Fantasies and Realities of “Doing What You Love”

One of the recurring themes in many books and articles about choosing a career is the idea of ​​doing what you love. Should “follow your passion” be your mantra when choosing a career? "Or should we choose based on income and aptitude?"

Both ways of thinking have advantages and disadvantages. If you follow your passion, you can spend the majority of your working time doing something you truly enjoy. But the reality is that these jobs often have low average wages (although, of course, top-tier pay comes with top-notch pay).

On the other hand, if you choose a career based on income and aptitude, you can expect a high income and follow a career path that suits your skills and abilities. But you may never really enjoy your job.

My life has oscillated wildly between these two career paths.

When I entered college, I chose to major in a subject that I had always liked. Biology. When I was in high school, I really enjoyed taking classes in mathematics, Japanese, and biology. And I thought that a degree in biology would get me a job I enjoyed. I didn't think much about the income side.

While studying at university, I met a wonderful mentor who encouraged me to study computer science at the same time as biology. It was perfect for me who likes mathematics.

Studying computer science led directly to my first job as an adult. It was a lot of fun and I would still be doing it if I could. My job was to organize research data so that researchers in the same field could share the data. It was a very interesting job and I found it very rewarding. The pay seemed modest, but I enjoyed the job so it didn't bother me. Every day I worked on solving interesting problems, and I could feel that my work was helping someone else solve an interesting problem.

Unfortunately, the job was a fixed-term contract, but I knew ahead of time and was able to prepare myself to acquire the necessary skills and qualifications for my next career step. The work itself wasn't very fun, but I worked with the vision of continuing to do what I love in the future.

And when that contract ended, I got a long-term contract job that paid pretty well. On the surface, it looked like the work I had done before. Happily ever after? However, when I opened the lid, there was a lot of bureaucratic work and maintenance work, and there was a lot of work that seemed useless, and there was almost no work that could solve interesting problems.

So I went from a job I loved to a job I hated.

After a while, I started devoting my free time to another passion. to write. I liked Japanese when I was in high school, so I immersed myself in writing during my free time. I started some blogs. I also wrote several drafts of the novel. One of them was called "Rings of Saturn," and I sent it to a publisher and got a decent response. (A story about two brothers with amazing abilities, set in the near future when mankind has embarked on resource development in the solar system.)

So what? One of the blogs did well and led to the current "The Simple Dollar". The Simple Dollar began by writing stories about trying to fix our family's finances. Before I knew it, it had grown to a website visited by 1 million people a month, and it was no longer a scale that I could manage in my spare time.

So I decided to work on this blog full time. After a while, I hired a site and server admin so I could focus on what I love: writing. After that, it became too much for me, so I sold the ownership of the site and finally decided to focus solely on writing.

I can now write for The Simple Dollar and say, "I love what I do." I write almost every day and really enjoy it. I also enjoy interacting with readers. I get a lot of messages on Facebook and get great questions and ideas on a daily basis. It's nice to have the freedom to work from home and be home when the kids come home from school. I'm happy with the way I live (I'm rather frugal, I guess). It's not exactly what I dreamed of (going to writers' gatherings, writing novels, etc.), but I'm still doing what I love.

As someone who has experienced both, I can assure you that doing what you love is just as rewarding as choosing a job based on income or aptitude. Both ideas contain many misconceptions and illusions. So, here are seven truths I've discovered from my experience that I hope will help you decide whether you're going after your passion or your money.

Truth 1: You can make a decent living doing what you love

The joke that you can't do what you love and make a decent living is , do not listen. can. I was able to do it, and so are many.

So why doesn't everyone do that?

The main reason is that the path to get there is not guaranteed. Jobs that pay well for what you love are usually highly skilled and not many positions are available. Therefore, there are many cases where you have no choice but to “create your own work”, such as starting a business or becoming self-employed, in order to do what you love. That means you have to find a way to get someone to pay you for doing what you love. That's hard work in any field, and it's even harder if your area of ​​interest isn't very lucrative or marginal.

On the other hand, if you choose a field where it is easy to earn a high income, there are usually many job openings. With a little bit of job hunting, it's much easier to find a job that puts money in your pocket.

Another reason is that it requires a fighting spirit and work ethic. What if someone said they loved writing about personal finance, but were asked to write about it for hours every day? "What if I told you to keep doing that for years?" "Even if you don't dislike it, will you be able to continue doing it without getting discouraged until you are recognized by the world and earn enough income?" "Not many people can do that."

Many people have personal passions, but they don't have the fighting spirit to keep doing it every day until their skills and talents blossom. Many, many people start chasing their passion, but their lack of fighting spirit prevents them from persevering until they can make a living out of it. They rarely get off the ground right away and often end up with years of low income.

I must have easily spent thousands of hours writing articles before I was able to make some money. I tried to write carefully and tried various fiction and non-fiction. I also tried writing a combination of real-life experiences and thought fragments. It seems that the articles you are reading now, which are half experiences and half advice, can be written quickly and successfully. I don't write great articles like The New Yorker. But that's not what I'm aiming for. Articles that are serious, easy to understand, practically useful, and always bring up new topics and ideas. That's exactly what I want to do. It took me a long time to reach this niche. It also took me a long time to get good at writing articles. And until then, I didn't make any money at all.

It is possible to do what you love. It's just that, like many other career paths, there's no easy entry point.

Truth 2: There is no such thing as a job that you do 100% of the time

I love what I do. I spend most of my day reading, researching, and writing, and I enjoy it all. I am very grateful to have been able to spend so much time with my children.

That doesn't mean it's perfect. Sometimes deadlines can be very stressful. When I go on a trip, I have to finish that portion of the writing before I leave. Media interviews can be fun at times, but they can also be strangely political or socially driven, and sometimes you just want to hang up the phone and pretend it didn't happen. Even if you are free to handle themes and content you write, there may be a limit on the number of words. I get a ton of emails, many of which I enjoy reading, but some of which I find angry and stressful. Taxes on the self-employed feel unreasonably high, to say the least. Writer's block is nothing short of a nightmare.

There is no such thing as a 100% job where you can only do what you love.

Tell me again.

There is no such thing as a 100% job where you can only do what you love.

Even world-famous novelists cannot avoid negotiations with agents and publishers. Models and movie stars step out of their homes and are chased by the media, paparazzi and adoring fans. Even self-employed and micro-business owners can't get away from tax processing, conference calls, and negotiations.

"Doing what you love" means spending the time you have, ideally the majority of your time, doing what you love. However, there is never a job that allows you to do what you love 100% of the time. If you make that your goal, you will continue to be disappointed.

What I ultimately want to do is write without any deadlines or pressures. Then you won't suffer from writer's block or Goddess absence. However, such a job is only possible if you have a significant passive income or have another source of income. But it's more like a hobby than a "work".

With any job, there will always be tasks that aren't fun. You may feel overwhelmed by the pressure. You may be bound by deadlines or contractual obligations.

In other words, I think that this kind of "not fun work is real work. If you just want to enjoy and freely write, I will do it for free. I will never write anything that is difficult, such as interviews or office work. You get paid for the work you don't enjoy doing, so in the end, the ideal job is one that pays decently and has as few things you don't want to do. Work always comes with a bonus.

Truth 3: The best way to start a job you love is to do it as a side job

The two jobs I've loved most in my life have both started as side jobs. Thing.

When I was in college, I worked as a problem solver for my professor. That would later become my first “real job”. At the time, my problem-solving job was just a side job, and my main job was studying. I was strongly encouraged to do so.

At the time, my full-time commitment was to study, and if all went well, I would have taken a completely different career path. My side job was just to help my professor. But as a result, I really liked the side business, and after graduating, it became my main business.

And after a while, I started The Simple Dollar and wrote articles in my free time. At first, it was just a side job, not a full-time job, but as a result of putting in a lot of effort and time, it got on track and became my current main job.

As The Simple Dollar grew, so did my job, but I still loved writing for The Simple Dollar (and still do, of course).

In both cases, while having a full-time job, I worked on a "side job" in my free time. Both side jobs were what I was most passionate about at the time. In the first case, solving interesting problems, in the second - writing. A full-time job was meant to make enough money, or to get a job that paid well, and wasn't as motivating as a side job.

From these two experiences, I learned something very important. When you follow your passion, make it a side hustle. There are two main reasons.

Truth 4: I Fail Badly at First

When I was a student, I tried many side jobs and part-time jobs in various fields. Some part-time jobs were just for earning money, while others were work-study jobs helping professors in their areas of interest. At one point, I worked in a plant pathology lab. At one point, I did technical support for a convention as a stand-in for an IT specialist. All of them were interesting jobs, but they didn't feel right. Also, some weren't very good at their jobs. In fact, until I started helping the professor I was talking about earlier, I never found a job that felt right.

Similarly, when I became a working adult, I used my free time to try out a number of side jobs that I thought I was passionate about. I also did computer consulting. I have launched a number of blog sites, such as parenting blogs. I also played online poker (which was pretty good, but I had doubts about its legality, so I gave up on it as a full-time job). Most of the side jobs ended in failure. Parenting blogs and online poker were semi-successes, but none of them were truly successful until I started The Simple Dollar.

So far, I have failed countless side jobs. Much, much more than a successful side business. But that's okay. You could even say it's normal.

The point is, if I had put my all into gambling on one of my side hustle all of a sudden, I would have failed utterly. It may have been a situation to be in trouble with what to eat and where to live. I think I probably just continued half-heartedly, made mediocre moves, and never really succeeded.

Because I had a side job, I had the freedom to try something else even if I failed. Because it was a side job, I was able to change my methods, learn from my mistakes, and apply them to my next side job.

Truth 5: In the beginning, it's good to have a job that you enjoy to some extent and support your side business

Of course, the reality is that many people have someone to support. . You have to give yourself, your children, your spouse, your parents, etc. food and shelter. Also, many people cannot expect financial support from their parents.

If you're one of those people, it means you have no one to turn to financially when you fail. All the more so, you should have a job that gives you some fun and pays well, instead of just focusing on what you love to do. Do what you love as a side job.

There are many reasons. First, you can financially support almost any side business as long as you have a full-time job that provides enough income. For example, if you become a software engineer, you will be able to make a side job as a romance novelist. As a lawyer, you can support your side business as a board game designer. If you become an actuary, it's okay to have a side job as a poet.

That way, you're free to experiment with side hustle without worrying about making money. Gaining experience and learning to create can be an end in itself and you don't have to worry about making a living doing it (for the time being).

The best part is that you can fail as many times as you want. Trying experimental approaches, taking risks and failing doesn't leave your family on the streets. Instead, you'll gain valuable experience and insight that will help you with your next challenge.

You can retire early if you manage your money wisely. If you do well, you can retire much earlier than you normally would. That way, you'll be able to work full-time on what used to be a side job.

Truth 6: The jobs that really fit you are usually not what you first thought

If you were looking at me 15 years ago, most of my adult life would be I would never have believed you when I told you I would be spending my time writing about personal finance.

I might have believed you when I told you I was going to be a writer, but I would have burst out laughing when the words "personal finance" came up. When I think about what happened in reality, there is something deeply moving.

The same can be said about school days. I wrote a lot of computer programs that solved interesting problems, and even made it a full-time job after I graduated. But even as a child, I would have never believed it. Once again, it's heartbreaking to think about how reality turned out.

The best way to do what you love is to broaden your horizons and try out as many things as possible. No matter how far from what you envision.

What you've always dreamed of, like becoming a sci-fi or fantasy novelist, may never come true. But if you break down what you love to do, like writing every day, or influencing people, and look at it from a different angle, like writing about personal finance with a human touch, it's different from the dream you've always had. You can find a way to do what you love.

Truth 7: Favorite things change, keep trying new side hustle

For now, I do what I love as a full-time job, but I have other interests I'm always trying to see if I can make a side job out of something I'm passionate about. To make a little money and to find something to really enjoy. Some of them are working fine.

However, the real reason to try different side hustles is the risk of getting bored writing for The Simple Dollar. If so, the work I'm doing now will be ascetic. Life itself becomes unhealthy if the work you spend so much time on each day is painful.

I still write science fiction and fantasy novels. I also develop mobile apps. We publish podcasts and YouTube channels. I've been doing these side hustles since the beginning of The Simple Dollar.

No big successes. But experimenting with different side hustle has allowed me to work on what I feel passionate about, see how passionate I am, and find a new approach to my future.

Never stop working on your side hustle. Always try new things. Even if you think you've found the perfect job, don't stop exploring and experimenting in areas that you really enjoy and that really excite you.

Final Thoughts

It is possible to "do what you love". However, don't bet your entire life on it. Instead, take a more realistic approach. Establish your financial base and create an environment where you can fail without worrying about ruining your life. When you fail, pick yourself up again, learn from your mistakes, and try new things and new ways of doing things.

Hopefully, there will come a time when you will have financial security while doing what you love. This is the best way to do it from my experience.

The Myths and Realities of 'Doing What You Love' | The Simple Dollar

Trent Hamm (original/translation: Takayuki Ito)