Fundamental career advice

I have advised thousands of careers, and this is the career advice I give to everyone.

You have three choices for the type of career.

First, follow your passion. Let’s say your passion is snow skiing. You embrace that as your career, and become a ski instructor, or a trail groomer. The downside to that is that your hobby becomes your job. It can cease being a passion. 

The second option is to earn a lot of money, retire early, and do your hobby full time. You work in commission sales, try for a job on Wall Street, or do something that will earn you more money in a shorter amount of time. The downside: earning a lot of money is always much, much harder than you thought it would be. It changes you. In the remote chance that it works as planned, the experience changes you. You end up less passionate about your passion.

The third option is to keep your hobby as a hobby. You have to work a job you dislike instead of the one you would love. But your hobby stays fun, you enjoy your non-work time, and maybe, in the long run, your hobby might evolve into an ideal job. And if your interests change, and they often do in the long run, you’re not stuck.