Do What You Love
When we talk about risk and reward in finance, typically we’re referring to the likelihood that an investment or venture will turn bad, compared with the return offered if everything goes well. For example, a P2P loan you make might return 20%, but the person you’ve loaned to has a high debt to income ratio and has a greater than average chance of failing to repay the debt. In shares (stocks) a speculative buy might see you triple your money, but it’s contingent on a particular outcome (a mining company finding oil in a new location, a technology company successfully patenting a new product). Conversely, sticking your cash in bonds won’t return much, but there’s also virtually no risk.
Last week, a colleague and friend of mine announced he was leaving the company to pursue his dream of being an air traffic controller. He’ll finish up work just a couple of weeks short of his ten year anniversary with the organisation. He works in graphic design.
I recently posted about sources of passive income in which I discussed both monetising existing activities (things you already do) and monetising areas of knowledge (your existing skill set). My colleague’s departure has inspired me however, to think about monetising your passion (aka ‘do what you love’). It’s an old saying “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”. Whilst this may not be terribly true in practice, the principle is very valid.
So, why don’t more of us do what we love to pay the bills?
I’ve discussed this with a number of people recently, and here’s what it seems to boil down to.
1. Likelihood Of Success (AKA Risk Of Failure)
That’s right. Most people don’t do what they really want to with their lives because they might not be successful. The irony of course is that many of us know people who have buckets of natural talent or just sheer passion and would embody success, but they don’t act for fear of failure.
2. Money
A short time ago, my husband and I were car shopping. We met a car salesman with whom my husband started discussing cars – he was comparing two very different cars to one another using the TV show Top Gear as a point of reference. The salesman responded that actually, he didn’t really care for cars – hi fi equipment was his thing, but he couldn’t make the same sort of money selling home entertainment. Realistically though, this is the same excuse / rationale as the ‘risk of failure’ reasoning. I’m sure plenty of people told Larry Page that no one was going to make money with online search and Steve Jobs probably heard that there wasn’t any cash to be had in computers, either.
3. I Won’t Be Huge
Many folks seem to feel that it’s not worthwhile doing something unless they’re going to be the biggest, the best or the most famous. Realistically though, we don’t all need to be Larry Page, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Robert Kiyosaki, Rupert Murdoch or Richard Branson. There a number of people I know personally who read this blog, so I’m going to be slightly unspecific with my next sentence – apologies. The fact is that I can think of two people I know very well who are millionaires (one in his/her early 20s) who have achieved this financial feat by doing what they love (and are good at). You won’t see their names on the Forbes or BRW Rich Lists. You might not even be able to pick them in a crowd. Bottom line is that you don’t need to be a household name to be extremely successful.
The road to pursuing your passion is seldom easy though, and from a financial perspective those early days can be extremely draining.
So, what can you do to minimise the risks in doing what you love?
1. Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance
Say your passion is photography and you decide you’re going to pursue a career as a photographer / photo journalist. It’s probably not the best idea to walk in to work tomorrow with no savings, buffer, connections, experience or equipment and quit your job without more than a point and shoot in your pocket. Preparation for every dream will be different, but to continue the photography theme, getting the right equipment, contacts, education (if necessary) and exposure will get you on the right path.
2. Do It Early
When you’re young, you have a lifetime ahead to make up for your mistakes. If everything goes horribly wrong, you’ve got plenty of time to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get yourself back on the right path. The older you get, the more financial and emotional responsibilities you’ll accumulate until you get to the point where you won’t even consider pursuing your passion. (As an aside the same can be said for investments – your youth is the time to take more financial risks!).
3. Do Your Homework
Know what success in your chosen field looks like. Want to write? Talk to some writers. Design jewellery? Find someone who runs a jewellery label. You don’t need to follow the steps they took to success, but you should educate yourself on the challenges and market so you can get going that much faster.
4. Surround Yourself With Support
You only have to read Richard Branson’s autobiography or any of Robert Kiyosaki’s books to know that the road to success is paved with naysayers. You’ll have a lot of people telling you what you’re doing can’t be done. In many cases, they’ll continue even after you’re successful. Surrounding yourself with people who are supportive and constructive (you don’t want yes people in your midst) will equip you with the network for success.
If you need any further incentive, consider this: would you be prouder and more inspired if if the people closest to you spent their lives doing what they loved or doing something they despised? And is there any greater tragedy than someone with absolute talent and/or passion that refuses to make the most of it?
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