Should you follow your passion?

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

You’ll hear a lot nowadays, especially from the rich and famous, to follow your passion — that it is the best way to be happy and prosperous and make an impact. While that is true, I think it’s easier said than done. Except for a few, most of us struggle to understand this concept and have a difficult time knowing what our passion is.

I’d like to share a simple 5-pronged strategy that will assist you in this process.

1. Have you found your passion yet? Passion is not automatic, and it does not come and attack you. You have to spend some quality time to discover what you are good at. It could take a few years, so be patient with yourself.
2. Is the industry where your passion lies growing? A passion invested in a dying sector may not be financially rewarding. Imagine your passion is an ‘ant,’ sitting on the back of a big ‘elephant’ — industry. The Ant is trying is move North, but the elephant is moving South. Where do you think the Ant is moving? There’s a camp of people who don’t believe in doing things for money. But, I instead find my passion and confirm if it’s going to be financially rewarding.
3. Is the money huge within that industry? Some industries, like Finance, Technology, Sports, Media, are naturally designed for a big pay-off, compared to sectors like Packaging, Archaeology, Architecture. Someone who is naturally good at a particular sport has higher chances of making significantly more money than a packaging expert. A smaller share from a massive pot of money is better than a large percentage from a small bowl of dough.
4. Do people want you to do more of what you are doing? It is not enough to say, “you are passionate about acting,” does your audience not want you to stop once you start to act!
5. Lastly, if you’ve answered yes to all the above, just go ALL IN with your passion. You’ll likely be incredibly happy and prosperous and make a significant impact while following it.