Last Updated on August 1, 2023

Follow your passion

You will never have a million dollars unless you follow your passion. I met a young adult who was about 18 years old. I asked him what does he want to do with his life? He said he wanted to play golf. However, his father wants him to go into the family plumbing business. 

I told him he would never have a million dollars going into his family business. Sure, he might come into a substantial amount of money, but eventually, he would burn out, realize he doesn’t enjoy what he is going, quit and lose everything.

It’s hard

Since we are all unique, there that something that we enjoy doing more than anything else. It might be playing basketball or writing or whatever. That special talent is going to make you a million, nothing else.

 It’s hard because we might feel the pressure of our peers to follow the status quo. To do what everyone else is doing. But only some people are following their passion. If we do what everyone else is doing, we will get the results everyone else is getting—very few people because finally independent or wealthy.

Talent

There is no particular industry or job that will get you there. It’s hard to figure out what to do when you are young. A successful pizza maker said to me once when I told him I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a living. He said to start with not doing what I don’t like. It is a simple philosophy, but it worked.

Warren Buffett said he met many people at the end of their life who said they would have followed their passion more when they were young. However, he met very few people who wished they had chased money more.

Chasing the money 

If you chase the money and don’t burn out before you get to the million dollars, you will spend it on things that make you fulfilled and happy, and before you know it, the money will be gone. The only solution is to double down on your passion. Even if you do not make a million, you will still be happy at the end of the day. The greatest wealth is health.