Follow your passion and you never have to work a day in your life?

awesome video on the topic (Alan Watts):

https://vimeo.com/63961985

If you like something and are good at it, eventually someone will pay you for it.

Got lost in my pasion, now 4ever stuck in a really bad place, seems like no escape.

My passion is to take from the poor and give to the rich. I feel really, really strongly about it so it's not much work.

My view on this is that passion is not innate or static. We become more passionate in things we are invested in and those are usually things we are good at. We become good at things through a combination of talent and effort, but mostly effort so do something that you can tolerate day in day out and are at least reasonably talented in. The resources you gain from this can be spent on pursuits that you enjoy but are not particularly good at.

I think this subject is highly dependent on the individual, but I'll give me 2 cents.

I'm a former fitness model & mma fighter, and I loved helping people get into great shape... I guess you could say it was a "passion" of mine. I did it for free for maybe 5 hours a week, and I honestly looked forward to it everyday; it strengthened relationships with people close to me, and I learned a ton about myself and how to help and motivate others.

The second someone started paying me for it, I lost all interest. It became a serious drag on my life, and it was worse because I used to love it. Apparently this isn't an uncommon phenomenon.

I'm passionate about my wife, but I wouldn't want to work with her.

80% Bullshit 20% Passion. At this stage of my life, I feel that about 80% of my time is dealing with bullshit - administrative works, wheeling-and-dealing clients (babysitting clients with huge egos - mostly spoiled rich kids who inherited their family business), sucking up to regulators and politicians, doing stupid menial tasks for investors, screaming at associates, up-managing my MDs and Directors, managing a team of con-artists-like-professional-third-parties, and yes cross-managing other product groups (with conflicting interests and P&L issues).

Yes, and then there is that 20% of time, where I felt that I have accomplished something. When I walked pass a building, I knew that my team made that happened. When I saw a billboard of the next best selling products, I am happy because my team made that happened.

But net net, what I am trying to say that I am willing to put up with that 80% of bullshit because it is a necessary evil to allow me to do what I love 20% of the time. Just my personal opinion.

Until you can get paid to watch netflix i'm screwed.

Following the passion definitely needs some input and no one can be successful without paying some efforts for it.

Work will set you free, bruh.

"Do what you love is great advice for making $30K a year." -I don't know who said this but it's generally true.

Yes there are exceptions, but let's be honest. Work is work. I do what I do so that I can afford to do what I/wife/kids love to do.

"So Good They Can't Ignore You" by Cal Newport is a great read that pretty much debunks that quote. Give it a shot.

For as many of the successful people I know who have said this - I know twice as many people I went to high school with who now work restaurant jobs after getting degrees in something stupid.

Well I'm pretty passionate about not starving to death... so I enjoy what I do.

Top 5 Passions (in no specific order):

1. Closing deals
2. Slaying chicks
3. Brioni suits
4. Dinner at 11MP
5. Closing deals

Looks like I'm all set

Dude even sex work isnt fun at all times. I'm sure 70 year old sugar daddies don't get most girls going but hey sometimes even the best jobs have off days. So no matter what you do you're always gonna have some "fun" days and some "work" days.

I agree with the sentiment, although perhaps a modification. Doing what you love, you should at least be able to love 70-80% of the work you do. Every amazing job (to you) still has that last 20% of work that's not quite as fun. Perhaps a less idealized way of looking at it is, do you what you love, and you'll only work 1 day out of a 5 day workweek.

Passion isn't the only determinant to consider though. I can't remember who said this, but your future job should be at the intersection of 3 things: your passion, what you are objectively good at, and what the world values. With only the first, you could be supremely untalented at the job. With just the first two, you would constantly struggle for money & recognition. With all three, you can find a sustainable lifestyle, and enjoy what you spend ~70+% of what you devote your waking hours to.

Another thing I would caution is that not all of us get that luxury. If you love coding and are good at it, you will be fine. The world values this skill highly, it pays well and has a good lifestyle. Same with research, whether in PE/HF/AM, etc. However, if you are talented a carving wood sculptures, sure you might make an ok living off of it, but it will almost never provide you with large monetary compensation. With new tech, the world does not value this skill as highly even if you are very talented at it.

Essentially, what I'm trying to get at is that there are nuances. Don't look at anything in black and white, but the statement itself is overall very true. I know plenty of engineers that are making great money and loving their day-to-day for instance. You CAN find a job that you are good at, that you love, and that pays well. Finance mentality often just values the first and last thing, neglecting the middle. If that's you, take a good hard look and figure out what's important to you; there are plenty of people getting paid well AND loving what they do, so don't settle for less.

1. FInd an industry you like and are vastly interested in.
2. Find a role within the industry that you: a. really enjoy b. are really good at c. gives you energy d. makes substantial income
3. Eliminate as much of the BS (that you hate).

3 is a big point as most of us, even in jobs we "love" spend too much time doing stuff we hate. If you could eliminate (delegate, don't do it, etc) the crap, you would be close to really loving your work and "following your passion"

But the whole Passion thing is overstated. Work is work. My passion would include playing golf and drinking beer. I'm not John Daly so I don't know how to monetize that.

Work is work.

If you're in this field, you are probably pretty bright. Do something that is intellectually stimulating, pays well and doesnt crush your soul, allowing an income to support the things you enjoy doing.

I understand the sentiment but I'd rather to hear this from someone in their late 20's grinding it out who has yet to break 1M in net worth than people north of 60 whose net worth is 9+ figures.

As alluded to already in the thread, there is a balance between passion and money. This is based on observations throughout my career and schooling.

On one end of the extreme, you have people purely pursuing pleasure in their jobs. This is the 40-year old surf instructor living in Costa Rica. On the other end, you have individuals working jobs they hate because they pay well. This is the guy in a suit in front of an office building smoking away on his breaks. The kind that never smiles and is completely miserable but his career is going well. I know several lawyers who fit this profile (not to say law is a bad career).

Most of us will find a balance. We'll find a job that gives us enough purpose to make things meaningful while at the same time fulfilling our practical needs and most of our material wants.