The Myth That Following Your Passion Will Make You Money

Yes I am calling out as 99% B.S this follow your passion and make money thing
but
before you reply read my entire post because there is more to this being passionate and making money thing than meets the eye. :-)

I see this happening over and over again on this forum.
Someone says "I really love XYZ as a subject, can I make money at it?"

Then in come a bunch of responses like:
"you can't go wrong following your passion"
or
"to make money you have to find something your passionate about"
or
"you will never be happy if you are not passionate about what you do"

That is WAY too simplistic, generally wrong and often wastes years of someones time! It seems to me we all tip toe around like parents not wanting to say there is no Santa when someone says they are passionate about some subject that we all know will not make them any money.

Sadly most of the time what they say they are passionate about has as much chance of making them money as I do of sprouting wings. Actually if they are asking the question they are almost doomed to failure!

Think about it. When is the last time you saw a post that said "I am passionate about stocks and bonds can I make money?" or "I am passionate about having the most successful bait and tackle shop in my town can I make money?"
NEVER!
Instead its "I am passionate about sandals for poodles can I make money."

The other issue is they are not really that passionate about it so don't be afraid to shove them in another direction. If they were told the truth that they will likely be blogging for two years about something that will make them no money their supposed passion would quickly evaporate! Hec my kids growing up have been excited about something different every month until they were educated about it.

So as a public service announcement I will put myself out there and point out these two truths.

1. For the bulk of people/businesses there is no direct relationship between their passion for the product/service they sell and the revenue generated.

Lets face it the really rich people are selling toilet paper and cotton swabs. Do you think they are passionate about cotton swabs? NOPE! BUT they love their life, are passionate about deeper business goals and lifestyle. Many others are selling real items people need and buy everyday like appliances or vacuums. Sure they know their product but are they passionate about it? More likely they are passionate about the end result! See my next point.

2. The REAL passion for most is generally NOT in what they do or sell but in the outcome. Most people could be very happy doing/selling a million different things if the result of doing that brought them success and happiness in their personal lives. For example if your goal was to work with your wife and kids and afford your family a nice lifestyle doing something honest that provides value to customers would it matter much what the product/service was?

Are there exceptions? of course.
It is fair to say when passion meets skill and demand it can be amazing.
When this happens we end up with people like industry leaders, singers, and all kinds of superstars BUT the truth is 99.9% of the people in this world will be very happy and will never reach those levels. Further even those people (think retired hockey players) who were passionate about what they did find other things to be passionate about when that ends.

It seems absurd to me to give the same pep talk or advice of "just follow your passion and you will make money" that you would give to a gifted pianist who was having a bad day and did not want to practice. We know the pianist has a gift and a market waiting for him. The guy selling sandals to poodles not so much.

This feel good type of advice does more harm than good.