Keep your dayjob.

[h inandout]

I am going to quote Elizabeth Gilbert from Big Magic here, "To yell at your creativity, saying, "You must earn money for me!" Is sort of like yelling at a cat, all your doing is scaring it away, because you're making really loud noises and your face looks weird when you do that."

It feels so good to have this validated.  Believe me I tried think of ways to make money on my passion, but it's just not gonna happen.  And it puts waaaay too much pressure on me to perform, when really I don't know what the fuck I'm doing.  I'm trying to do something new here damnit!  Why should I be so demanding of myself.  This is why I have been failing.  I took the "make money on your passion" bit too seriously and have had to change jobs a billion times.  When my goal is teaching, all I wanna do is sing.  When my goal is singing, all I wanna do is study health.  Can't I just find an appropriately less passionate job that keeps my head above water!?

[Henkaipan]

You might have a point. Yet I think one big mistake people might be making in this regard is the absolute claim they hold, when seeking a job that fits their passion. Finding a fulfilling career for most will be a lifelong process. The two words "job" and "career" exemplify this nicely I think. Job thus being my current method of earning money, career as a form of vocation, a path I choose to develope, gain competence over my lifetime, share my talents with others and in some form or other seek fulfillment in. I think it's important to accept that when forming a career, things develope, one may have many in-between steps and will benefit most in viewing career as a continuous process. With happiness/fulfillment as a lifetime overreaching goal, not everyone needs to make their passion their only source of income. It might work for some, for others not.

If you realize it's not (currently) working for you, then choose a career that nevertheless supports your other goals/hobbies/passions. There is no one correct way to live life. Maybe give yourself some slack, accept that the current job you have does not have to be "the" job of your lifetime and ensure that you can grow and develope overall as a human being, thus also following passions in different areas. Whether completely through your job (although this will most often take a long time to be realized), or partially, by ensuring a job that allows for your interests/passions or at least touches upon them. With latter - who knows? By taking off the pressure and allowing things to develope, while still aiming for overall fulfillment, it might just happen with time, as you experience new ways, ideas and lifestyles, thus getting to know more and more what you want.

If you are happy/fulfilled - who cares if your job is your passion? Making your passion your job is one powerful tool of many, yet not  a necessary condition.

[aurum]

@h inandout

I'm reading Unscripted by MJ DeMarco (10/10 book) and he had a couple great points on this.

1) Your passion can get killed by making it a job. When it's your source of livelihood, it becomes something you have to do. And no one wants to do anything they have to do, no matter what it is.

2) Passion comes from positive feedback. Sure, we'd all like to imagine that we're enlightened beings that don't need external rewards. But that's not reality.

Reality is that external rewards help generate passion. When I see a comment on YouTube telling me how my content is changing their life, that fires me up and reminds me that what I'm doing is important.

3) Jobs can sometimes be a place of training / discovering your life purpose. Many entrepreneurs started at a job they were probably less passionate about and then broke off when the time was right.

[RawJudah]

I work a ‘normal’ job and I’m fine just doing personal development work when I finish the day. My passions aren’t going to pay the bills and I’ve come to accept it. I can still do my passions as soon as I finish work and get home. 

It would be incredible to be financially independent and making my passions my work, but I’m happy with what I have now for the time being...