention away from the morbidity of some of Mahler's music. Thanks largely to Kaplan, Mahler's image as a "composer of doom" has been put to rest.

We crave to be so damn creative, but we easily miss the simplicity and the genius of the "Kaplan approach." The man has not invented anything. He has doggedly studied something that exists already. Plus, he absorbed every note, letter, and detail of and about Mahler and this particular piece of music. That alone is an invention, and Gilbert Kaplan changed history.

I don't think Mr. Kaplan sat down one day, thinking what he could do or how he could make more money. He had NO CHOICE. He had to do what he has spent the last four decades on, dictated by his passion. He didn't ask his cousin whether it would be a good idea to pick up conducting Mahler. EVERY cousin and well-meaning friend would tell you "NO!" Don't do such a foolish thing!

There is NO motivation for you to be passionate and free, to do what you can't not do, and to be the individual you are. I am convinced every single human being is a damn genius in at least one particular field. And not a single one of us is too dense or too dull to figure out what the hell that individual genius department may be.

And the best of all: there is no how-to manual available or necessary for you to be the individual you are and to enjoy your freedom to the max.

Egbert Sukop

P.S.: Hey, buy my book 'How to Better Hate Your Job.' It's about time, and I'll be glad you did!