About Steven AitchisonI am writing this article, in response to great article written by Lisis over at Quest For Balance
To give my summary of the article by Lisis: she was saying that too many people are advocating that we should follow our passion and the money will follow. Lisis’ analogy of the people who write about giving up the day job to pursue our passion is: ‘Snake oil salesmen.’
She made some great points about how making money from our passion is hard work and that we still need business acumen to make it a business and make money from it. Lisis goes on to explain that being deeply passionate about something doesn’t equate to it being a viable income source and that these ‘snake oil salesmen’ can be dangerous leading us to believe that it’s not okay to have a traditional job and we should go out and leave our jobs and work the 4 hour week.
This is a great article and I can totally see Lisis’ point of view. I have my own thoughts on what the ‘snake oil salesman’ is really saying:
‘If you’re unhappy with your job there is another way to make money’.
They are speaking to one type of person.
Two types of people
(S)He is speaking to a few people, not everyone, just a comparative few who think ‘I don’t like following the rest of the crowd. I want to make it on my own, I want to set my own hours, I want to make my work contribution count, I want to say ‘I made a difference in the world.’ Yes you can make a difference in the world working a 9-5 job, but the people who don’t want the 9-5 job feel they are not making a difference which is part of the reason they want to follow their passion and their dream of going it alone.
Now, there are very few people in the world like this, most people are happy with their jobs and that’s great. The world needs the two types of people: the person who likes making a difference in the world and getting paid by an employer at the end of each month, and also the person who says ‘No! I don’t want to be part of the machine, I want to build my own machine.’ The likes of: Bill Gates, Seth Godin, Richard Branson, Eben Pagan, Michael Dell, Leo Babauta, Darren Rowse etc
It’s not being unrealistic to have a goal like this, however, what is being unrealistic is to think that it can happen overnight and that it’s easy. The ones who give up their day jobs in pursuit of the dream without having tested their theories are the ones who will fail miserably and they are also the ones who were laughed at when they bought the snake oil to cure their baldness or make them more attractive to women.
The ones who have a day job and transition over to making their passion their main income are the ones who know there is a market for their work, they have a bit of money to fall back onto should it not work out, they have more income from their passion than they do their day job, they have a business plan, they have the business sense to make it work. They will also, more than likely, have someone behind them, their partner, who is bringing in money to support the transition.
The School Funneling System
Quitting the rat race is a phrase I hear a lot and it’s about empowering oneself, saying to everybody I don’t have to have a traditional job to make a contribution to the world, and I don’t want to be a sheep.
The reason traditional jobs, in the western society, are so popular is because we are funneled into them and slotted into jobs like a jigsaw piece, according to our grades at school and how much money our parents had. The schooling system breeds little cogs that will fit nicely into society and that can do jobs according to abilities and grades at school.
The problem with this is that the school system teaches us to be cogs, they don’t teach us to be free thinkers and think about the alternatives in life, it’s all about ‘Get good grades, you’ll get a good job’. They don’t teach us entrepreneurship, business skills, writing a business plan and all the other skills we need to make a business of our own. They also emphasis left brain thinking and leave right brain thinking to a few token classes like art, philosophy, drama studies, and even these classes are left brain structured.
Now I can hear you say that a lot of schools are teaching business skills and how to run a business and all the skills needed, yes you are right but how many of these schools are privately funded?
Conclusion
To end this little rant, I would like to say that making money from your passion, and the people who advocate this way of living, is an alternative. It’s an attractive alternative to a lot of people but you definitely need more than having a passion to make it, you need marketing skills, business skills, accounting skills, networking skills etc. Is it a viable alternative? without a doubt yes. Is it okay to have a traditional job and be happy? without a doubt yes.
When you are in the mindset that you want to work for yourself and follow your dream I don’t think it is feasible to say ‘Love what you do’, there needs to come a point when you have everything you need behind you, all the skills, the money pot etc and just go for it, if it fails, at least you can say I went for it.
I would like to thank Lisis and Alison for the inspiration for this rant 
check out their blog Quest For Balance for more thought provoking articles.
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Hey Steve,
That’s a very pragmatic way of looking at it and I couldn’t agree more. I remember when Steve Pavlina first wrote his post on why you should never get a job and back then I didn’t really agree or understand it but now I see clearly what he was talking about…it’s like that scene from the matrix where neo starts seeing the code! It’s taken me a while to get to that understanding but I’m getting there and it wasn’t an overnight thing. Now with the understanding, the transition can begin.
Steve this actually ties in very nicely with the next blog post I’m writing which I will finish once I get back from india. I’ll let you know when it’s up.
Have a lovely day.
.-= Amit Sodha – The Power Of Choice´s last blog ..Why We Need A New Paradigm In The Field Of Customer Services =-.
Thanks Amit. I look forward to your post, just give me a shout when it is posted.
Hey Steve,
Hope you had a fab new year! As promised the post I was telling you about is up.
.-= Amit Sodha – The Power Of Choice´s last blog ..Why It’s Pointless Going To University To Get A Degree =-.
Hey, Steve! Great response! I am so honored that I could be your muse for this particular post.
I’m not entirely sure how to respond because, basically, we seem to agree. The whole concept of schooling producing cogs in a machine is the very reason I homeschool my son. I figure he’ll grow up to be one of those free thinkers, who does things his own way, and doesn’t rely on traditional systems… if he wants to. So, I’m all in favor of the creative, entrepreneurial spirit.
But, as you’ve pointed out, this is an alternative to the norm. SOME people go that route, and by all means should, because they have the talent, courage, determination, support, resources, etc. to make it work. Most people, though unfulfilled with their regular jobs and stressed out about finances, don’t really have all those factors in their back pocket, and aren’t really ready to make a successful leap to “stick it to the man” and “leave the rat race”.
My point isn’t that you shouldn’t TRY to go it alone and live your wildest dreams… by all means, if you think you can make it, go for it. My real point is, in the quite likely scenario that you don’t become the next Seth Godin, Bill Gates, or Darren Rowse, don’t feel like a failure… like there is something wrong with YOU. The internet in particular is great about highlighting a few cases who successfully broke the mold, and making it seem like every one of us can do the same thing… and most of us would like to believe it.
My husband and I did leave the rat race (the corporate careers we trained so hard to get to), and are doing fine right now pursuing his dream along with my passion to stay home with my son. But we know we aren’t likely to get rich on this path, unless we go WAY out of our way to find new sources of revenue. Does this count as a success, or a failure? We can barely pay our bills, but we are happier than we were in the corporate gig.
My whole angle is I want to disassociate the “following your passion” with “getting rich and never having to work a day in your life” mentality that is selling so many books and seminars these days. I say, follow your passion and you MAY get rich, or you may not, but you’ll still be happier for bringing your passion into your life (even if it means keeping a “regular” job). I don’t want those who stay with their regular jobs feeling like failures, when they are really in the majority.
What do you think? I may have just muddied the waters even more. But at least we’ve started a wonderful conversation that I believe needs to take place.
Thanks again, for an awesome response!!!
Hi Lisis, thanks for a great response to my response
We are a lot closer with our opinions than maybe I thought at first glance and that’s great. I totally believe in going for your dream and I used to advocate doing this without hesitation, however, nowadays I advocate going for your dream when you are well prepared and I guess that’s the crux of your message as well.
What’s even better is the conversation that it has produced between the two blogs. This was totally off the cuff as well, I visited your blog to do my round of blog reading and commenting, but yours was the only blog I visited and commented on as I was moved to write a response
Hey Steven,
I can identify very well with the desire to work for yourself (that’s why I do), and even more with what you’re saying about not being brash when doing this step. Just quitting your job one day and going solo is not a sign of courage from my perspective, it’s a sign of naivety. It’s essential to have a a good business idea and a good plan. And often, the transition into working for yourself is best done very smoothly.
Eduard
.-= Ideas With A Kick´s last blog ..Personal development ideas I can do without =-.
Totally agree Eduard, having a dream to work for yourself is great and that is to be encouraged but not if there is no substance behind the idea.
Steve – Nicely done mate. I think as Lisis said you two are closer to agreeing than maybe you first thought.
You have both made some great points which go to prove it’s a tricky subject to nail down.
I really love cross blog discussions like this, but unfortunately most people get arsey when they have their opinion challenged and go all defensive. You two didn’t and it works well then.
I loved your comment on Lisis’ blog and I know you teach all this to your clients in your life coaching business and that is a great thing about life coaching: hearing others dreams, and giving the best advice on going for it.
You guys are both bang on with your reasoning. The optimist view has to be complemented by the realist view in order for any business to succeed. You have to believe in the ability of your passion to make you money, but at the same time proper business acumen is also necessary. The idea behind most of the books that recommend giving up your rat race and living your passions is that even if you don’t strike it rich, you will be richer in happiness. I, for one, worked a job I hated for 12 years. The emotional, physical, and mental anguish resulted in my depression. The money was good and the benefits were great but I was neither. After six months out of that job, I am in the best shape of my life physically, mentally, and emotionally. I have never been happier with who I am and what I can do. I am still unemployed and we are struggling to pay the bills but I am happier anyway. I am looking at this as an opportunity to start living my dreams. I planted the seed a few months ago and the branches are starting to grow. I am hoping that soon i will start harvesting the fruit.
I feel so much better knowing that I am going for it and I won’t regret this opportunity like all the others I let pass by while I was chasing security in a career that was killing me from the inside out.
Chris
Hi Chris that’s great that you’re feeling better all round. I am curious as to why you left your job, did you have a plan or was it case of just leaving?
I tend to take the meaning that ‘never having to work a day in your life’ means that if you follow your passion you will never have to work a day in your life, as in it isn’t work, it’s fun that you also get paid for. I don’t consider myself a snake oil sales(wo)man but I completely advocate this way of thinking because it is how I have always lived and also made rather a lot of money doing so – plus I have nothing to sell! Rotten decision making and lack of business skill is not exclusive to the newly self employed and can result in loss of work as a 9-5er also.
And lets not forget that once upon a time our past generations were pretty much self employed. The fact that society as a whole now benefits from educating ‘cogs’ is what has beaten that self sufficiency out of us via schooling and other sources. Like anything new, a move to self sufficiency requires some degree of intelligence and altered thinking. To expect everything to neatly fall into place simply because you leave your 9-5 after years of operating that way would be silly. There would be whole aspects of life that would have to be newly learnt, knocked down and rebuilt such as planning for the possible irregularity of income.
Also whilst a degree of satisfaction and happiness SHOULD result I think anyone who thinks that financial success is GUARANTEED simply as a result of following your passion with no other accompanying revision to their mindset, knowledge and skills should probably have a chaperone to use a computer. Nice discussion though, very enjoyable.
Some great points in there Rosie. I have just read your ’9-5 experiment part 1′, strange we were writing about the same thing.
I think nothing in life is guaranteed, even our jobs, but a job has a little more security than working for yourself. Although nothing loses your soul more than a 9-5 job you hate. If someone does have a dream of going solo I think it’s extremely important to have the knowledge, or at least some knowledge, of business before flying solo.
Steve,
I’ve come to your article when I find myself at a huge crossroads in my life. I’ve started my own business, helping people live better, and while I am hesitant to call it life coaching, I am wondering how I’m going to handle the business side of things.
In my own life there has been too much time spent getting away from the traditional concepts of family, love, jobs, money and lifestyle that I find it a little confusing and overwhelming trying to get everything better organized and displayed for people who need help.
The discussion of “snake oil” resonated with me, because in my prior experience as a dating coach, it seemed that every second or third “guru” was doing anything possible to divorce people from their money without actually providing any services. This left a profound impact on me, and it’s one judgment I look to dispel about my own work at every opportunity.
I may not know the technical skills required to earn the millions of dollars I know I can get, but I have surrounded myself with people who do know and who share my vision for a better life and world.
But there are doubts — Do we have to tether money to our passions? Is money an indicator of “true” passion?
I’ll have to blog about this myself, I guess.
Thanks for listening to a ramble.
John, forgive me butting into your convo with Steve but I can’t help noticing your hesitancy in the profession you are hoping to get into. You are even hesitant about it’s official title! You describe yourself as being overwhelmed and in my personal opinion you would be doing a disservice to your clients and yourself if you were to offer this confusion to people you are attempting to help to live better.
What also comes across is that you appear to have that passion that Steve’s article talked about, now you need to match your business acumen to the same level. You are starting a business, would you attempt to fly a plane without lessons? If you do not know enough about running a business do yourself the favour of rewinding a bit to get your business know-how up to scratch. We all have doubts every now and then, it’s completely normal, but the people perhaps you most admire in this field rode right through them as you can too. It is great that you are surrounded by people who are business minded and share your vision, but don’t use this as an excuse to delegate your own business education.
You ask:
“Do we have to tether money to our passions?” Quite simply – no. But if you are like the majority of us you have bills to pay and therefore should maximize what you can earn, no? Particularly if you want to concentrate solely on your passion and not have to supplement your income elsewhere.
“Is money an indicator of “true” passion?” – In one word – no. They actually are not connected. But if they become connected it’s all rather delicious. Best of luck.
Recommended reading: “Anyone Can Do It” Bobby and Sahar Hashemi
Hi John, thanks for commenting. I was just about to write a response but I see Rosie has written a great response and answered your questions and doubts, I hope she helped.
Thanks Rosie.
Steven, you speak a considerable truth. It isn’t easy to follow your passion. We rarely get to doodle our way into a job we love, not without work. But it’s not impossible. We all need the emotional support to the recognition that this is hard, along with the exhortation and motivational support to keep going anyway. Thank you. As someone who at 53 is finally following what we might call a passion, someone who was funneled via business school into a career, I have a true appreciation for what you are saying.
.-= LPC´s last blog ..Saturday Morning at 9:17am =-.
Hi LPC, it’s great to hear about someone who is following their passion and making it work I would love to hear more. Thanks for stoipping by and leaving a comment.
Steven, I am so thankful that you posted this here because I’m learning so much from the conversation on both our blogs! As Tim alluded to, sometimes cross-blog convos can get unpleasant and defensive, but I have really enjoyed this exchange.
Thank You!!
Hi Lisis, I am glad I stopped by your blog and found your post, it had me thinking all day yesterday about it and it’s great to see a lot of intelligent conversation about the subject between the two blogs. I would never have started a conversation if I thought I would offend you in any way at all and by reading your blog posts I thought you would respond in the way you did and it’s great to see.
There are a lot of myths in the personal development arena that need to be disproved:
“Quit your job and follow your passion”
“The law of attraction”
“The power of positive thinking”
“The new trend of being “unconventional” even though most of that advice sounds either unpractical or pretty darn close to conventional”
Ultimately, we need to learn to really think about whether something makes sense to us or not. We can’t let our emotions fool us into perceiving things as they should be but rather we should see things for as they really are. What works for someone else won’t always work for us. We all have different abilities and opportunities. Reading tips every now and then is helpful but ultimately, we have to formulate our own strategies if we want to improve our life situations.
.-= Tim — Inspiration Pro´s last blog ..12 Fundamentals of Instant Charisma =-.
Hi Tim thanks for your comments. I don’t know if there is a trend to being unconventional, I think there might be a trend in writing about it but I haven’t really seen the evidence that people are following the advice. I know of a few people like Chris Guillebeau who are teaching ‘non-conformity’ but teaching it in a practical, real way (www.chrisguillebeau.com) .
I think all of this is really saying we don’t have to live in the Matrix if we don’t want to and there is an alternative if we are willing to open our eyes.
Thanks for your thoughts on this Tim, I always appreciate your comments.
Sorry, I better clarity that some advice having to do with positive thinking is helpful but I meant we shouldn’t put all of our faith behind just that.
Great articles, Steve and Lisis. This is a very stimulating subject here.
I agree with you, Steve – trying to make money from your passion isn’t that easy. One thing to watch out for is that our attitude can change when our passion finally does become our source of income. At that moment the passion can decrease and even turn into a chore.
I think it’s important to keep on walking, and just put one foot in front of the next. In terms of blogging, this means writing one post after the next – without trying to evaluate how things are going. My mother used to caution me:
“Don’t pull up a plant to see whether its roots are growing!”
.-= Mary |Goodlife ZEN´s last blog ..11 Ways to Be More Aware Today =-.
That’s awesome! Your mother is a wise woman.
Hi Mary, I know exactly what you mean about the passion becoming a chore. This is the point where I think you can split your passion in two: One for bringing in the money and the other for doing what you really want which still makes it a passion. For example: I freelance at the moment for a few blogs which is enjoyable but can be a chore when I have a deadline, so that’s the business side of it, the passion side of it is writing two books which I am loving at the moment and there is no pressure to complete them.
I love that saying from your mother, I’ll need to use that quote sometime
I’m not sure if I want to work for myself. As long as I can pursue my passions, and have a measure of control over my schedule I’m happy with that. But I do believe that pursuing passion makes us better human beings whether its for a career or not.
As for the school point, it should be pointed out that the promise of make good grades and you’ll get a good job is starting to amount to nothing. We are approaching a time where someone is going to have to start thinking differently, because the same old same old is not working.
.-= Justin Dixon´s last blog ..How to Keep the Economy in Perspective =-.
Justin you have a great attitude to life which will give you all the more control over it. The main thing is being happy.
You’re totally right about the school promises, it really does mean nothing nowadays.
I do love reading your post they are always full of your passion.
ps I want to build my own machine too!
Thanks I appreciate your comments.
.-= Steven Aitchison´s last blog ..The Passion Paradox – A Response =-.
Hi Steven,
I think that any decision that is made, needs to be well thought out and the consequences have to be carefully studied. I’ve seen people ruin their lives because they didn’t quite understand the consequences of their decisions.
Following our passion is a great thing but we also need to make that transition carefully.
But also leaving passion out of our lives on the other hand will lead us to an emotional death. So in the end it’s all about balancing it out as you said.
All the best,
Eren
.-= Eren Mckay´s last blog ..Cream of carrot soup recipe =-.
Well put Eren, thanks for stopping by.
.-= Steven Aitchison´s last blog ..The Passion Paradox – A Response =-.
Hi Steven. I think you and Lisis are extremely close in your ideas on this subject.
Personally, I think the possibilities are as endless as the thoughts about the journey toward financial independence. I think that if a person truly believes in himself or herself, the desire is pure (non-resistant) and strong, and the thoughts are unlimited–anyone can do it.
There are far too many examples of people who make it without the standard prerequisites of business, marketing, and accounting skills. Things have a way of falling into place when you believe that they will do so for you. But for the average person who has been taught to believe in limitation– this doesn’t work out so well.
If a person is convinced that lack of skills or money stands in the way of successful entrepreneurship–that will likely prove true for them.
Love and light,
Nea
.-= Nea | Self Improvement Saga´s last blog ..Valuing Diversity for Self Development =-.
Thanks you new for your insights. You are right, whatever we think will hold us back in life will be the obstacles that hold us back.
Rosie & Steve,
I greatly appreciate your responses and apologize for taking so long to respond, I forgot to bookmark this post for checking.
Rosie: You’re right, and I have spent the last few days putting together a plan to get my business education up to speed while keeping my fears at bay. When you said I was hesitant to even accept the title, I paused and really gave it some thought — I have been afraid to accept the truth that if you take the business Xs and Os from the equation, I really do know what I’m doing, and it’s actually the practice of business (paperwork, payments, etc) that causes me confusion. I plan to make good use of the winter and get myself better educated and more comfortable.
Further, I’m more confident now that this is the direction I should go in, I need only clear this clutter away with some better planning, organization and study.
I will get that book tomorrow, thank you for the suggestion.
.-= John´s last blog ..The Powerful Truth Challenge =-.
Let us know how you get on John
You do need lots of marketing and business skills to make it in the work-from-home industry (not just passion) but I think those skills for the most part can be learned. You need a teacher or ‘mentor’ who already have home businesses who can help you. I haven’t even graduated from university yet (although I’ve been there 5 years) and I already know that I don’t want to slot into the 9-5 jobs that are waiting for me on the other side of my degree.
Hi Mia, marketing is definitely a learnable skill and just another hurdle to jump. I think knowing what you want is half want to getting what you want.
Excellent response, Steven! I think you summed up the issue perfectly.
There are undoubtedly many people who make it seem easier than it really is to follow your passion, but that certainly doesn’t mean it’s not a worth while pursuit, especially for those of us who want our “own machine.” Career Renegade by Jonathan Fields is the most practical resource I’ve seen on this subject and explains how creativity and unorthodox thinking is one of the keys to finding a way to make your passion profitable.
.-= Vin – NaturalBias´s last blog ..9 Life Improving Christmas Gift Ideas =-.
Hi Vin, I love Jonathan’s work and have checked it out many times and I would urge any CYT reader to check him out. Thanks Vin.
Great post Steve – and provocative too.
There are too many people out there promising over night riches and instant success, but they do not tell you about all the hard work and preparation you will have to put in.
You can be really passionate about something but unless you are looking after your own needs first, your “passion” will not pay the bills!
.-= Arvind Devalia´s last blog ..Catch a Bus to Juice up Your Life! =-.
Arvind, I’ve been into internet marketing for a few years and the amount of overnight riches promises that these people make is unbelievable, however I bought it for a few years which is why they are still producing it
Thanks for you comments
I think you are both right as well. It is not easy to follow your passion, even if it is in a profitable field/industry. You have to be willing to work beyond 9-5, plus weekends, without benefits. By the time you take away all the benefits that traditional employment has to offer, you have to really evaluate whether or not it is worth it. Sometimes it isn’t, sometimes it is. Being your own boss has great advantages, but only if you can manage your time, priorities, schedule, and budget well. If you’re not a good manager, you’re not going to be a good business owner. In addition, you have to be able to market your product well.
Regardless, following your passion if you are willing to put the work into it can be profitable. There are lots of people who have made lots of money turning their passion into a career, b/c they are focused, hard-working, and goal-oriented. It is true that some things are not going to be as profitable as others, but if you are passionate enough about something, other people will see your passion and want that product/service, too. People like to follow people with a passion about something, b/c it inspires them. Showing people your passion is a form of marketing, and if it serves a need people want all the better.
The 4 hour work week I have a really difficult time buying into. Nothing short of elbow grease and hard work is going to make people a lot of money. Besides, working hard for something you’re genuinely passionate about makes you feel good about yourself (or it does for me).
Emily I agree with you 100% about putting in the time. The point you make about people following people who are passionate is a great one.
I like Tim Ferris and believe to an extent how it is possible to do a 4 hour work week but not in the way Tim describes it.
Hi Steven,
The choice of going on your own, being your own boss has always motivated me. Being a left-handed, despite of my academic successes, I often felt negative about the methods that educational systems use to teach us new knowledge. I am very information-hungry, but I don’t think the way we’re presented to it is not totally correct. But that’s fine, there’s room for improvement at least ;p
What do you think, how much percent of people belonging to this group is left-handed? It is known that lefties have their right hemisphere more developed than their left. It wouldn’t surprise me if the share of lefties would be higher among non-conformists. Though this might just be a guess.
P.S.:I don’t really understand “snake oil salesman”.
P.P.S.: By the way, is the Steven/Stephen thing a U.S./U.K. difference, or are the two just two different names?
.-= Zoli Cserei´s last blog ..Welcome to Simply Will Do, my dearest readers! =-.