Follow your passion or follow the money?

Hello everyone, how are you all doing today? Have you started feeling the chills in the air? For those of us in Nigeria, welcome to the period of the cold-dry wind blowing from the Sahara desert, our very own winter (but instead of snows, we have dust particles), say hello to the legendary harmattan 🥶

The harmattan seems to be getting worse every day, I don't mind the cold but what I hate is the usual dry and dusty air that accompanies it, it feels like the wicked elder brother of winter.

These days my throat is always dry and requires me to drink water all the time, my skin is dusty and dry as well, I just can't wait to go home for the holiday so I can always remain indoors.

But enough talks about the weather, let's dive into the topic for today. I have had an idea for this article for some days but I didn't decide on what the topic should be, but luckily for me, I saw this topic on nairaland yesterday (see it here - Discussion: Follow Your Talents And Passion Or Follow The Bag?!!!).

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So, passion or money? I think it actually depends on some certain situation. The country I live in has a way of killing your passion before it even grows, and that's the reason why most people will rather follow the money.

I have seen some persons that have passion for a certain thing but they can't make a living out of it because it's something that isn't common in the area they stay. And that's another thing that comes into mind while chasing your passion; is it marketable in the area you stay?

Take for example somebody that has a passion for taking care of animals and who stays in an area that's dominated by vegetarians, is it advisable for him to still chase his passion? In this case, it will be good if he learns how to grow vegetables and sells them to get money.

Sometimes, you just have to do things you haven't done before so you can discover something you really like. Some people here didn't know they can write until they have tried it for a while and discovered they love writing and now they have turned it into their passion, but you wouldn't even know until you have tried.

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Money is another thing that can motivate you to have passion for something you didn't have passion for before, an example is also some persons here who have taken up writing as a passion, they got motivated to do it because of what they are earning.

On the other hand, if your passion is something that can bring you money as well, then it's a good thing. Motivational speakers will tell you to chase your passion and the money will come but let's be realistic here, it doesn't always turn out that way.

Some persons will say their passion is football but they have never earned anything from playing so in this case we will say that they are just doing it for fun (or just call it a hobby). But some persons have been able to progress in playing football and end up playing for international clubs, but everyone isn't so lucky.

One of the things that actually kill the passion of most people is marketing; if you can't market what you love doing then you won't be successful. People have been able to get recognition for what they do through showcasing it on social media, and they earn from it.

Remember when I said money can be a motivation for developing a passion for something? Most people end up having a passion for a particular skill because they find it lucrative, but in the end, they can't make money from it because of poor marketing skills.

I have seen people that don't have passion for a profession excel in that profession and it's all because they know how to market it more than the people that truly have a passion for it.

Closing thoughts

Following your passion and doing something you enjoy while earning money from it is one of the best things in the world, but a lot of people aren't privileged to follow that route.

Because of responsibilities, most people will rather chase after money and neglect their passion which probably puts little to no food on their table. I will prefer chasing after money first if my passion isn't making me money, then I can go back to fuel my passion when I have enough money for it (that's actually what I am doing right now 😉).

So what about you, would you rather chase your passion or you will follow the money instead? Let me know in the comment section below.

Thanks for reading 💖💖💖

Saturday December 11, 2021