"Follow your passion" never mentions supply and demand

[d i e g o]

@MaxBlume check the one person business modell youtube playlist from dan koe. thats probably made for you

[MaxBlume]

@d i e g o Thank you, man! I’m checking it out right now

[Lyubov]

A lot of artists and creative people filled with passion (including myself) make the mistake of holding tightly onto expectations. Expectations cloud your judgement. It can be especially deceptive as you get into spiritual work. We hear teachings about openness, following your heart. Where did we go wrong?

A traveller making his way to another town came across a river he had to cross to get to the other side. One of the fishermen offered him a ride across. As the traveler watched the fisherman row the boat he was deeply impressed by how the fisherman was able to effortlessly do it standing. The traveler asked the fisherman how he effortlessly could row such a boat with zero effort with complete grace and perfection. The fisherman told him only that he first had to learn to swim. 

This is an interesting Taoist parable that holds a lot of wisdom around this topic. We all want to see success in what we set out to do but we forget the foundation that sits underneath. In order to so effortlessly row a boat you need such a foundation to let go, such a foundation lets us give up trying and going with the flow and in this flow is often times where passion and creativity and grand vision comes from. 

The parable is simple but the same lesson applies to the nuanced lives we live. We often times forget we need to learn to swim, we have bills to pay, we have responsibilities. We neglect to just sit still and observe. Observe the world. Observe reality. Truly watch how life passes and how the world works, how our life works. We have expectations that if we blindly follow a feeling that things will go how we wish but there are no guarantees. That is life but it is also what makes it interesting. If it was as simple as just following a feeling, the game would not be fun, it would break the game and you would not play. 

You need to work towards finding a balance where you can live from your heart and passion but not at the expense of being so naive. Balancing wonder and naivety. If you were not so blinded by your emotions and expectations you would of probably been able to reason how placing such a financial burden on what you enjoy would not be a wise risk to take without some knowledge of something else which could help you float in the water. 

The key here is knowing to swim, that way you can let go and flourish in your flow which is where creativity lives. Clarity of mind is important here. It does not mean completely neglecting and forgetting about your passions. This is often times the energy of your soul speaking out to be realized. But this is not a race. If you need to prioritise more time to learn to swim that is fine. There is no one right path. Passion/wonder and naivety must be balanced with wisdom, reason and observation of the facts of reality. 

Edited Saturday at 08:34 PM by Lyubov

[Basman]

It's not binary between market demand and passion. If nothing else, you want a passionate life because it feels better. Where you look for opportunities to be more passionate in your life, even if you work at a warehouse. What else you supposed to do? Your not going to become good at a skill without some passion for one.

Maybe the issues is not that your too passionate but that your not passionate enough. If you failed at a market venture you discovered one way how to not do it. It's normal for a business to fail by the way. People who make a second attempt at business have a much higher rate of success. 

[Joseph Maynor]

If you start your own business this is an "end run" around trying to fit in, but you need to have talent and business skills or someone who handles this for you.  You might also fail this way.  You can make it work, but you have to stick with it, and also make real things happen, not just plans.

[PsychedelicEagle]

On 9/26/2026 at 6:58 PM, Ulax said:

You'll like Cal Newport's So Good They Can't ignore you book

+1

[Rafael Thundercat]

On 26/09/2026 at 5:00 PM, d i e g o said:

@MaxBlume check the one person business modell youtube playlist from dan koe. thats probably made for you

This one here is actualized

 

 

[Leo Gura]

Following your passion requires a lot strategy and being pragmatic.

The problem in art is not oversupply, it is the lack of skill and talent in creating something truly great.

If you made a truly great work of art, you could find a way to monetize it and make a career off it. But developing that level of artist skill takes a lot of work.

[Joseph Maynor]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

Following your passion requires a lot strategy and being pragmatic.

The problem in art is not oversupply, it is the lack of skill and talent in creating something truly great.

If you made a truly great work of art, you could find a way to monetize it and make a career off it. But developing that level of artist skill takes a lot of work.

Hmm.  Food for thought.  Thanks!

[Natasha Tori Maru]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

Following your passion requires a lot strategy and being pragmatic.

The problem in art is not oversupply, it is the lack of skill and talent in creating something truly great.

If you made a truly great work of art, you could find a way to monetize it and make a career off it. But developing that level of artist skill takes a lot of work.

Reading this triggered a thought!

I think there is a new problem arising - AI enables those without "skill" and expertise to shortcut their way to able to produce skilled work. They have a low effort process that can overcome the hurdles years of training, effort and persistence needed to develop a craft that someone can benefit from.

That prestige and access is available to them. Removing hierarchy and barriers to entry for many creative output fields. AI is democratizing skills. And separating skill acquisition from skill output.

But the actual process of training that skill is a valuable asset. It trains consistency, diligence, dedication & skills to produce excellence in a field. Along the way prestige is built through networks and business contacts - social skills are developed as a byproduct. The networks we have to work with - human contact & connection - are fast becoming a new type of asset that traditional training methods (ie university, business etc) used to build through training processes.

Skill becomes cheaper - networks become more valuable.

They are being gatekept in a new way. Human connection may become a scarce form of capital. Authentic, high quality and trusted relationships.

Edited 2 hours ago by Natasha Tori Maru

[Joseph Maynor]

18 minutes ago, Natasha Tori Maru said:

Reading this triggered a thought!

I think there is a new problem arising - AI enables those without "skill" and expertise to shortcut their way to able to produce skilled work. They have a low effort process that can overcome the hurdles years of training, effort and persistence needed to develop a craft that someone can benefit from.

That prestige and access is available to them. Removing hierarchy and barriers to entry for many creative output fields. AI is democratizing skills. And separating skill acquisition from skill output.

But the actual process of training that skill is a valuable asset. It trains consistency, diligence, dedication & skills to produce excellence in a field. Along the way prestige is built through networks and business contacts - social skills are developed as a byproduct. The networks we have to work with - human contact & connection - are fast becoming a new type of asset that traditional training methods (ie university, business etc) used to build through training processes.

Skill becomes cheaper - networks become more valuable.

They are being gatekept in a new way. Human connection may become a scarce form of capital. Authentic, high quality and trusted relationships.

But you would not know this without interviewing someone in person.  You make a general hypothesis, which is fine if we are looking at global trends.  

[Leo Gura]

25 minutes ago, Natasha Tori Maru said:

AI enables those without "skill" and expertise to shortcut their way to able to produce skilled work.

There are always people who try to fake greatness and skill. And they eventually they fail because the real thing beats the fake thing.

Fakeness works to fool stupid people, but fakeness canot fool great people because greatness sees through fakeness.

Edited 1 hour ago by Leo Gura

[Leo Gura]

The biggest mistake naive people make is that they think "follow your passion" means, you don't need to be highly pragmatic too. Following your passion is not a blank check for utopian thinking. Following your passion means being extremely realistic and practical about how to actualize your vision.

"Follow your passion" does not mean never think about money.

Follow your passion means you strategize about money years in advance so you have enough money to make your passion sustainable.

Edited 1 hour ago by Leo Gura

[Joseph Maynor]

4 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

There are always people who try to fake greatness and skill. And they eventually they fail because the real thing beats the fake thing.

Fakeness works to fool stupid people, but fakeness canot fool great people because greatness sees through fakeness.

I don't think fakeness works at all.  

[Natasha Tori Maru]

16 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

There are always people who try to fake greatness and skill. And they eventually they fail because the real thing beats the fake thing.

Fakeness works to fool stupid people, but fakeness canot fool great people because greatness sees through fakeness.

Don't smash their dreams too early 

Some people love "gatekeeping by those with skill" might no longer be a thing. A strange way to look at it.

22 minutes ago, Joseph Maynor said:

But you would not know this without interviewing someone in person.  You make a general hypothesis, which is fine if we are looking at global trends.  

Yep!

[Joseph Maynor]

I want to modify what I said before -- fakeness works, but it is hard to make it noble or sustainable.