So, what do you do?

Last week, someone walked up to me at a dinner and asked: "What do you do?"

Not "What's your name?" Not "Where are you from?" Straight to: What do you do?

Most people answer with a job title. But if you really think about it, this is one of the most important questions you will ever be asked. Because your career will last approximately 80,000 hours. Forty hours a week, fifty weeks a year, forty years. That is a long time to spend doing something you never thought carefully about.

I recently had the privilege of speaking at the GSSS Institute of Engineering and Technology for Women in Mysuru on their Graduation Day. And I want to share with you — especially those of you who are just starting out — the three things I believe will determine what your 80,000 hours will look like.

Purpose vs Passion

People often confuse these two words. And they are not the same thing.

A passion is something you love doing. I could say I am passionate about stamp collection. That's fine. But a purpose is a passion that also helps others. It's the why behind what you do. And finding it matters more than any job title ever will.

Here is a simple technique I shared with the graduates. It's called the 5 Whys — it comes from manufacturing, but it works just as well on your own life. Ask yourself: Why do I want a good career? To earn well. Why does earning well matter? Financial security. Why does security matter? So I have the freedom to make my own choices. Why do I want that freedom? Keep going.

That last answer is different for every person. And it changes as you grow. But if you never ask the question, you spend 80,000 hours chasing a goal someone else defined for you.

As I wrote in an earlier blog — "How will you spend your 80,000 hours?" — the point is not to find the perfect answer right now. The point is to start asking.

Qualification vs Skills

Let me tell you a story from my first job.

I graduated in 2004 from a Top 50 university in the USA with a double major, and I was confident I would land a job within a month. Three months later, I was still searching — and doing door-to-door sales to pay the bills.

There was one job I really wanted. A consulting firm called Measuring Success, right across from Harvard University. I sent an application. No response. I sent another. No response. I kept at it for almost seven weeks. On week eight, I finally got a call.

When I walked in for the interview, the founder said something I have never forgotten. "The reason you are sitting here is not because of your qualifications — I only hire from Harvard. It is because of how you followed up."

The skill that got me through the door was not on my CV. It was something I had built — without even realising it — through months of doing hard things.

This is the truth about skills. The ones that matter most are rarely the ones you were taught.

In over 500 interviews I have conducted since moving back to India, the biggest difference between those who stood out and those who didn't was never their qualifications. It was their skills — written and spoken communication, organising information, solving problems, and above all, the curiosity to ask why.

Your degree opens a door. Your skills determine how far you walk through it.

Motivation vs Discipline

Recently at the gym, someone noticed that I was lifting only about 70% of the weight he was lifting, but I seemed a lot more fit than him. He asked me how.

I told him: "The most important thing I do is simply show up every day. Even if I can't do a full sixty-minute workout, I do twenty-five minutes. I never break the rhythm."

Then he asked how I stay motivated to come so regularly.

And that's when it struck me — I don't rely on motivation. I rely on discipline.

There is a line I once read that has stayed with me: a professional is not someone who performs only when they are motivated, but someone who performs equally well, even when they are not.

Motivation is wonderful. Everyone feels it on day one of a new job, at a graduation ceremony, when things are going well. But motivation is unreliable. It comes and goes. Discipline is what keeps you on the path when motivation has left the building.

I see this play out at our company all the time. Some team members work with bursts of high motivation and deliver a 5% improvement for a few weeks. Others work with quiet discipline every single day — following the process, making small improvements — and at the end of the year, that compounds to something much bigger!

So — What Do You Do?

The next time someone asks you that question, I hope you have a better answer than a job title.

Know your Purpose — the why behind what you do.

Invest in your Skills — not just your qualifications.

And trust your Discipline — especially on the days when your motivation has gone quiet.

Your 80,000 hours are waiting. Make them count.

I hope this helps you Shoot to the Top!