Passion Is Not Enough
You may have heard the phrases “Do what you love and the money will follow” and “follow your passion and you’ll never work a day in your life.” You may have even given this advice to your children.
Many people strongly believe in the idea that you can easily get rich if you find your passion.
Passion Is Not Enough
The problem is they only have part of the formula.
Your passion is not enough without these two key elements: you have to be good at it, and it has to provide value to other people. The most important part of the equation is the value that you provide to other people has to be something they're willing to pay for.
The actual formula looks like this: Passion + Skill + Value to other people = Rewarding Career.
Passion is Just the Starting Point
Knowing what your child is really interested in is only the first step for them to figure out their career path or what business they should start. Passion is a great motivator. When you’re passionate about something, you’ll be willing to explore the subject in detail and commit time and effort to it. It might even spark a lifelong calling, but it doesn’t guarantee riches.
Get Really Good at What You Love
Skills are the foundation to a successful career. You might be passionate about something, but without skills you won’t be able to compete. Who would you hire to complete a job: a person who says they are passionate about the work, or a person who is actually an expert at getting the job done? Most people will hire an expert.
Keep in mind that becoming an expert at something doesn’t necessarily mean more schooling. In some cases your child’s chosen field will require formal education, but many skills can be taught by a mentor or even by watching Youtube.
Your child will have to develop their skills through practicing. Nobody becomes an expert through passion alone.
The Most Important Thing: Does it Provide Value to Other People?
Loving something and being really good at it can be personally satisfying, but it won’t make a good career or business unless it provides value that people are willing to pay for.
Your child will need to figure out how their skills and passions will benefit others. Can they create a product or provide a needed service? Can they solve problems or improve existing products or services?
Have them practice at home. Do they have any passions or interests that could benefit the family?
For example, a teenager I know loved to cook and bake. She provided value to the family by taking over planning and preparing supper every night, freeing up the adults to do other things. As she became more skilled at baking, she began making fancy cookies and cake pops for family parties. Eventually this led to a side business that she does while attending high school. As she grows, she can expand and grow her business or use her passion and skills in another way to have a successful career.
Teach your child to identify the needs of others and find ways to meet those needs using their passion and skills and they will be well on their way to creating work that is fulfilling and rewarding.
Putting the Formula Together
To figure out what might be a rewarding career or business, have your child take these steps:
What are your child’s interests? Make a list of every interest your child can think of. Don’t worry about whether or not you think these interests can benefit others or make money. Just put down what they like. (For example, three things on my daughter’s list are dancing, animatronics, and forensics).
Go back through and have them identify the things they are passionate about. Is there something they could talk about all day? Is there an activity they do where they’ve lost all track of time because they love it so much? (For my daughter, it’s dancing).
Would they be willing to put in hundreds or even thousands of hours of practice over the next few months and years to become really skilled at one or more of these interests? (My daughter has been dancing for eleven years already, and she logs around 800 to 1000 hours of dancing per year between classes, practicing, and performances).
Brainstorm every way you can think of that their interest could provide value to other people. Could they produce or invent a product? Offer a service? Teach someone else? There may be several possibilities for each interest. (My daughter has already provided value to others by working as a teacher’s assistant at her dance studio and a dance teacher at a preschool. As she gets older she could offer private lessons to younger dancers or she could become a professional dance teacher or open her own dance studio. And of course, she might even become a full time dancer with a professional company, as some other dancers from our local dance studios have done in the past).
Have your child begin using their passion and skills to begin providing value to others right away. Expect to provide this value for free at first – at this point the benefit they receive by practicing their skills is more important than getting paid. Eventually they will be able to earn money with their products or services. (My daughter started out by helping her brother and some younger friends when she noticed they were struggling. She also volunteered as a helper in a pre-K class. She did this for several years before becoming a teacher’s assistant, which is a paid role. The next season, she and her brother were both paid for teaching a class at a local preschool).
Your child might decide that this particular passion would make a great career, or discover that it would be better suited for a hobby. It's exciting to see what you might be able to do with your interests.
Conclusion
Passion is a great place to start when figuring out your career or business, but it’s only the beginning. Passion is not enough to have a rewarding career. Your child must be willing to commit to developing their skills and providing value to people who will pay for that value. By doing this they will open doors to exciting career opportunities and set themselves up for long term success.
