I had a friend who was passionate about golf, so he opened up a golf shop…and lost his shirt.
I thought about him when I listened to a recent Tim Ferriss podcast with Will MacAskill and they talked about how it is foolish to blindly pursue one’s passion. There are several reasons why.
Why Following Passion Often Fails
1. Economic need. People need to make sure there is demand for the product or service their passion produces. Passion alone won’t bring customers to you.
2. People change significantly. Your passions at age 25 will likely be completely different than your passions at age 35.
3. Mastery and learning create passions. As people learn new fields and information and get good at things, new passions arise.3
How Mastery Creates Lasting Passion
The final reason is a major factor in the real estate and mortgage industries. I know many extremely talented and passionate Realtors who barely knew what real estate was in their early twenties, but who now thrive in a field they love.
In addition, we have an office full of young people who knew nothing about mortgages three years ago, but they now know more than almost anyone and they love their jobs.
