You Don't Have to be Passionate About Anything

Last week, we talked about how starting your own business is one of the laziest things you can do. After all, nothing says lazy like getting other people to do work for you. And of course, you get to be your own boss, which is a pretty cool perk if I do say so myself.

But one of the most awesome benefits about having your own business is that you get paid for doing something you...well, actually enjoy. That’s an absolutely beautiful thing! Cause face it --- schlepping 40 hours a week for 40 years of your life at a job you hate for a boss you resent is torture.

In essence, you just do your thing and make a living out of it, rather than doing someone else’s thing and barely putting food on the table.

So how do you find that “thing” you want to make a business out of and furthermore, live a lazy lifestyle?

If you listen to the sage old sappy advice, you’re told to “find your true passion”.

Passion. What a word. It’s as if you need to have this deep hunger and craving to do a specific thing.

Ya know, like you need this “fiery” passion to get started. Fiery, as if you must transform into this infernal hellbeast aggressively chasing after its one target, it’s one prey.

It’s like you need to be so seriously obsessed with something to the point where that’s the only thing you care about and that matters to you. Your one and only. 

Well, fellow procrastin8rs. Get ready to simmer down, because here’s a truth bomb:

Passion is bullshit.



I mean, certainly, if you’re passionate about something, that’s all well and good. I mean, it’ll no doubt make building a business (related to your passion) that much easier.

But look, not many people are passionate about anything or ever will be, especially us lazy folks. Chances are, you won’t find something you really love that much, to the point where it’s literally all you think about.

It’s actually a rare occurrence for someone to hold such an ardent deep appreciation for one specific thing, and to suggest that you must “find” that for yourself, is well, pretty much bullshit.

It’s like searching for the Holy Grail, the needle in the haystack, the shiny Pokemon. You get the gist. It’s nearly impossible to find any sort of passion for yourself.

I mean just the sheer  level of commitment you need to have, the sheer amount of emotional attachment you need to give, in order to feel “passionate” about something is insane.  It’s an incredible amount of desire.

Saying to someone “oh just find your passion” is like suggesting “oh just find your true love.” It’s a nice little fantasy, and sure it happens on occasion, but realistically, you ain’t gon’ find it, and you’re going to wear yourself out trying to.

More likely than not, you never felt passionate about anything and quite frankly never will, but that’s okay. You don’t have to be passionate about anything in order to reach success.

You just have to…like something

See, you don’t have to be rigorously devoted to one specific subject, hobby, or niche. You just have to like it. You just have to appreciate it a little bit. That’s enough to get the ball rolling, that’s enough to build success.

It’s much easier -- a hell of a lot easier -- to find something you simply like than it is to find some sort of “divine calling” or whatever.

Relax, there’s no need to enthusiastically pursue a dream. Besides, the best way to see your dreams is to sleep.

Look at one thing you enjoy and find a way to monetize it. If you like video games, start streaming or make review videos. If you like movies, write about your film analysis in a blog.

I mean you talk about the things you like anyway. All blogging or vlogging really is, is doing that and getting paid for it.

Heck, if you like coffee, open a hipster coffee shop, like Colby Williams, owner of Parengo Coffee and author of Small Town Big Money did as he talked about in lvl 40 of the ProcrastiN8r Podcast. He specifically notes that he wasn’t “passionate” about coffee by any means. He just matter-of-factly likes it. He enjoys his cuppa Joe. And now he’s making big bucks.

He simply asked the question “What kind of coffee shop would *I* like to go to?” and then made it a reality. He wasn’t necessarily concerned with what other people liked or wanted. He just wanted a coffee shop that suits his own personal tastes and preferences. Now his little coffee shop has become a tourist attraction, where coffee-loving hipsters go out of their way to travel to.

It may sound sort of selfish to build a business that matches your own tastes. But hey, just remember other people have similar tastes as you. I mean unless you have really odd out-there sort of tastes, chances are, there’s a crowd of people that like what you like. And that’s really the key to building a successful business, the lazy way -- sharing what you like with other people who like the same thing.

Again, you don’t have to be the most passionate about it. You don’t have to be the most knowledgeable or even have the most expertise in it.

You just have to know enough to be able to answer the question:

What would I like enough to spend my money on?

And that’s it. Whatever product, service, or content you create, you should be able to tell yourself “I’d totally pay for this myself” and mean it. If you *like* what you’re selling enough to be willing to shell out the dough for it yourself, then other people will too.

Having passion is one thing. But all you really need is the basic level of appreciation, liking it in the first place.

There’s this whole ridiculous  idea that you have to find your “mission” in life. Man, that about sounds like I’m gonna dress up in a suit and equip myself with an arsenal of high-tech gadgets a la James Bond style. But you don’t need to be some sort of action-hero to find purpose or meaning. You can just be a dude (who likes something and abides by it).

You can still have purpose, but you don’t need to make it a mission (or passion for that matter).



​

​A mission is something that might be legitimately important to the world. A purpose is something important to you* See the difference?

On one hand, you’re striving for massive impact.On the other, you’re just looking to relax and be at peace. Enjoy life.

A mission is concentrated effort that *must* be done. It’s some sort of vocation or vital assignment with the tone of “do this or else”. It’s compulsory to complete.

A purpose, on the contrary, is just a matter of “this gives me fulfillment because I like doing it.” It’s not obligated or required. It’s just something that means something special to you. It gives you a reason to wake up out of bed (typically around noon), not because you feel you *should* but because you feel you want to. You like to.

You don’t have to go all out and make this huge impact, save the planet or whatever in some sort of passionate “mission impossible”. You only need to do...just enough.

You need to be able to tell yourself: I like this. I like what I’m doing.

And again, don’t need to go overboard and be passionate about what you’re doing...just enjoy it *enough* to feel satisfied.

Don’t feel bad for not being able to find your passion. Very few people do. And to be fair, passion is probably a borderline mental disorder of addiction if you break it down for what it is. It’s like you need it and can’t live without it, without your passion. You’re constantly thinking of ways you can get your “fix” and will do anything to get it. That’s quite a stressful lifestyle, and not one a true procrastin8r wants to be a part of.

​You instead want to aim for a more “recreational use” in what you’re doing. You can appreciate it for what it is, but at the end of the day, it’s not something you absolutely feel compelled to do. You want it and don’t need it.

You want leisure over passion, something that relaxes you and makes you feel at ease, not something that’s gonna fire you up and make you feel an undying urge to get more, do more, and be more. Sometimes less is more.

In creating your own business, don’t focus on making some sort of big “Passion Project”. That’s a lot of rigorous work and commitment -- something I assume as a lazy ass you want to avoid. Instead develop your interest into a profitable venue.

There’s *something* that interests you.I guarantee it.  I’m too slothful to make a big list of suggestions, but you know what you like, damnit! I shouldn’t have to tell you what it is you like. All I’m saying is take that interest and monetize it.

When you’re making money from doing a thing you like, you’re no longer “working for a living” and instead are just “living”. What you do can become so integrated in your life that you’re no longer searching for the right career or right passion. You’re just doing what you do, and the finances are a byproduct of living your life.

What you choose to embrace as a business or monetization doesn't have to define you, in the way any sort of passion does. It’s part of you, but not who you are at the core.

I’d go as far as to argue that perhaps passion, to some extent, is a bit unhealthy. The nature of it being obsession. I mean the difference between obsession and passion is like the difference between shit and poop. But seriously, the amount of fascination you need to be “passionate” about something is really quite neurotic to bone, no doubt about it.

Boiling over something because you “feel passionate about it” is really quite absurd. It creates for you a “hustle” to get done, rather than a hobby you enjoy that just so happens to pay the bills as a bonus.

Whether it’s craft beer or parkour, fire poi or sewing, whatever the hell it is you like doing, go ahead and make it your business, aka, your passive income source, from it. Forget passion. Be lazy and do whatever you like.

Your life doesn’t need to be an absolute upbeat thrill full of  passion. It just needs to be simple. 


Take it easy,

N8


​