I have a problem with MJ DeMarco (Follow your passion gets a beatdown)

[MJ DeMarco]

Your passion will die a slow death in absence of appreciation (as per MJ feedback loop). Check out M J interview for knowledge for men podcast . Plus following passion is selfish thing to do ...fast lane most of the time honour selfless service rather selfish pursuit .

A complete explanation on why "passion" does not lead, it follows.

Feedback loops...

And why Steve Jobs was wrong. (But not lying.)

 

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[andrewsyc]

A complete explanation on why "passion" does not lead, it follows.

Feedback loops...

And why Steve Jobs was wrong. (But not lying.)

To backup your point, watch from about 36:00 minutes on.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy6-fq8PwNk

 

[KBT]

First of all I have read the Fastlane Millionaire every year for the past 3 years or so. I love the book. And yes I already order Unscripted I'm still waiting for it in the mail.

I respect MJ Demarco and his work but since the the first time I read his book I can't get over the fact that he says that money is more important than your passion. That doing what you love will not make you rich.

Imagine you're on your deathbed sweaty, nervous, trying your best to stay awake because you know that as soon as you go to sleep that will be the last time you close your eyes. You're dying on a 24k gold bedframe. But you don't care nor notice all that, you keep going back to that one thing you always wanted to be. A guitarist.

That was your dream and what you enjoyed most. But it wasn't paying the bills or putting food on the table. Nobody was buying your music either because they were been torrented. Yet you still enjoyed yourself and could survive off ramen noodles as long as your guitar was properly tuned.

But the pressure from your family to provide food and shelter made you take a detour on your dream. That detour led to riches but it also robbed you of your time with your precious guitar. Yet everytime you saw your dusty guitar in the coner of your room you told yourself next week I'll have free time to play. But you never did.

And yes I know money can buy you some good guitar lessons, your own record label, and even a recording studio. But unless you're Fastlane it won't give you time. So you either choose to strive to be rich or to follow your passion. Comfort in life or regret while dying.

Both passion and riches are essential for your life so is it possible to combine them both? Or are we forever force to decide for either or?

If you go back to Millionaire Fastlane , it's about developing the freedom to play the guitar. If you love playing the guitar and want the time to play, you've got to figure out how to generate income. Solve that part, and you'll be playing the guitar 24/7.

 

[ecommercewolf]

Think about how many people there are in the world that enjoy playing guitar like yourself & think about the percentage of those people that never have to worry about money by playing guitar...

You enjoy playing guitar... RESPECT

The point is you have a better chance at going Fastlane with an idea that's not guitar that then ALLOWS you to play guitar 24/7 whenever you want.

Pursuing your passion towards profits in this case isn't the best idea.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Long video but quite interesting...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP1-L1G3Kzk

 

[PapaGang]

Long video but quite interesting...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP1-L1G3Kzk

He's been preaching that for a while now, and he's got a point.

 

[James Orman]

It's about creating a business that will free your time to pursue any passion you want. If some of your passions align to creating a valuable product or service that is in demand it is an extra benefit or motivation.

 

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[payingkarma]

This is the issue are the wannabes are missing.

Everyone who is super successful in a inspirational niche -- musicians, players etc.-- will tell the same damn thing. "I was in love with "X" and I followed by passion" ....

Kobe Bryan and LeBron James said they followed their passion ... but I'm only 5'8... I don't have a chance.

So it's what is called the "SURVIVORSHIP BIAS" .... a Million was passionate about basketball, but 2 topped the chart and you listen to their speech.... "Do what you love"...

What you need to ask is "what are the factors that contributed to someone's success" -- there're 100 odd factors, passion was one... that helped them kept going.

Passion is a NICE to have feature for success, but not a MUST have.

 

[Puripong]

The entrepreneurs who succeed in both financially by doing the things they love have two things in common.

1. They have what the market needs, with a large enough market.

2. And they could do it well.

If they do things they love but can't make money (Because there is no market demand), then it is just a hobby, not a business. Not everything you passionate about could be turned into a business that generates a sustainable income.

If your primary goal is to make money, you should look at what the market wants more than what you love to do. That is what I got from reading that chapter in a book.

 

[FierceRacoon]

Think about how many people there are in the world that enjoy playing guitar like yourself & think about the percentage of those people that never have to worry about money by playing guitar...

Enjoyment doesn't count as "passion", by any standard. If you are willing to pay the price by slowly getting better at playing guitar, one decade after another, then eventually you will find a way to pay the bills. Of course, you can first spend 7 years to become a millionaire, but that is 7 years during which you could've been getting better at guitar. If your ultimate goal is becoming very good at it, then by all means, ignore MJ's advice.

However, most people don't have a passion in this sense.

 

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[WJK]

Enjoyment doesn't count as "passion", by any standard. If you are willing to pay the price by slowly getting better at playing guitar, one decade after another, then eventually you will find a way to pay the bills. Of course, you can first spend 7 years to become a millionaire, but that is 7 years during which you could've been getting better at guitar. If your ultimate goal is becoming very good at it, then by all means, ignore MJ's advice.

However, most people don't have a passion in this sense.

Why must one do one or the other? Can't you build a successful business and spend your spare time learning to play the guitar? Working long hours isn't equal to that work consuming all of your time 24/7. I've been able to earn 4 college degrees while working 60 to 70 hours per week -- and that education includes my Juris Doctorate from law school when I was in my early 40s. Oh, and I also raised two families of kids -- 2 sons before law school and my step kids after law school when I re-married. Learning to play the guitar during those years would have been a piece of cake.

 

[FierceRacoon]

Why must one do one or the other? Can't you build a successful business and spend your spare time learning to play the guitar?

Well, I am talking at least learning to a point that you can pay rent by teaching it and pay for coffee by performing.

 

[srodrigo]

Why must one do one or the other? Can't you build a successful business and spend your spare time learning to play the guitar? Working long hours isn't equal to that work consuming all of your time 24/7. I've been able to earn 4 college degrees while working 60 to 70 hours per week -- and that education includes my Juris Doctorate from law school when I was in my early 40s. Oh, and I also raised two families of kids -- 2 sons before law school and my step kids after law school when I re-married. Learning to play the guitar during those years would have been a piece of cake.

It's impressive how much you've achieved. However, having a full-time job, building a business on the side, and also having time for hobbies, health (preparing healthy food + exercise), etc. It's more than challenging for most mortals. Learning how to play an instrument well takes years even spending 3-4 hours/day.

 

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[WJK]

Well, I am talking at least learning to a point that you can pay rent by teaching it and pay for coffee by performing.

Ah, setting up a business to support yourself is a different matter from learning the skill of playing the guitar. That's an expert level that takes a lot of time -- at least 10,000 hours of performance experience... and that can take years of positioning yourself in that industry. In the meantime, it's a good idea to keep your day job. Eating and a roof over your head are both important creature comforts.

 

[SamRussell]

I think there's a distinction we're all missing that's generating a bit of confusion,

there is a difference between playing guitar for fun, and wanting to be truly great at it.

If you want to play for fun, then fastlane all the way - figure out your business, then enjoy your time noodling away.

If you want to be great at guitar (or writing, art or whatever), then getting in the practice hours has to be the priority, and you have to figure out getting by in the meantime.

There's only so many hours in the day and being great at something requires all of those hours.

 

[eterogeniusbrain]

Long video but quite interesting...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP1-L1G3Kzk

I follow my passion since im 15, im a mentally challanged guy, 23... when you are passionate about something even if you are very dumb you tend to perform better and longer and come with very good ideas about your passion because you spend so much time on it. The feelings of passion are very important maybe more greater than love, but is more important than everything else if you think about it when it comes to feelings. So I disagree with you. And why passion would be for fools.... If im a fool im a fool not matter what I do.... If im smart I am smart.... enjoyments count as passion....

Passion has to do little with intelligence, intelligence is very complex, you are trying to pair passion with capacity and its wrong... Intelligence is very intricate

Yes, it can pay the bills and the bills of all the world, the richest of the world follow their passion. If someone tells you to not follow your passion is because he wants you to stay off your track and draining you in a silence way towards success or doesn't know what the individual is talking about.

 

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[Felixm]

@MJ DeMarco does have a point. When you use your passion toget money. With time the passion erodes, and slowly by slowly you develop a hatred towards your passion. If you tackle the money problem first, by developing a C.E.N.TS fastlane strategy that is able to generate streams of income . You will find rhaf you will have adequate time to even develop your passion the way you want

 

[MJ DeMarco]

In Benjamin Hardy's new book, Personality Isn't Permanent, a book that is widely being read around here, he gives the "follow your passion" platitude a complete and utter beat-down.

Personality Isn't Permanent: Break Free from Self-Limiting Beliefs and Rewrite Your Story: Hardy, Benjamin: 9780593083314: Amazon.com: Books

Personality Isn't Permanent: Break Free from Self-Limiting Beliefs and Rewrite Your Story [Hardy, Benjamin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Personality Isn't Permanent: Break Free from Self-Limiting Beliefs and Rewrite Your Story

amzn.to

As I've been saying it for years and years back when few people would say it, passion is a horrible business model and it's a horrible centerpiece for personal growth.

Yes, passion plays a role, but culture, like many things, is foisting up passion as something to precede an effort, when it is actually something that follows an effort.

 

[WJK]

In Benjamin Hardy's new book, Personality Isn't Permanent, a book that is widely being read around here, he gives the "follow your passion" platitude a complete and utter beat-down.

Personality Isn't Permanent: Break Free from Self-Limiting Beliefs and Rewrite Your Story: Hardy, Benjamin: 9780593083314: Amazon.com: Books

Personality Isn't Permanent: Break Free from Self-Limiting Beliefs and Rewrite Your Story [Hardy, Benjamin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Personality Isn't Permanent: Break Free from Self-Limiting Beliefs and Rewrite Your Story

amzn.to

As I've been saying it for years and years back when few people would say it, passion is a horrible business model and it's a horrible centerpiece for personal growth.

Yes, passion plays a role, but culture, like many things, is foisting up passion as something to precede an effort, when it is actually something that follows an effort.

You're right. I don't know about you, but I generally don't like to do things I'm NOT good at doing. It takes time and effort to start to enjoy an activity -- which usually follows the curve of getting better at it. I don't get passionate about much of anything that I don't enjoy doing. So the idea of following your passion seems like an oxymoron to me. You can think that you might be passionate about doing something -- until you actually try it and don't obtain instant success. If you get that instant success, and it's not challenging, it becomes "last-year's-Christmas-trash" pretty quickly. So, like you, my passions that are sustainable follow the effort.

 

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[dgr]

LOL

 

[David Fitz]

I paid for a mentor who is a millionaire in USA selling men's underwear.

One of the first things I asked him was how was he passionate about selling men's underwear?

He said he wasn't passionate about underwear, he was passionate about making money.

Money has given him freedom in his 40s to do whatever the hell he likes.

I say find something you can enjoy that makes you money. Doesn't necessarily have to be your passion but you do need to enjoy it.

 

[Kevin88660]

First of all I have read the Fastlane Millionaire every year for the past 3 years or so. I love the book. And yes I already order Unscripted I'm still waiting for it in the mail.

I respect MJ Demarco and his work but since the the first time I read his book I can't get over the fact that he says that money is more important than your passion. That doing what you love will not make you rich.

Imagine you're on your deathbed sweaty, nervous, trying your best to stay awake because you know that as soon as you go to sleep that will be the last time you close your eyes. You're dying on a 24k gold bedframe. But you don't care nor notice all that, you keep going back to that one thing you always wanted to be. A guitarist.

That was your dream and what you enjoyed most. But it wasn't paying the bills or putting food on the table. Nobody was buying your music either because they were been torrented. Yet you still enjoyed yourself and could survive off ramen noodles as long as your guitar was properly tuned.

But the pressure from your family to provide food and shelter made you take a detour on your dream. That detour led to riches but it also robbed you of your time with your precious guitar. Yet everytime you saw your dusty guitar in the coner of your room you told yourself next week I'll have free time to play. But you never did.

And yes I know money can buy you some good guitar lessons, your own record label, and even a recording studio. But unless you're Fastlane it won't give you time. So you either choose to strive to be rich or to follow your passion. Comfort in life or regret while dying.

Both passion and riches are essential for your life so is it possible to combine them both? Or are we forever force to decide for either or?

Generally it is need/market demand triumphs over passion. The market only cares what you can do for them.

I think there are exception cases where passion is probably equally important. If you look at content creation where Matthew Effect (winner take most) dominates, it takes a lot time before someone gets famous and the perseverance and self-doubt would have kicked in before he or she gets. The conviction to carry on cannot rely on market research only (this is growing market segment...needs are strong... I will survive through until I create my brand and barrier to entry.."

All business have competition and any high initial margin will get eroded away. If you are passionate about it there is a high chance of you improving your skill and escaping the rat race of competition.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I posted this in another thread, but it is more relevant to this existing thread that started some years ago.

Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph: ‘Follow your dreams’ is ‘terrible advice’

At Cape Cod Community College's commencement ceremony, Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph said a popular piece of advice doesn't actually help young people reach their goals.

www.cnbc.com

 

[David Fitz]

Ray Dalio was spouting this off on one of his recent posts. He said he has never worked for money because he loves what he does. You need to have fun and when you're having fun you can give more. Total nonsense.

 

[Roli]

I posted this in another thread, but it is more relevant to this existing thread that started some years ago.

Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph: ‘Follow your dreams’ is ‘terrible advice’

At Cape Cod Community College's commencement ceremony, Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph said a popular piece of advice doesn't actually help young people reach their goals.

www.cnbc.com

"The pair came up with the idea to ship rental movies in the mid-1990s. At the time, it was arguably a bad idea: DVDs weren’t yet a mainstream entertainment medium, and cassette tapes were too heavy and costly to ship to consumers."

Kind of like a dream...

 

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[ZF Lee]

Ray Dalio was spouting this off on one of his recent posts. He said he has never worked for money because he loves what he does. You need to have fun and when you're having fun you can give more. Total nonsense.

Not really nonsense from Dalio.

He's just been in the investment field for so long...till he mastered the ropes and built up enough so he isn't one salary away from poverty. Mastery. So now that he's a real player of the game now, he can find satisfaction in solving problems and breaking new records in a world he knows very well.

 

[theguy22]

First of all I have read the Fastlane Millionaire every year for the past 3 years or so. I love the book. And yes I already order Unscripted I'm still waiting for it in the mail.

I respect MJ Demarco and his work but since the the first time I read his book I can't get over the fact that he says that money is more important than your passion. That doing what you love will not make you rich.

Imagine you're on your deathbed sweaty, nervous, trying your best to stay awake because you know that as soon as you go to sleep that will be the last time you close your eyes. You're dying on a 24k gold bedframe. But you don't care nor notice all that, you keep going back to that one thing you always wanted to be. A guitarist.

That was your dream and what you enjoyed most. But it wasn't paying the bills or putting food on the table. Nobody was buying your music either because they were been torrented. Yet you still enjoyed yourself and could survive off ramen noodles as long as your guitar was properly tuned.

But the pressure from your family to provide food and shelter made you take a detour on your dream. That detour led to riches but it also robbed you of your time with your precious guitar. Yet everytime you saw your dusty guitar in the coner of your room you told yourself next week I'll have free time to play. But you never did.

And yes I know money can buy you some good guitar lessons, your own record label, and even a recording studio. But unless you're Fastlane it won't give you time. So you either choose to strive to be rich or to follow your passion. Comfort in life or regret while dying.

Both passion and riches are essential for your life so is it possible to combine them both? Or are we forever force to decide for either or?

Yes but if you want to truly live your life in a way that you can do whatever you want whenever you want, then at some point you need to solve the money problem. MJ's whole point is that you should become wealthy so that you can do the things you love. The problem is that, what you love doesn't always pays the bills. I'm presuming you want to have a good life too outside of just playing the guitar. Happiness has multiple variables that contribute to it, if you're broke and the rest of your life sucks, I doubt you'll be just be 'happy' because you get to play the guitar. Under the assumption that you also want a good lifestyle, playing the guitar won't necessarily monetise to the point that it buys you a good lifestyle (unless you're using your guitar skills to contribute to the entertainment industry in a high-value way). The market doesn't really care about what you love, the market cares about what it needs.

What MJ's saying is that if you want to solve the money problem, your passion is usually not how you solve it (unless your passion just happens to be in line with something the market needs). The problem is that people are pursuing their passion as the means to secure a good lifestyle. This would have been okay if passion was the key ingredient to financial success, but it's not. Thus if one of your objectives is to live a good lifestyle (which it is for most people picking up that book), you probably should not pursue your passion because your passions are selfish, they're about what you want, not what the market wants.

Instead, a better approach is to get rich relatively quick, retire early, so that you can live the life you really want while being young and healthy, rather than old and immobile.

By all means, continue following your passion if you absolutely want to, but do not feel a sense of entitlement from it that the world should financially reward you because you're staying 'true to yourself'. The world doesn't care about yourself, the world cares about itself.

 

[David Fitz]

Not really nonsense from Dalio.

He's just been in the investment field for so long...till he mastered the ropes and built up enough so he isn't one salary away from poverty. Mastery. So now that he's a real player of the game now, he can find satisfaction in solving problems and breaking new records in a world he knows very well.

He's saying follow your passion and you'll never work a day in your life. It worked well for him because his passion made him successful. You can't say you've never worked a day in your life just because you're passionate about something. I read his book and he said he went broke back in the 80s because he made the wrong call. Don't tell me that he didn't have to work hard to get out of that mess.

 

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[Antifragile]

I just realized that when I tell people what I think about “follow your passion” it’s probably come from MJ’s Fastlane book.
This thread was like a lightbulb moment “oh right… maybe my opinion isn’t my own after all, it’s suspiciously coincidental that I came up with this right about the same time I read it in a book” lol.

 

[ZF Lee]

He's saying follow your passion and you'll never work a day in your life. It worked well for him because his passion made him successful. You can't say you've never worked a day in your life just because you're passionate about something. I read his book and he said he went broke back in the 80s because he made the wrong call. Don't tell me that he didn't have to work hard to get out of that mess.

It's all about your priorities at the moment...are you working to get out of poverty?
Or working to get to the next level?

And that was what I was trying to say...Dalio now has the chops. So he can afford to work to make his industry richer-- not just for self-survival. Maslow's hierarchy.

Now to think of it, its simply impossible to expect 100% of the time to be raining rainbow unicorns-- whether we work a passion job or not. There will always be challenges to solve at work. Which is why we need the right systems and habits to tackle them a tad quicker (and happier?)