Two bits about the “pay” or “monetization” aspect of career choice and development vs. "following your dream".
Most of us are either going to need to, or want to, make some money in our careers. At the same time, we (very logically) want to spend the vast majority of our waking hours between now and retirement doing something we like to do — if we have a choice. Per Mark Twain, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” I don’t know anyone who feels exactly this good about their job, but the general idea has great value.
In some countries, cultures, or economic situations, you may not have many career choices — but we generally do here in the United States. So, what do we do with our preferences/passion and this freedom — and still make some good money? Is it possible to do something we enjoy and still cover our personal and family economic needs? I believe that the answer is “yes” if you are creative, flexible, resilient, and hard-working.
Reality
While this article is emphasizing the need to focus on your interests and dream career passion, we also need to realize that, as "providers with responsibilities", we often have to do things in our career that aren't as glamorous as our dreams would indicate.
In a world of priorities, you may need to set aside the career dreams in order to take care of your family and fatherhood dreams and commitments. If feeding yourself and your family becomes a major challenge at certain times in your life, it is just a matter of putting your family first if you are working in a "dead end job" for awhile (or maybe quite a long time). There is nothing wrong with this, and you need to be mature enough while working to remember the loved ones you are working for. Many people put a photo of their children front-and-center on their desks, smartphones, or vehicle dashboards as a constant reminder -- and I highly recommend this!
Also, there will be temporary setbacks that may require you to adjust your plans or, as one friend puts it, "reinvent yourself". You may need to take a temporary job to make ends meet if you get laid off, for example -- even if you are working below your skill level or outside of your career. This is just reality and you should expect that you will hit at least one or two rough spots like this.
While I'm talking about this, one big advantage that married couples have is that there are two people on the team. When my sister was starting her business, she was able to rely on the income from her husband. When I got laid off, my wife got a job so we wouldn't be cutting into or savings so fast. If you are in a situation like these, take a step back to see if you can contribute to the family by taking a "meat and potatoes" job (even on a second shift) to help relieve some pressure.
What They Often Don’t Focus On
There are many self-help books on success. They usually cover motivation, goal setting, perseverance, hard work, set-backs, and eventual breakthroughs. There are also “how I did it” biographies written (or ghost written) by famous celebrities, entertainers, influencers, athletes, politicians, leaders, and businesspersons. Most of them acknowledge the challenges, setbacks and good luck involved with their successes.
Note, however, that most of these books generally tend to focus us only on the successful outcome “end game” vs. the possibility that this person’s story could have been very different.
Yes, you could be the one who starts out with a goal of becoming an Olympic Gold Medalist in Freestyle, works on that, and becomes exactly that! However, Michael Phelps might show up in the lane next to you one day and you become the Silver Medalist instead. COVID might hit in the year you were at your peak. Anyone who was ever involved in a contact sport knows that a single injury can make a huge difference in your future. Politicians often win or lose by less than 1% — even those claiming that they have a “mandate”. You may be at the right place at the right time when a band needs a back-up singer to move up to “lead” — or maybe not.
The Beauty of Creativity, Flexibility, and Resilience
The point of all the “negativity” in the sections above is, simply, that to keep following some version of your passion in your career and make some money in the process, you are going to have to be creative, flexible, and resilient. If you do this, you can still eventually work in an area crelated to the career you are most enthused about — even if it isn’t “perfect”.
(Note: I’m primarily using the word “resilient” here in this post — not “perseverance”. To me, “resilient” just sounds more positive with less of a “drudgery” feel. I recommend that you try thinking “resilient” in many situations where someone is calling for “perseverance”. See if it gives your attitude an extra “edge” toward an opportunity mindset.)
At this point, I hope you are aware that the odds of achieving your goal are going to be less if you aren’t creative and flexible with how you define that goal. You want to be focused, but there is a subtle and important difference between focus and tunnel vision. If you don’t use your peripheral vision or look up/down/left/right/forward/behind/surface/deep, you may miss golden opportunities that are very much within your reach.
This concept is very important when you are starting out. Are you creative, flexible, and resilient when you are just starting out — or are you so overly-focused on becoming an “entrepreneur” or “business owner” that you don’t grab opportunities to work for (and learn from) someone who has already “been there done that”? The main question when starting out might be, “What else might I be able to do that is related to my profession that might allow me to make a living and build my resume as I move toward my main career goals?”
The same idea applies to making even more money in your career area of choice as you become more successful. One Olympic superstar squanders the opportunity to be a Nike spokesperson, start a charity, write a book, or become a role model for young people. Another takes full advantage of these “non-athlete” (but big money) aspects of their career. You see this all of the time. Are you so “set in your ways” that you only see one path, dimension, or option vs. all of the ways your might be able to increase your wealth?
Brainstorm for ideas. Ask others what they might do. Use AI. Google. Look around. Use the “Target” concept covered in the Careers article to look at everything related to your career.
Maybe this thinking (when starting out or later in your career) will require stepping out of your comfort zone or moving beyond your area of expertise. If so, be aware that simple fear of failure or embarrassment may be holding you back. You may need to get out of your own way. Maybe you have “Let the Old Man In”. If that’s the case, find yourself a coach, teacher, friend (with knowledge of the area), or specialist to help. Being creative, flexible and resilient doesn’t mean that you have to go it alone.
Hypothesis: Career Passion is a Possibility — But Not Guaranteed
When I was growing up, no one really told me to “follow my passion” regarding my career. My parents had been through the Great Depression, and there was no room for messing around with a bunch of oddball dreamer ideas. After all of the digging they had done to get out of poverty, they certainly didn’t want us to lose it all in one generation by chasing some high-flying low-odds career.
You or your parents may convey the same attitude — making sure you are a good provider or productive member of society. I’m not suggesting that you dismiss this solid “meat and potatoes” thinking entirely.
I am, however, strongly suggesting that you also give your career passion a chance. I’m suggesting that you give your career passion a chance by thinking about how you might monetize your interests through creativity, flexibility, resilience, and working extra hard.
Alternative “9 to 5” Job?
It will probably take a lot less creativity, flexibility, and resilience to do something more “mundane” in the work world. Yes, you will have to take more risks and work extra hard if you want to follow your passion 100% — sorry! I’m almost positive about this. There may be nothing inherently wrong with the more relaxed approach, however.
You might be the kind of person who is more interested in family, hobbies, free time, etc. than a stellar career. You might want to focus more on work/life balance. Some of the happiest people I know have decided to take this path. Their professional careers are just a 25% aspect of a multi-purposed life. Maybe “9 to 5” isn’t as bad as some “type A” hard chargers make it out to be.
Be forewarned, though, that even if you go the “9 to 5” route you will need to work hard enough to be as excellent as possible in your profession. If you don’t, you will find just coming to work in the morning unsatisfactory and you will find it hard to keep a good-paying job.
Regardless of a 25%/75% (or whatever % you think is best) career work/life balance inclination, however, I highly recommend that you use the VENN diagrams and the “Target” concepts covered in the Careers article to find a career related to the intersection of your interests, your skills, and service. Ikigai thinking is important regardless! If you aren't under extreme financial pressure, life is just too short to spend 25% to 40% of your waking hours doing something you aren’t interested in, aren’t good at, and don’t think really adds any value — even if you are getting a paycheck.
Not All About Money
So, look at the monetary aspects of your career — but don’t let that be the only or highest priority. Instead, start with a focus on motivation, skills, and service (but not “tunnel vision”). Then look around to see how you can, through creativity, flexibility, and resilience, turn that career passion, or some nearby version of it, into a productive money-maker.
Steven Covey, in “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, promoted the idea of “Put First Things First”. Make sure you don’t put money first or your won’t have the sustained passion necessary to be truly successful in your career long term. That does not mean that you don’t get to the monetary aspects after motivation, skills, and service.