‘Don’t Follow Your Passion’ Is Stupid Advice, Too
I followed my passion even though you’re not supposed to.
‘I knew we’d lost you, the moment I saw you on that stage.’
He gave me a tired smile. I’d worked at his marketing agency for almost four years.
The money was great.
The team was great.
I had no other job lined up.
I was terrified.
‘How brave,’ people said afterward, ‘to just quit your job like that and go follow your passion!’
It was not brave.
Two weeks before, I had sung the lead in an opera about Mata Hari, the exotic dancer/spy. In front of an audience of 300 people, with my coworkers in the front row, I had slowly unwound veil after veil, until I stood there, naked except for a glittery bra, for about half a second until another character covered me up.
That show had changed me. It wasn’t because of the whole stripping naked thing, but because of all the other stuff.
- It was the fact that I didn’t like marketing but had been working in that field for close to four years because, whether I liked it or not, I was good at it.
- It was the fact that my entire life I had wanted to be on stage, and I wasn’t a good enough dancer — but I had a real knack for singing.
- It was the fact that a teacher at a conservatory saw the show and told me to come and audition for the first year, which made me think that maybe, just maybe, I had a shot.
But more than anything, it was because, for the first time in my life, I felt like what I did mattered.
The effects that those two nights in the theatre had on my life were shocking. Almost immediately, working in marketing for even a month longer seemed impossible. I felt like I was choking in that beautiful building. I stayed long enough for them to find a replacement, then quit.
So, did I ruin my life?
There’s a podcast by The Minimalists, and I quite like it. ‘Don’t follow your passion!’ they intone. ‘Cultivate it, instead.’
I’ve heard them say it a dozen times and nodded sagely. It was only after the 13th time that I thought: I don’t actually understand what they’re saying.
I think the actual advice hidden in there, is: ‘Don’t make really stupid decisions because you’re chasing a romantic ideal.’
If we start to think that we shouldn’t follow our passion — that we should cultivate it, whatever that means, instead — we’re just falling from one romantic ideal into the next. ‘Following your passion is just about the dumbest thing you can do, but cultivating it mean you are a smart person who can have the best of both worlds.’
Let’s face it. It’s semantics.
What we really mean is: ‘Don’t be an idiot.’
I like to think I wasn’t a total idiot when I quit my job to follow my passion. I had been making a steady trickle of money on YouTube for years, I had a degree in linguistics, and I was fortunate enough to have a partner who was okay with being my safety net in case I needed it.
If I hadn’t had any of those things, would I still have quit my job?
To be honest, I think I would have. I think I would have done whatever it took to leave that job and go sing, go write, go film mermaid videos, go create stuff, and earn my money that way.
Not because I was brave, but because I had no other choice.
It felt like someone had picked me up with a pair of giant tweezers and placed me on a completely different path.
I started moving forward on that new path — not because I was brave, but because I lacked the courage to turn back.
I have just started my third year at the classical singing department of the Rotterdam Conservatory, and I have never worked harder.
Besides my full-time study, I work as a translator, a mermaid, a copywriter, a proofreader, a virtual assistant, an assistant-director, and a singer. The days where I leave the house at 7 AM and am back by 11 PM without having enough time for a decent meal in between are overwhelming.
But following my passion was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Don’t let people tell you it’s dumb. We only get one life. At least try it — just make sure you’re not making stupid decisions because you’re chasing a romantic ideal.
Have a back-up plan.
Have a safety net.
Be prepared to work hard and step out of your comfort zone.
Be prepared to change course if it doesn’t work.
Make sure you have ways to make ends meet.
And then, please, for the love of God, go follow your passion.
About the author
Here so you can learn from my mistakes: singer/writer/recovering marketer, bringing you excruciatingly personal stories and pedantic advice.
