"If you're really passionate about what you're doing but it's not going to make you a lot of money, should you keep doing it?"
What a good question! It seems like almost everyone who's ever spoken to a high school or college class has said, "Do what you love, the money will follow."
inspiring. But it's true? Couldn't you do what really matters to you and go broke, as the question above (recently posted by one of our readers) suggests?
Based on the research we conducted for our book, we believe desire is most important when venturing into the unknown. You just want to do something you love, or something that logically leads you to something you enjoy doing your best. This desire will make you more creative and imaginative and help you move forward faster.
And it will help you to persevere. If you try something you've never tried before, like starting an unusual project at work or trying to start a new business, you'll encounter many obstacles. You don't want to give up when you first encounter one.
But let's face it. None of this guarantees wealth, not even financial success.
A friend of ours was hanging out in a bar with professional musicians after a recording session and was talking admiringly about another musician everyone knows. One of them commented on how lucky this musician is that his music is commercial. There is immense truth in these four words. We all have our music and there's no guarantee that anyone will buy it. Absolutely none. They are two completely separate things.
So this reader question hits us squarely, basically saying, "I have the desire, but I'm pretty sure it won't get me anywhere that's financially viable." And now? Should I continue?
Of course you should.
Now, let's refine the answer a bit:
For example, if you can't afford to do what you love, you won't be able to support your family or it will keep you from going to college (which you think is more important than what you are passionate about), then you better not bet your financial life on it. A fundamental principle of how you should handle an unknown future is that every wise little step should keep you alive to move on to the next step. So be sure to take care of your lower Maslow needs for food, shelter, etc.
But even that doesn't mean you can't work on your passion a little, even for 15 minutes a day.
Research (such as The Power of Small Wins, published in the Harvard Business Review in May 2011) shows that people who make progress on something important to them every day are satisfied and fulfilled.
We are for people to be happy. And we are also in favor of inspiring people to pursue happiness. The beauty of this reader's question is that it might cause people who objectively have more than enough money to reconsider whether they want to continue doing things that don't make them happy just because it makes them more happy. Money. Most of the time, these people say, "As soon as I have enough money, I'll do what I really want to do." I won't worry about the money. But somehow they never get to that point. The time is over. The question might be enough to make you reconsider how you spend it.
And of course, the assumption embedded in the question could be wrong. In fact, you might end up making money pursuing your passion, even if you currently think you won't. Remember, the future is unknown. Who knows what people will buy or find after your next gig. At any time, you are only a thought away from an idea, an idea that can change everything.
As we said in our previous article, when faced with the unknown, the only way to know for sure is to act. If you are facing uncertainty and if you are now going to make money from your passion, it is definitely uncertainty, so take action. They don't think about what might happen, try to predict the outcome or plan for every eventuality. You take one small step to get there and you see what happens.
Who knows? Even the smallest step can change everything.
So take those baby steps. You may find that you actually make money from your passion. Who would have thought that you could make a lot of money by finding a way to connect all your friends (Facebook) or make a better map (choose your favorite GPS tool).
Read Also : How does technology impact the next generation of mental health care?
Answered 2 years ago
Luna Ella
"If you're really passionate about what you're doing but it's not going to make you a lot of money, should you keep doing it?"
What a good question! It seems like almost everyone who's ever spoken to a high school or college class has said, "Do what you love, the money will follow."
inspiring. But it's true? Couldn't you do what really matters to you and go broke, as the question above (recently posted by one of our readers) suggests?
Based on the research we conducted for our book, we believe desire is most important when venturing into the unknown. You just want to do something you love, or something that logically leads you to something you enjoy doing your best. This desire will make you more creative and imaginative and help you move forward faster.
And it will help you to persevere. If you try something you've never tried before, like starting an unusual project at work or trying to start a new business, you'll encounter many obstacles. You don't want to give up when you first encounter one.
But let's face it. None of this guarantees wealth, not even financial success.
A friend of ours was hanging out in a bar with professional musicians after a recording session and was talking admiringly about another musician everyone knows. One of them commented on how lucky this musician is that his music is commercial. There is immense truth in these four words. We all have our music and there's no guarantee that anyone will buy it. Absolutely none. They are two completely separate things.
So this reader question hits us squarely, basically saying, "I have the desire, but I'm pretty sure it won't get me anywhere that's financially viable." And now? Should I continue?
Of course you should.
Now, let's refine the answer a bit:
For example, if you can't afford to do what you love, you won't be able to support your family or it will keep you from going to college (which you think is more important than what you are passionate about), then you better not bet your financial life on it. A fundamental principle of how you should handle an unknown future is that every wise little step should keep you alive to move on to the next step. So be sure to take care of your lower Maslow needs for food, shelter, etc.
But even that doesn't mean you can't work on your passion a little, even for 15 minutes a day.
Research (such as The Power of Small Wins, published in the Harvard Business Review in May 2011) shows that people who make progress on something important to them every day are satisfied and fulfilled.
We are for people to be happy. And we are also in favor of inspiring people to pursue happiness. The beauty of this reader's question is that it might cause people who objectively have more than enough money to reconsider whether they want to continue doing things that don't make them happy just because it makes them more happy. Money. Most of the time, these people say, "As soon as I have enough money, I'll do what I really want to do." I won't worry about the money. But somehow they never get to that point. The time is over. The question might be enough to make you reconsider how you spend it.
And of course, the assumption embedded in the question could be wrong. In fact, you might end up making money pursuing your passion, even if you currently think you won't. Remember, the future is unknown. Who knows what people will buy or find after your next gig. At any time, you are only a thought away from an idea, an idea that can change everything.
As we said in our previous article, when faced with the unknown, the only way to know for sure is to act. If you are facing uncertainty and if you are now going to make money from your passion, it is definitely uncertainty, so take action. They don't think about what might happen, try to predict the outcome or plan for every eventuality. You take one small step to get there and you see what happens.
Who knows? Even the smallest step can change everything.
So take those baby steps. You may find that you actually make money from your passion. Who would have thought that you could make a lot of money by finding a way to connect all your friends (Facebook) or make a better map (choose your favorite GPS tool).
Read Also : How does technology impact the next generation of mental health care?