Don’t Follow Your Passion

You read that correctly.  There is a rhyme and reason to this advice which is SURE to help you plan and execute in your business.

This initially seems to contradict conventional advice but is actually brilliant.  Some of the brightest and most successful people are aware of this and what it means.  Does it mean choose a career or business that you don't like?  That is not the gist of what this means.  So many times we hear “follow your passion” which is cliche and can lead to the wrong kind of failure.  Entrepreneur Mike Rowe gives you as he calls it the dirty truth and states you have been given some terrible advice.  And he has plenty of experi

In this informative video from Mike Rowe he offers this insightful perspective:

First and foremost he calls attention to a popular let's say a cliche moment.  An oscar speech for example where one person out of 7 billion people who wins an award where it is more likely to win the lottery says “Never give up on your dreams”.  Of course encouragement is good and persistence pays off.  However in this situation, a stranger is telling millions of strangers advice on dreams which they have no idea actually are.  He also makes a reference to the show American Idol where thousands of aspiring singers who are sure music is their passion don't make it.

Now you can be passionate about music and listen to it, write about it and even sing in your free time.  However, being told to follow your passion in this case could mean trying to make a career or singing or playing an instrument to the point of bankruptcy.  A lot of people have done that.  This has happened with acting and many other areas of interest where people are passionate.

And of course there are cases where you have to ignore the nay sayers.  There is a subtle or not so subtle difference though between being honest with one's self and listening to constructive feedback and bold determination.  You ultimately will have to make that decision for yourself but it comes with honest introspection and evaluating the person(s) giving you advice.  Simon Cowell can be a bit mean, but his motives are not to tell good singers they suck.  However, there can be someone who is generally a downer and you don't want to listen to people like that.

Mike shares a secret from a septic tank cleaner is a millionaire believe it or not and it is consistent with this line of thinking:

I looked around to see where everyone else was headed, and then I went the opposite way.

Then I got good at my work.

Then I began to prosper.

Then one day, I realized I was passionate about other people's crap.

There are two main takeaways from this:

#1 He did not enter a market that was overly saturated.  

#2 He applied the craftsman mindset to what he was doing and was passionate about that.

And here is the advice he received to make sense of the seemingly contrary things we are told:

“Staying the course only makes sense if you're headed in a sensible direction.”

 

Remember, you never have to give up your passions!  However, being passionate about a reasonable direction or directions to make a living, and being great at them can have great rewards.  And it will actually open up more doors for you.

How does one define what is sensible?  There are a lot of ways but are you actually good or have a reasonable chance of becoming good at this particular area of business or interest?  Is this an overly competitive field or does the market pay well for this skill or talent?  And are you actually applying yourself at learning the craft or just going through the motions?

Think about these questions and advice from Mike Rowe when planning your direction(s) and you should be in a good position.