All this discussion about freelancing, starting an online business, and doing as much as you can when you’re young has really got me thinking about the idea of following your passions to make money.
“Doing what you love is as important as ever, but if you’re going to make a living at it, it helps to find a niche where money flows as a regular consequence of the success of your idea.” – Seth Godin
I’m sort of annoyed with the phrase, “follow your passions” because it’s often associated with get rich quick schemes or some empty cheerleading. However, I’m a firm supporter of trying to make a living in your 20s based on doing something that you love.
Today I wanted to present young people with a quick argument for following your passions.
You have nothing to lose.
As a 20-something with low overhead costs and likely no family to worry about, you literally have nothing to lose from following your passions. The worst case scenario is that you don’t succeed. In that case you just pick yourself up and find a job. When you have nothing to lose you’re the most dangerous. As a young person I really feel that you should take advantage of the fact that you have nothing to lose.
This then ties into my next point.
The benefits can be great.
The financial benefits can be greater if turns out that you’ve entered a profitable niche. I ended up becoming good friends with this dude from the gym. He was always talking about his projects and new ideas that he’s working on. I asked him if he was afraid of working for himself. He responded by saying that the benefits are much greater when you make your own money and devote your time to your own projects. I’ve always remembered this because I’ve been afraid in the past of the whole work for yourself lifestyle.
When you actually think about it, you realize that there are many benefits to devoting your time and creative energy towards your own ideas. If you don’t make a lot of money, at the very least, you’ll be happy with how you spend your time.
You’ll have a much better quality of life.
Imagine a life where you dread going to work every single day. That’s what’s going to happen if you take the first job that comes your way. If you don’t create your own source of income, you could be stuck in some miserable job just because you don’t know what else is out there. All I know is that life’s far too short to spend it doing something that you don’t enjoy. There’s the obvious argument to be made that your life will be much more enjoyable if you like the work that you do. For me, quality of life is important. I want to be happy with what I do and how I spend my time.
That’s the argument for following your passions in your 20s to make money. I’m also very realistic and understand that you should follow a few steps before you quit your job. However, if you’re smart about it, the best thing you can do for yourself at a young age is to chase after your dreams.
What do you think about doing something that you love in your 20s? Do you see yourself trying to create your own work?
Absolutely. We shouldn’t be afraid of the so-called ‘real world’ whereas some may consider the real world as the opposite of following your ‘passions’. Be creative, and keep on moving.
It’s true. When you are in your 20’s, you really have very little to lose. HOWEVER, one could have EVERYTHING to lose if they don’t build their foundation in their 20’s, b/c it could lead to decades of underperformance, valued at multi-millions.
It all depends how you look at things.
You know, that’s a really good point man. You don’t want to be 30 and have limited options for work because of thw mistakes you made the past decade.
Have you seen this happen first hand?