Tristan Lee

There seems to be a growing trend of people telling others who do not like their jobs or hate their jobs to do what your passionate about and the money will follow. Is this advice true?

What if somebody's passion was watching grass grow or sleeping?

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lakshaybehl

That would be laziness, not passion. How could someone be passionate about a passive activity like sleeping?

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karlbaker

its true to a point yeah - but I found everyday cost of living, bills, mortgage, family and children get in the way of this.

swilliams09

I was always passionate about comic books, animation, film and television. My parents wanted me to go to business school. I dropped out to be a graphic artist at a TV station. I don't make a ton of money, but my parents respect me now that I earn a living doing what I like to do. I hope with the lessons I learn here about marketing I can take my passion to the next level.

silvervixen

Having worked in a lucrative career that I hated, I can honestly say that it is much better to make a little money doing something you enjoy doing than making a lot of money doing something you hate.

Obviously, no one is going to pay you just to be you (unlike Paris Hilton) but, there are ways to turn your passion into an income if you think about it creatively.

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avetiquette

It's absolutely true. It's all about letting go of "wanting" money. Usually, when someone is passionate about something, they aren't doing it for money. Singers, athletes, actors, musicians, and artists do what they do because they love doing it. Most don't start out doing it just for money.

The law of attraction tells us that if you're in a "wanting" state, you attract more "wanting". Therefore, if you're doing something you're passionate about, that "wanting of money" usually isn't there. The happy state you're in while doing something you're passionate about will attract more happy feelings.

This all comes down to equating money with happiness. Of course everyone's answer to that is, "If I had the money, I wouldn't have all these problems, and therefore, I'd be happy." Once you start recognizing the feeling of happiness, you can begin to correct the issue.

For example, let's say you're watching TV one day, and you see a commercial for Hawaii. Automatically, your brain imagines you in Hawaii, and you get a happy feeling. Immediately, your conscious mind says, "you don't have the money to go to Hawaii", and then your mood changes. Here, you are connecting that happy feeling with Hawaii AND money. You think that in order to get that happy feeling, you need the money, or you need to be in Hawaii. This is NOT TRUE....

Most people are debating whether or not they can have whatever it is that "made" them happy without stopping to enjoy the fact that they ARE happy. When you imagine Hawaii, you ARE happy. Right then and there. Just thinking about Hawaii made you happy. As long as you don't screw it up by thinking about "IF" or "WHEN" or "HOW" you can get to Hawaii. Try this next time. When you think about your "happy place", take a second to really feel what happiness feels like. You are feeling it right then, when you imagine it. You are NOT in Hawaii, but you ARE happy.

Once you forget you're doing something for money, the money comes.

GarryMSayer

I love the philosophical undertones of this thread.

Heck.

If your passion was watching grass grow then would you have the necessary social skills to connect with like-minded people? Would these like-minded people have the necessary social skills or indeed inclination to connect with you?

If your passion was sleeping would there be enough waking hours in the day for you to make money online? Either that or you've been soporifically sold (think about it!) with the whole 'make money while you sleep' thing.

I really like your way of thinking Tristan.

Great thread. I think you're gonna get a superb varied selection of responses here.

Garry.

Guide

It is true for some.
Here is one way of looking at it: you are passionate about getting rich.
Anything which you do is a means to that end.
So, in this case, even if you may not be passionate about the means,
since you are passionate about the end, there is a high chance for you
to reach there.

lifeofyourdreams

Excellent thread and responses. I do believe it is important for us to follow our dreams and passions in one way shape or form.

If we are not able to live off of our passions initially, we should try to start a side business or do our passion when we are not working in the evenings or weekend to keep our inner fire going, and to constantly improve ourselves.

We should also never give up on our passions and interests because of peer pressure by friends and family to get a regular job. We have to live our lives for ourselves, and never let our song go left unsung.

I, personally would rather be living my passion, doing what I want to do, even if it does not bring me much money at first. I know the hard work and effort will pay off. Also, when you are living your passion, and doing what you want to do, instead of what you have to do, you will feel more connected to a higher power, and you will be doing what you you were put on this earth to do.

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MissTerraK

They will either hate or love dandelions! Hate is a passion, love is a passion, so they could either develop or sell weed killer, or develop or market grass fertilizer!

Where there is a will, there is a way!

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Marko Polo

A big fat YES, it's true.

After working in an industry servicing small business clients, having access to their financial data and getting to know the business owners personally...they all had one thing in common, they absolutely loved what they were doing. While most started generated a profit after 1-2 years, some of these people even had to wait 4-5 years before they even turned a profit but they never gave up, but when the profits came they were huge.

Let's just say it was a wake up call for me after carefully observing many years, you start to notice patterns in the behaviour of successful people and the behaviour of the people who dont succeed.

In short, if you dont have a passion, you get no real success that differentiates yourself from others.

beccap

If one has a true talent then following it would require some like for it. Sometimes having a passion for something doesn't necessarily mean they will make money at it. I enjoy painting but I'm not going to become an award winning artist , so I follow another dream and use painting as my hobby. I have passion for both, but the road I follow will earn enough money for me to live on. Won't make me rich because that isn't my true desire. When you think it enough , long enough and work at it hard enough you get your true desire - whatever it is.

Tristan Lee

I think people can. There are over 6 billion people on this planet, one of them is bound to have a passion of sleeping or mastering the skill of lucid dreaming while they are sleeping.

But what I was really trying to get at is that there are hundreds, if not thousands of things that people like to do that they are passionate about that are "passive activities". They don't really involve people, but more themselves.

Since money is a social asset, is there wrong with confidently telling these people to follow they like doing, follow their passions and the money will follow?

Or is there some sort of "limit" in which we can tell people you can follow your passions, but if you really wish to make a living out of it, then you should make sure you follow some guidelines beforehand? If there were some guidelines, what kind what you give them?

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ramkarthik

I think many people are talking about it nowadays because of the latest best seller book "Crush It: Why NOW Is The Time To Cash In On Your Passion" written by Gary Vaynerchuk, who started a video blog about wine (his passion) at Winelibrarytv.com, went from 0 visitors a day to million or so a day, got booked in Conan O'Brien show, then eventually made it to many shows like Ellen Degeneres and is now making millions from him blog.

Yes you can cash in on your passion.

It takes time and lot of hard work.

You need not be the most talented in order to succeed.

If you have many passions, start with one that you love the most, the one that makes you get up everyday in the morning with excitement, the one which makes you say "Thank God It's Monday".

I can talk a lot on this, but you should really see some of his keynote speeches.

Gary Vaynerchuk Keynote Speeches (They are free).

Hope this helps you.

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clicktechs

To some degree it is true, but yes there has to be a market for it. lot of people have real passions for things that or unhealthy or things that can't make money. The concept is sound, but perhaps taking it a bit too literally.

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drwhogoesthere

I think the quote has been misread. Its not about being about "do what your passionate about and the money will follow" it shoult be more "be passionate about what you do and the money will follow."

It means be the best that you can be at what you do and then you will start to make money.

In fact I wrote an article for my local paper on this very topic in June this year. if you would like to read it go here

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Loren Woirhaye

Well, whatever you are passionate about, you have to make
sure the money is there for a practitioner of that passion in
your area.

If your passion is film acting you won't make much money
doing it in Kansas, you need to go where the action is and
participate in the marketplace where your talent is being
bought and sold.

There are some niches that are narrow and finite and there
really just isn't a lot of money in them (like my passion for
playing the accordion) - and in some cases it makes sense
to find a career to make your money at - and do your career
full-out and with passion, but keep your first passion your
hobby.

It all depends on what your income goals are to some extent.
I used to be a cabinet-maker and you've got to work really hard
in that trade (it hurts your body to do it) to make $100k a year
doing it. Beyond that, upward mobility in the trade is a matter
of hiring employees and managing a business, so being passionate
about something and choosing to do it by yourself almost
arbitrarily limits your ability to generate wealth - at least to
the extent that practitioners of the trade are commoditized
on dollars basis. Most cabinet guy don't get over $40/hour
and if you asked for double that most clients wouldn't see
enough difference in the work to hire you instead of a guy
who seems pretty good but costs half the price.

In consulting, on the other hand, you can set your marketplace
value in a vacuum - because when you deal in intangibles
like expertise it's impossible for consumers to commoditize
what you offer like the way they can commoditize a
tangible product, like a car.

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hally0301

I often wonder with this statement whether the focus should be on the word 'passionate' or on the word 'do'.

When you have a plan, and you are passionate about something, it is only if you actually do something that you will achieve true success.

I think you need all three of the ingredients. It is a bit like baking a cake. If you leave out one of the ingredients it is not going to come out right.

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WarriorJ

I don't think this is true. There are millions or billions of people doing what they are passionate about, and most do not make a lot of money. For example people who are passionate about mice or say a topic about worms is not going to be ranking in the millions from making websites about them any time soon. Some topics are just worth more than others.

Arun Kumar

Absolutely true. If you do what you like then you will have satisfaction in that and can make more money too.

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Han Fan

Do what your passionate about and the money will follow?

It's not a complete statement...it should be there is market for your passion..you have to know how to convert your passion into something everyone wants to buy...

In order to get there...you have to learn everything about business...especially selling..

good luck

Han

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priyatham

Absolutely true!

Tristan Lee

I think I understand, thanks for this. You mean do what your passionate about is different from be passionate about what you do. What is the difference between these two things from your perspective?

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Jennie Heckel

Hello All,

Do what you love the money will follow is true...

My story... I loved drawing, painting and was good at it as a teen.
I had scholarships for Art and Agriculture college... My Mom told me I would die a starving artist... So off to Agriculture school I went. Four long hard years later, graduated with a B.S. degree in Animal Science in 1979. The only jobs available back in the recession was a lab tech... so I did that for a couple years, then wth the money in dairy farming dried up and I switched jobs to became a warranty administrator. That is not a good job, listening to people complain all day long... but the money was good.

Fast forward to the age of 42.

Laid off at the warranty job due to low sales. So decided to sell my house and move to a larger city with a programming/graphic/web design college. Received a Programming degree in 2000, and a Web Design Certiifcate in 2001.

Finally I had the training to do what I loved. I tried being help desk support for 3 years, the money was great but got laid off TWICE, once after 1 year with printer/copier firm and then again after 2 years working help desk at a Peterbilt Truck dealership. Again due to low sales.

I got FED UP!

All along I had my own web design business, loved it, but trying to compete in the city I lived in was hard, there were always people willing to build websites dirt cheap.

Then I got smart. I realized that I was not fullfilling my potential.

I was not living my dream.

Once I decided to build my own business to a level I could really live on the income from, I found that the work came to me. I admit it was hard to get started. I tried many Internet Marketing scams and lost tens of thousands of dollars on the next BIG thing. I had been doing that for years. And it did not work.

What did work was focusing on what I loved. Like the posts above, the law of attraction is key. You attract good or bad to your life as you think and feel about yourself. Turning that attitude around is NOT easy. But I did it, now after 1 year on elance I am # 7 for copywriter, and copywriting out of over 4,000 copywriters.

How did I do it? I just believed I could. I kept telling myself, in the PRESENT tense that: "I am a well known and in demand copywriter, people love my work and I am in demand. I make a comfortable living and work from home just like I always dreamed."

Now I am.

How I did it is you have to believe. I would suggest these books as a start.

"Do What You Love the Money Will Follow - Discovering Your Right Livelihood" By Marsha Sinetar

"How To Get What You Really Want - A Step by Step Plan to Pinpoint Your Goals and Make Your Dreams Come True" by Barbara Sher

"Write It Down, Make It Happen - Knowing What You Want and Getting It" By Henriette Anne Klauser

"Excuse Me Your Life Is Waiting - The Astonishing Power Of Feelings" - By Lynn Grabhorn

More Barbara Sher after you have read the above:

"Live The Life You Love - In Ten Esy Step-By-Step Lessons" By Barbara Sher

"It's Only TOO Late If You Don't Start Now - How to Create Your Second Life At ANY AGE. By Barbara Sher

Start with the top book and work your way down, do the steps and do the exerciese you will be amazed at how good you feel when you are doing what you love.

It worked for me. I have read and reread these books over the years to help me get focused, say nice things to myself (that is a key too) and to believe it can really happen.

I believe in NLP. I recently completed 2 NLP projects on elance for sales letters including the graphics.

You can do what you love and the money will follow. Because when you are engaged in doing what you love, it is your natural best fit and fullfills your dream.

You will be happy and thrilled to wake up each day to love the life you are living.

Here's to your new dream...

Jennie Heckel

See my elance profile as "seoexpertconsulting" if you click my profile link you will see lots of "5" feedback scores, I get high praise for the work I do because it is my natural fit. You can do the same. If you want to contact me for more info please do so. (I used to do seo work too, hence the name, but now focus on more creative copywriting and design work.)

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DougHughes

I think that with enough creativity even passions for watching the grass grow and sleeping could be turned into something that can generate cash.

Unfortunately...many people (including myself) lack the kind of super creativity to make everything work.

I guess if you can't make a living doing what you are passionate about perhaps it's time to get passionate about something you can make a living at

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Tristan Lee

Hi Jennie, thanks for sharing part of your life story with us. You are a good example of doing what your passionate about and the money will follow. Good job on your current success!

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