Dare to Dream: Debunking the Myth of Always Following Your Passion

Successful entrepreneurs and business owners are by nature passionate people. They are passionate about their products, knowing how to get sales or the very dedicated and talented staff they have at their disposal. Part of building a lucrative business is having a spark and drive.

Famous entrepreneurs and also musicians, actors or athletes set an example in this regard. Trendsetting business owners like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs or Gary Vaynerchuck are known for going all the way in a business they love. Whatever your opinion is of guys like them, you can’t deny that it’s their passion that got them so far. And this is somewhat contagious. By following this example in theory anyone could become successful if they just went for their passion. Which begs the question: is this the case, should you always follow your passion?

Following your passion is an empty advice

For the last couple of decades an oft heard piece of life-advice is: just follow your passion. But what does this actually mean? This piece of advice doesn’t give me any tools to become successful; there isn’t any life experience behind it. It’s an empty phrase, much like ‘just be yourself’ is for someone who’s very unlucky in love. Of course, taken literally it’s true, but it doesn’t help you one bit.

If I want to become a famous or wealthy entrepreneur, will I make it if I just follow my passion? Don’t I need skills, drive or customers for that as well?

Becoming successful through your passion means hard work

Now, I am not against following your passion as a principle. Or trying to earn money through something you love. Especially when starting a blog or trying to make it in affiliate marketing it actually helps to start with a topic you know and love. 

But realize that becoming successful through your passion means hard work.  I recently read this comment on this subject on YouTube:  ‘Following your passion doesn’t mean sitting on your ass and dreaming about your passion.’

All those business tycoons and entrepreneurs owe their success by putting in the hours. Honing their skills, falling on their ass and improving what mistakes they made. Success for them didn’t just fall out of the sky, they worked hard and/or smart to achieve. And it’s the same with musicians, actors or any other artist. Even an accomplished rock star like Queen’s Bryan May still practices at least 2 hours on the guitar every day.  

So whatever online business you want to build or what product you want to sell, ask yourself: am I prepared to do the work?

Having a dream is good, but don’t dismiss the possibilities that cross your path

A couple of friends of mine started a company with the aim of building a new and exciting social media platform. It is something of a combination of Facebook, LinkedIn and Tripadvisor all in one. While building this new platform they accumulated all sorts of skills, that made them very appealing to other companies needing excellent app-developers. They were hired to help with a few other websites and apps, in the process making a name for themselves. Their own platform is on the backburner at the moment, but is it a problem? They are making money and having fun out-hiring their skills.

For me it is the same. For years I had a dream of becoming a famous musician. I practiced hours on hours, created bands around other talented people, played gigs where I could. Even played at the exact spot where none other than a band called Nirvana had stood years before. But then I got a job at the social media department at a major corporation. I learned and enjoyed about social media, online marketing, SEO and all other aspects of digital marketing.  I already knew in the back of my mind that becoming a famous rock star wasn’t feasible, but in the meantime I had found something else I really enjoyed doing . And earning money with it as a consequence.

So, with that in mind: of course, having a dream is fine! But keep your eyes open to other opportunities that come across your path!

When you should give up on your passion

There can be a myriad of reasons when the time comes to give up on your passion: maybe you’re not good enough, the product you’re selling doesn’t have a large enough market or there is no specific reason, but you have been working at it for 20 years without any success. 

There are basically two situations with regards to giving up:  most give up too soon, working on a project for a couple of months and then throwing in the towel. But many people will give up too late. It can take a lot of courage and self-insight to admit that you should give up your passion. But knowing when to stop and move on to another project is part of being a successful business owner. Many entrepreneurs will have a track record of a few (or countless) failures.  But these failures were necessary to make it. And that’s how you should look at giving up your passion as well. Sometimes it’s needed, in order to create something that will work.

Go for it: When you should follow your passion

Just as you must be a little bit cautious about blindly following your passion there are instances when it should become your focus. When you have talent for a certain thing. As a former budding rock star I knew a lot of very talented musicians. People for whom music means life.  My old guitar teacher for instance, who’s an absolute demon with blues and jazz. 

But this doesn’t have to be limited to obvious skills such as music, writing or being a great athlete. Maybe you have developed a certain type of product that can really help people. Or you have a knack for public speaking  and really love doing this as well.

Whatever your talent is, there are ways to develop it as a means to build a successful business. If of course you are prepared to invest the time and effort.

How to research or FInd your passion

I can imagine it’s hard to find your passion. Or at least a subject that interests you and won’t disappoint you in the long run.

You can already find your passion fairly simply and quickly if you make a list of your interests and hobbies combined with your skills and strengths. 

Especially now with the Internet, the possibilities are almost unlimited to make money with 1 of your interests.

But should you need some extra help, check out this article on how to find your ideal niche topic.

Or this article how to leverage ChatGPT to help you research these.

Conclusion

So, in summary, should you always follow your passion? No, of course not. Try to make passion, or love, part of your business. But you do that by investing the time and effort. By developing and improving the skills that are needed in your field. And keeping your eyes open for other opportunities that you come across.