The other day, I saw a post on Facebook by a person a couple decades younger than me asking which was the smarter choice, as they looked for a career: One that would help build financial success for them or one that allowed them to pursue their passion? Its a questions we all face, whether we ask it or not. Given my life experiences, I offer my humble thoughts on this subject.
First, its important to recognize financial "success" is a variable goal, and not necessary mutually exclusive from pursuing ones passion. For one person financial success might mean being able to pay their bills, house, clothe and feed themselves and be relatively free from worry over basic money issues. For someone else, it might mean having more money than they can ever spend in a single life time, to have virtually nothing out of their financial reach if they choose to pursue it.
Each choice has pros and cons, but its important to determine for yourself what level of financial security you are comfortable with. What your personal financial expectations for living are will greatly determine what choices you have for following your passion. If you insist on extreme wealth, and your passion is painting watercolor landscapes, chances are you'll have to keep painting as a hobby and devote the majority of your time to pursuing money. On the other hand, if you're fine with a modest lifestyle, and your passion is analyzing markets and investing, you might find you have more money than you need.
Now, the more interesting and less academic part of the question is what is your passion? As a culture, we seem to be under the impression that we all have one thing we are passionate about, and if we just figure that out, we can build a happy life around that. There are untold numbers of self-help books and gurus devoted to helping you find your "one true calling." That belief is wrong.
Everyone has many different and varying interests, and these change throughout your life. There is no single thing that will make you happy, you have lots of options. Which ones you choose to follow will determine a lot about your life -- up to the point where you choose to follow a different one.
I'll use my life as an example. As a young child I was very creative, I built toys out of cardboard I scavenged from dumpsters, for a time I was obsessed with doing pencil drawings of geometric shapes. In my teen years, I became interested in photography, and I choose to go to school for that after high school. At this point, it looked like I would probably lead the life of a "creative." Except I had no interest in business, in book keeping and marketing and all the things I'd have to do to make a living that way.
Instead, I worked in restaurants and picked up photo jobs on the side. I was poor, but pretty content at 21, living week to week. Most people would say I wasn't going anywhere, that I'd never amount to much. But I was pursuing a passion and not that concerned about money.
Then my circumstances changed, I became a single father. Now the priorities shifted, being a parent was most important, which made money more important. I had no real skills of value and had not gotten a degree. I had to take the jobs I could find and live in my parents' basement for a few years.
Eventually, I stumbled into a job making counter tops. Not glamorous or high paying, but good work and I enjoyed building things. That lead eventually to a job with a kitchen designer who was very supportive of me as a parent. Again, the money wasn't going to make me rich, but I was able to move my son and I out of my parents house. Most importantly, I was able to be a good father.
During this time I still did some photography, but mainly work related, not the artistic stuff I was passionate about. Designing and building things used my creative skills, and was satisfying, but the things I created where never purely my own, they were meant to fill a need for someone. In my parents basement, I tried to start a graphic arts company, but that didn't go anywhere.
I also limited my potential income early on by choosing not to work over time or weekends, because I was parent. A choice I never regretted, but it didn't make things easy. I chose passion (parenting) over finance.
Eventually, my boss retired and helped me start up my own business as a custom woodworker, simply turning the best of what I did for her, into my own business. For several years I did very well. I was good at what I did, had a reputation for quality work and for being a problem solver. My business expanded and I was able to buy a house. To some extent I was following my passion, but it also was a financial decision.
I was never very good at running the business. Just as years before, I had no interest in the business side of things, I just liked building and creating. It never grew into more than a one my operation. If I had prioritized growing the company, adding employees, and expanding, I would have probably made more money and been more secure, but I also would have had to spend less and less time doing the hands on things I enjoyed. Passion over finance.
In a perfect world, I would have been just fine doing my one-man business for a long time. But that's not the world we live in. When the Great Recession hit, it hit the housing market first and that was me. I lost everything, including my house. I was nearly 40 and starting over with nothing.
It was an extremely stressful few years of my life. It took a toll on my health and relationships. My self-esteem and confidence were shattered. I questioned a lot of my life choices. Had I chosen a more financially secure path years ago, thing might have been different for me. If I had gotten a degree, I would have had more job options when I lost my business. I considered trying to go back to school, but I had a child with college dreams of his own and now money to help him, let alone my self. Financial security looked really good and completely out of reach during that time.
I found work managing a warehouse, that didn't last. I pursued acting as a career for a time. As any cliche will tell you, actors need other jobs to support themselves. So I got back into restaurant work. I started bartending in chef-driven local restaurants and discovered I loved bartending. For the past 6 years I've been doing that, building on my successes to reach a pretty comfortable point.
There's one passion of mine I haven't talked about: Writing.
I hated school. I have always been a terrible speller. So many of my childhood memories revolve around my struggles to spell and being bullied by teachers and made fun of by kids and constantly disappointing my parents. In high school, I did finally have a teacher take an interest in my writing and encourage me, but after school, I didn't do much.
When I had my woodworking business, I kept a blog detailing projects for people. As a bartender I also have blog that I occasionally post to, but not regularly. I always seem to want to write about things, to tell stories, to explain things (thus this very post!)
Remember my brief foray into acting? That's because I love movies. Its a serious passion of mine, one that has consumed a large part of my life for as long as I can remember. But not one I ever even considered making a career of, until I tried acting. Acting was the first time I saw how screen plays were written.
My whole life, while I spent long, quiet hours alone working on projects (wood working can be a lot of repetitive steps) my brain was always thinking, holding conversations, creating stories, coming up with interesting ideas. From time to time I had tried to write some of them in book form, but I never seemed to be able to make that work.
Screenplays on the other hand were a format that made sense to me. So I wrote a short one. Then I began trying to write a longer one. Then I gave up. Then I tried again. I gave up again. Then I tried again, this time diving into books and video seminars and podcast about writing, and I finished it. The another, then another... And I have many others in my head waiting their turn. I spend hours a week doing it, and it hasn't made me a dime. Maybe someday it will, maybe not.
Turns out writing is a passion of mine, too. Looking back, it should have been obvious from the beginning, but it took me four decades to recognize it.
How does all this relate to the initial question, passion or security? Some people think that if you work hard and save money, you can ensure financial security, which will allow you to follow your passions later. That may work out for you, but as I found out, it can all be taken away from you by circumstances out of your control.
You could get hit by a bus, the economy could collapse, you could get sued, or choose the wrong partner, your job could get outsourced. A million random things could take away years of hard work, and then you're stuck starting over, your back against the wall, with less time than before, to build your security -- And your passion postponed indefinitely. There is no guarantee.
Other people will tell you, follow your passion and it will lead to success. Will it? How many starving artist are out there? How many millions of unpublished authors are their? How many would be actors are serving tables or tending bar? How many high school athletes dream of going pro and how many actually make it?
I followed some of my passions, and some worked out, others didn't.
There simply are no sure-fire answers. What I can tell you is this: Try to find a balance. A life spent postponing the things that give you joy, the things that make hours slip by unnoticed is not a life worth enduring. The things make you feel accomplished, even before another human being knows you did it, those are the things you need in your life. If they won't bring you the financial security you want, then make time for them outside of work. If your work isn't your true passion, try to find something you can at least enjoy.
Do not neglect your financial comfort either. If you can't pay your bills, the constant stress ruins your life, your health and your relationships. I know, because I've experienced it more than once.
You may get lucking and make a fortune following one of your passions, but the odds are against it. That does not mean you can't live a fulfilling life doing something else, as long as you seek balance.
