Last updated: August 18, 2023
“Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Sounds ideal, doesn’t it? But let’s get real for a moment – is turning your passion into a career a stroke of genius or a recipe for disaster?
There is no denying that being ankle to turn the thing you love doing most into a money-making venture is the dream for many. Imagine waking up every day, not to the groan of an alarm clock but to the sizzle of bacon, the scent of fresh paint, or the thrill of a new business idea – depending on what tickles your fancy, of course. But is it a realistic option for you?
Before you toss your current job in the bin, there are a few things to ponder.
Passion vs Profit: A Delicate Dance
While passion is a great driving force, you need to remember that you still have bills to pay, so before you pack in your current career and start to forge a new one that makes your heart sing, you need to get real. It’s all well and good wanting to breed rare alpacas, but is there a market for it? And if so, how do you tap into it? You’re going to have to crunch the numbers and do some feasibility studies before you take the plunge.
Resilience is Your New Best Mate
Going down the passion route isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. There will absolutely be some days when things do wrong and you wonder why you were kidding yourself. So, if you are not exactly the resilient type, you may find it harder to live your dream of opening a cafe or selling your home crafts online. That being said, resilience can absolutely be learned, so you should not necessarily let it ruin your dreams.
Learning Never Stops
While your passion can definitely give you a head start on the journey to a passion-project career, it is no replacement for skills and education. That is why you should absolutely look into barista training if you plan to open a coffee house, or why you should enrol on an official cake decorating class if you want to sell cupcakes. The more you know, the more likely it is you will ultimately succeed in your new career choice.
Variety: The Spice of Work-Life
A passion can be a fantastic hobby because it offers an escape from daily humdrum. When it becomes your 9-5, though, will it lose its sparkle? It’s like eating your favorite chocolate every day (yes, even the posh ones). Initially, it’s heavenly. But over time, it might just lose its zing. So, remember to mix things up a bit and maybe even try to get a new hobby to run alongside your passion project to keep things interesting.
So, circling back to our burning question: can you really make a career out of your passion? The short answer is, “Why not?!” As long as you know it won’t always be a picnic and your willing to work hard, you can make it work for you.
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