Isn’t this the best picture EVER?!
Recently I had a Twitter convo with a couple of friends. Both are pursuing their passions and working on business and projects they believe in, but they are experiencing “success,” or the lack there of, in different ways.
One is still banking on her passions to help drive her success, while the other one is starting to have doubts. After six years as an entrepreneur, she doesn’t feel like she’s making progress and she’s starting to wonder, is passion enough?
There’s been tons of articles written about the need to “follow your passion” in order to feel fulfilled and possibly even be “successful” (I use quotes because each of us defines success differently). I mean, how many times have you heard of people defying the odds, coming up with some out-of-the-box idea, and working like crazy because they were driven by passion. It seems to work for the Bill Gates and Oprahs of the world, but when it comes to us everyday folk, many of us aren’t so sure.
Seth Godin, award winning marketer and best selling author, recently argued that while people should pursue their passions, they shouldn’t always expect to get paid from it.
Doing what you love is as important as ever, but if you’re going to make a living at it, it helps to find a niche where money flows as a regular consequence of the success of your idea. Loving what you do is almost as important as doing what you love, especially if you need to make a living at it. Go find a job you can commit to, a career or a business you can fall in love with.
He concludes: Maybe you can’t make money doing what you love (at least what you love right now). But I bet you can figure out how to love what you do to make money (if you choose wisely).
I began thinking about pursing our passions, entrepreneurship, and why many of us end up frustrated by the progress we make, and for me, it comes down to one thing: Expectations.
How do our expectations trip us up and make us feel completely frustrated?
Check out the video to find out.
Now it’s your turn to share.
Do you expectations affect the way you feel about your success (however you define it)? Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.
*Photo via The Chosen Pessimist
As one of the people who inspired this post, I figured I should comment. 🙂 I definitely agree with what Seth says about not always expecting to make money. My networking group, which I have also had for six years, is a perfect example of something I do because I’m passionate about it – and it doesn’t make money. When money does come in from it, it goes right back out to pay for the events themselves. In terms of my “business business,” the one that I’d prefer to be my primary income generator, I might have to move it to hobby status. A disappointment after six years of investment of time and resources, but sometimes you just have to get real and move on.
Thanks for sharing Alaia. I think what matters most is figuring out what works best FOR YOU. I know I sometimes get caught up thinking, ‘Oh…how will this look?’, but at the end of the day, it’s about what adds value and works in your own life.
With that said, whatever decision you choose I know you’ll be fine 🙂