Who You Are vs What You Do

Yesterday I celebrated the release of my 100th podcast episode (along with 50 000 downloads) and did some reflection on the people I’ve met and lessons I’ve learned along the way.

One of the things I’ve picked up over the last two years is that in this age of needing to “find your passion”, there seems to be this weird belief that we have to get paid or make money by doing the thing that we love.

But I actually don’t completely agree with that.

I realize this may seem contradictory to a lot of what I usually post, share, or say, but let me explain.

Once upon a time, there were these things called hobbies. Beautiful things designed to fuel our creativity, put us in flow, and add joy to our lives purely for the sake of adding joy to our lives.

Yet at some point, we started to think that we had to get paid for everything we do. If it doesn’t fit in with the hustle, it doesn’t belong.

Just think about it: Whenever we see someone with a unique talent, we immediately suggest that they should turn it into a business or sell it (I know I’m guilty of this one).

What I want to suggest, and what I have previously suggested on several podcast episodes, is that there’s nothing wrong with doing something just for the pure enjoyment of it.

Upon thinking about this concept more and more, I summed it up with the following line:

“Who you are doesn’t need to become what you do.”

For example, I am still very passionate about health and fitness, but that doesn’t mean I need to become a personal trainer (again).

I’m incredibly passionate about veganism, animal cruelty, and the environment, but that doesn’t mean I need to make it my source of income.

For you, it might be something different. You might be a wizard on the guitar, making art, looking good on camera, or telling jokes. That doesn’t mean you need to make money from it.

Yes, do work you love. But let’s stop putting so much pressure on ourselves to monetize everything we do, and be okay with the fact that some passions can remain purely that: something we love doing just for the fun of it.

Who you are doesn’t need to become what you do.