Don’t Just Follow Your Passion — Do This Instead

Chase Lean
Jul 24, 2017 · 6 min read

The phrase “passion is the key to success” might just be overrated.

Success and Passion

Passion is an intense enthusiasm that drives us forward in life and gets us back on our feet when we fall. It is passion that makes us so engrossed in something that our hearts and minds flow into the task without effort, only to stop and realize hours have passed. Psychologists call this feeling of energized focus “flow”.

I’m sure you’ve experienced it at some point in your life.

People tell us that by simply loving what we do, we will be sure to succeed in life. They say it’s only a matter of time, if not today, then tomorrow. After all, the proof’s right there — it’s hard to find someone really successful that doesn’t like their job. Passionate billionaires and celebrity scientists abound.

Ask any successful person about their top reasons for success, and passion will be at the top of their list. They say that their intense passion for their job keeps them bright through the darkest of times. They say it’s where their life-changing ideas came from.

But is passion really all we need?

The answer is NO.

Passion is important; it keeps us lively and full of creative new ideas, but we overestimate its role in success.

You might be able to list 10 billionaires that claim to have succeeded due to their passion, but have you heard of the millions who worked hard all their lives with burning enthusiasm for their jobs, but went bankrupt in the end? All those success stories blow up select events and ignore the rest. They skew the actual correlation between enthusiasm and success.

Let’s approach it differently.

Take artists for example. They should be pretty passionate about their job, right? After all, art embodies passion and creativity; pieces of art are displays of emotional power! Without inspiration or enthusiasm, most pieces of art would be meaningless.

If passion equals success, all the painters in the world would be famous, admired and successful. There wouldn’t be any “starving artists” around. Statistics disagree.

On average, a college degree in art brings far less return on investment compared to other fields — such as science and technology. According to surveys by salary.com, art ranks no.7 among the worst college degrees in that aspect. The Business Insider ranks art as the 17th worst college major with regard to investment.

Well, that sucks.

The truth is, we live in a world that is changing at an ever faster pace. To gain an edge in society, passion for what you do is not enough.

Here’s a hypothetical scenario to better illustrate my point.

Let’s say I want to make an online course about how to beat procrastination. I’m super productive in my life (not true), and I just can’t wait to share it with others. I get to do what I love: helping others, and earn a little money in the process. On paper, it seems like the perfect plan.

But when I finally launch it on my website, it’s a massive letdown. Instead of the long-awaited inquiries and subscriptions, I get ZERO signups.

What’s wrong with my course? Is it really that bad? Chances are, it’s not.

Sales isn’t rolling in because there’s no exposure. No one even knows such a thing exists! It’s a no-brainer that if people don’t see it, they won’t buy it.

Okay, easy fix. Run a couple of Facebook ads and watch the traffic come pouring in.

Except that it doesn’t work that way.

Advertising on Facebook might just involve a few bucks and the click of a button, but effective advertising goes much deeper than that.

Sure, I’m passionate about writing courses and helping people live a better life. But it’s obvious that this enthusiasm isn’t going to get me anywhere. It’s not all about sales — even if I offered the course for free, I’d be crushed with the response.

So what should I do to get myself heard?

  1. Be aware that passion can only get me so far.
  2. Get out of my comfort zone.
  3. Do something that I’m not passionate about.

In this case, it would be time for me to get serious and start building an email list and learn marketing. It’s vastly different from passionate phrases on self-improvement, but it will have to be done. Marketing isn’t all about promotions and clickbait titles, it’s a form of communication — and probably the only way to get myself heard.

There won’t be any room for excuses this time; unless I stand aside and watch the very thing I’m most passionate about go to waste.


Passion makes us better at doing the things we already do, but as Stephen R. Covey once said, “If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re already getting.”

Doing what we like won’t get us where we want to go. If you’re on the right track, great!

Follow it. But if you’re not, do something else. To those of you who love video games and plan to spend a lifetime gaming, forget about it. Winning Dota tournaments aren’t the stuff of dreams — they are the stuff of fantasy. There’s a difference.

Well, if you really want to…there’s nothing stopping you. Besides the term “starving gamer”, of course.

All this might seem harsh, but life is inherently so. As Charles Darwin put it, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” It doesn’t just apply to the dinosaurs- this is a law of nature.

Too many people are reluctant to experiment in other fields, they think sticking with the things they like, and those that they’re good at will work. It almost always results in a dead end.

You might wonder, doesn’t success mean more than just money? What about happiness, love, and satisfaction? Surely doing the things we love will bring us bliss and satisfaction.

That is true, but only to a certain extent. We will all have to make compromises in life, no exceptions.

If sharing stories on Medium brings me satisfaction, I can keep writing them and hope someone’ll notice. Or I can make a compromise: stop working for a few days and do some research on what people like to read and make attractive titles, ones that people will actually click on. I can harden up and approach publications.

At first glance, nothing terrible will happen if I don’t do any of those. Yet, thousands of people who could’ve read my articles and benefited from them will never do so. Will I still be satisfied with my actions?

If I’m out on a date with my sweetheart when I receive an urgent call from my employer, do I cancel the date and head straight to the company? I’ll probably be fired if I fail to arrive, and end up unemployed. There won’t be much room for passionate dating when that happens.


If you want to succeed, you must learn to adapt to the environment. Find out what you can do to stand out, and make yourself heard. Don’t let passion for what you do stand in your way. Sometimes, we have to make room for the unpleasant, but nonetheless important things in life.

Awareness is Key

Life often gets in the way of our dreams. We don’t have to forget them, but occasionally we should attend to more pressing matters.

Blind passion is extremely dangerous. It causes people to be unaware of their surroundings. They don’t see the need to change, and suffer as a result. Don’t be one of them.

Here’s another quote from Stephen R. Covey- “If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.”

To make your mark on the world, you must first be aware of what’s going on. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss- but other times it’s a recipe for disaster. There are many examples of overnight success in unlikely ways, but by now you should realize that all too many have failed on the same path.

Find something that works for you; know what it takes to become the best of the best.

It is only when you have fulfilled all the other criteria that passion comes in. Love your work like your life depends on it. Rest assured, it will be something you’ll never regret.

What are you waiting for?

Get out there and make something happen!


Thanks for reading. If you liked this article, please give it a ❤, it means so much to me. Check out my website or Twitter account for more stories. Drop a comment below if you’ve any thoughts. Until next time!

Chase Lean

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Let’s make the world a better place — for both you and me.

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