Brilliant, and oh so true.

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Spot on. I doubt many Snowflakes will appreciate it.

Amen, NV. A Participation Trophy does not equal ability.

That message is such BULLSCHIT! Don't believe it.

The example he gave of him following his grandfather's passion does not make this true.

Perhaps most people do not follow their passion. Instead they accept someone else's beliefs, before they have had a chance to develop and trust their own. Or they believe someone's advice "Get into plastics!" and are possibly miserable their whole life, even though they might make a great living.

Bull!

Spend your time doing what you love to do.

Yep!

Well composed. I'd also offer there might be a bit of a "luck factor." Simply being in the right place at the right time to take advantage of a situation that will kick start ones career.

Especially true in the entertainment industry.

I think that was good advice.

I've seen way too many college grads, up through doctoral level, who couldn't get a job in their area of passion (or degree).

I can cite an example where it was quite true in engineering as well.

I think he, in the most part, is spot on.

Even if it doesn't pay - right?

Sorry - I disagree. Unless one is not responsible for anyone but himself, gainful employment is first priority. I have a family member who has bought into this passion thing and can't understand why he is practically destitute and can't feed his family without assistance. His chosen passion just doesn't pay - even if you're good at it. He would do well to save the passion as a hobby (which he could easily do) and find work that will pay (which is plentiful here).

Get the most expensive degree you can, the department of education will appreciate the interest payments.

One of the best pieces of career advice I ever got was: "there's only one person who will look out for your best interests".

Hint: it isn't your boss or the company you work for.

...and it isn't your school guidance councilor.

I think it's impossible to get paid doing your passion.

I'm a plumber, I'm in the crap business too!!

I love hunting, fishing, screwing.



I haven't found it pays well.

The term, "Starving Artist", comes to mind.

Excellent video. Only one issue, there is no certainty in life except for death. I most definitively followed "my passion" since I can remember and it worked out for me, even from a financial aspect. Now I have MANY friends who, if money is the measure of success, I am a total failure, but like I used to tell them, not one of you was ever certified for nuclear delivery

I get a kick out of the responses on "Shark Tank" when folks trying to get money for their business can only offer, "But I'm VERY passionate about this!", as an argument!

Mike

Rowe's point is that you may not be equipped to succeed at your "passion" and therefore pursuing it without admitting defeat is a gigantic mistake.

If my passion had been to be a concert violinist or basketball player, I'd have been chit out of luck no matter how hard I tried and tried. I washed out any number of students who had genuine passion to be a pilot - but not the necessary skills.

I succeeded in three widely different careers not only because I had passion to do them but I arranged for the opportunities to begin them. (And fortunately had the skills, too.)

And I also succeeded in a business I had no passion for initially, but fell into an opportunity and then made it a passion. THAT's what Rowe is advocating.

I've got first hand experience with that aspect.

So many possibilities out there, I'd never spend time doing a job I didn't enjoy.

Life's too short and money ain't everything.

I think I know what you mean, and that's probably true for the vast majority. I once had a passion for photography and was even doing it semi-professionally....enough to realize that turning it into work would take the fun out of it. And it doesn't pay that well anyway - unless one is very, very good. Even more true now, with the advent of digital photo technology.

Sure - some people get lucky and their passion pays off. But they are the small minority. There comes a time to be realistic...or starve.

Pursuing such can also be a sure way to ruin that same passion.

Too many years of fiberglass and epoxy getting under your skin?

You are correct though, one has to define what they're idea of success is and go for it, screw everyone else. If it doesn't work, chock it up to life experience, reassess and move forward. Too many ways to make a living doing what some else defines for you.

No, but I've breathed bushels of sawdust.

a winner never quits, and a quitter never wins.

follow that advice, and one has at least a chance of retiring at 54 with the full walk. others do even better.

Got this from another thread...
Top 10 Nascar drivers' salaries. There's a job with passion! $25,000,000/year!

I hired a fishing guide once and he was very good at what he did. I quizzed him about how it came about and he said that he "wanted to follow his passion." He then said he would never do it again because it turned his passion into a pain in the azz and nothing more than a job....he got to the point where he hated going fishing each day.

Yes, that's part of it. The other part is if you are making money at it that means that someone is paying you. If someone is paying you then you are working for someone and you no longer have complete ownership of said passion.

Then that particular fishing guide stayed in it too long.

these days "following your passion" usually means living off mom and dad until they hate your lazy ass.

passion is over rated

IMO, winning Wimbledon at 16, or playing the masters at Augusta national at a young 14,
= gifted ability but still requires - discipline,focus,sacrifice and perseverance, not so much passion.

Passion alone won't get you driving F1 or piloting a jet, you need money, rare privilege and skill.

Of those with passion that try for Special Forces?.. how many fail?

I certainly followed mine and have no regrets.

Sorry Phil, but you are about as common as Babe Ruth. ;-{>8

Brother, you ain't kidding!!!

L.W.

I ain't worked a lick in over 27 years

... and they pay me for it, not real well, but its a living.

Good advice from Mike Rowe.
I work to live, I don't live to work.
Several years ago I was facing a layoff and the prospect of finding new employment after 20 years at the same company. I was talking to a business owner friend and he asked "what do you WANT to do?" I replied "what I WANT to do is get up in the morning, walk down to McDonalds and drink coffee with the spit & whittle crowd, come back home and maybe do some reloading, go to the range, or maybe take the kayak to the lake..."

Read between the lines folks. Mike Rowe is trying to spread the news that the trades are in need of workers and the white collar jobs are all saturated. Which is more likely to be available to most folks?

Life is way to unpredictable to say either notion is better or worse than the other. I think being passionate about what you're doing is helpful wether it's a stepping stone or a winning lottery ticket.

Absolutely spot on.

I fell into my career when I realized my passions were out of wack and I needed to provide for my family.

I've found that an attitude of gratitude for being able to do that AND THEN SOME has kept me in a line of work I'm not very passionate about at all. Gratitude motivates me to do what isn't all that exciting to me to the best of my ability more or less.

And that's the core of why so many want to follow their passion and are crushed when the world doesn't present itself on a silver platter. They feel entitled.

A good friend of mine owned an archery shop and said the same thing. When he started out, he could shoot nonstop 7 days a week. After 25 years he could barely stand to look at the damn bows he worked on. I asked him what he would do if he could start over again, he said he would have went into the jewelry business and dealt with the pain in the asses, where at least the profit margin was 400% and not 4% like the hunting industry.

Another one of my contacts retired from an engineering job in Wisconsin, moved to Brunswick, GA and became a fishing guide. He quit that and went back to work in a fish factory because he got tired of baby sitting a bunch of asssshole drunks.

The perfect job is one that allows some decent money, without sacrificing too much personal time to get it. Any suggestions?

If you work at what you love, what you love will become a job.

Better to find work that allows you to live your dream, while taking as little time as possible from living it.

I wouldn't show up if they stopped paying me.

I was trained in college for radio and television broadcasting. I'm legal on the air, but the pay scale is so low, you could starve.
Add to that, the pressure is high. Everything is timed down to the second, show prep is endless, and the on air personality could put everyone in the building out of work. A multi-million dollar piece of equipment, you can no longer turn on.
It is a rush, and a drive to do it well, but you cannot support a family that way. I may get back into it when I retire.
I'm good at what I do, and I have standing offers it with other companies if I ever decide to move. The boss knows I could walk away today, and be working for his competition tomorrow.
It's not the same as working your passion, but is far less stressful.

Correct me if wrong, So you get a level of satisfaction & fulfilment from the rewards of your personal sacrifices,
that might not otherwise be attained but just by having and following some idealistic passion.

Personally I found success disappointing , cause the dreamy idea of something is never quiet like the reality
when you have attained it.

Can't you read? Or, are you going to start criticizing a man's choices to provide for him and his the same way you do as an elitist SOB about another man's faith?

4ager sober your feeble insecure mind , theres no criticism in my response to efw,
If you had adult sense , you could see I'm talking about a persons true rewards and valuable discoveries in life.

I'm passionate about being successful at what I do. About being very good at what I do. Passionate about serving my customers, my employees and my family.

Doesn't really matter WHAT that is, as long as I do it better than those idiot, lazy, incompetent competitors I have.....

Some days are better than others.

That's all I know.

Coming out of high school my passion was to do something that would keep me close to hunting and fishing, and being a Game Warden seemed like a natural fit. At the time, Game Wardens were starting about about 25K per year in Ohio. Even to a niave 18 year old kid, the thought of working so hard, being on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and not seeing a real clear chance of that really improving much wasn't very appealing. It's great to chase a passion, but sometimes unless you plan on driving a Yugo for 30 years, and living on raman noodles, it's not a realistic career path.

Fast forward a few years and I dabbled with fishing professionally. The first thing I learned, was even with a good run, it's an incredibly tough way to make a living. The second thing I learned, is living week to week, and needing to be on the stage every Sunday, just to have enough gas to drive home is no way to live. It took me two years to figure tht out. Some of the guys I fished with 25 years ago still toil in the journeyman ranks. They fill out the tournaments on Saturday, and then on Monday try to figure out how to pay the next entry fee. It's a tough way to make a buck.

It took a few years, but I learned that working with my hands and my brain was what was going to feed me. I've been in the optical industy for close to 35 years now. My bills get paid, there's a roof over my head, and food in the fridge.

Folks don't want to get their hands dirty today, and the skilled labor trades go crying for help. A friend owns a machine shop and has basically given up on finding qualified help. He makes his own machinists from the floor up. Trade schools and tech schools just can't turn out enough qualified people to supply the trades. What a shame.

I’ve been saying this for years.
99% of the young people who “follow their dream and do what they love” end up failures.
Sure, 1% make it, and they are the ones that write books and give interviews. Everybody wants to hear from the world champion cowboy. Nobody wants to hear from the 10,000 bums who borrow money and follow the rodeo circuit until they run out of money or break too many bones.
What does that one “world champion cowboy” say ?
“Follow your dream and do what you love”.

You got it.

Grateful to be able to provide for my family and even tho I'm not excited about the work I do I am proud to do excellent work.

My idealistic passion at the time could not have supported my family and me.

20 years ago I figured out what my skills were, then I found an industry that valued those skills. I have no complaints.





P

Best advice I've heard, makes the whole get out of high school and go to college a farce. Just study something is the impression you are left with. My degrees were a result of getting close to graduation, looking at where I stood in relation and made that my major so I could finish in a timely fashion. I knew a bachelors wouldn't get me a job, so got a masters.

What I should have done instead, was look around, do some research and find out what kind of jobs are actually out there that pay a descent wage and learn how to do them.

I have worked at the plumbing trade for 47 years. I hate the word plumbing!!