There has never been a better time for the truism, “follow your passion”. With hundreds of YouTubers and other social media content creators making crores and college dropouts raking in millions, financial gains can no longer be said to be reserved for the well-off, highly qualified and well-connected. Those with passion can write their own script. Let’s try to figure out the economy of passion. What is passion? Here are two working definitions. First, something you do without any external motivation, and second, something that doesn’t leave you exhausted. We’ve all experienced moments of “flow” where the clock isn’t ticking and the means are the same as the end. It’s your passion. This is your “groove”. Most people go through their whole lives listening to other people’s calling, and never discover their own. The happy couple discover their passion (or passions), but it is only to others that they seem happy. They earned it the right way. How do you discover your passion? By experimenting. While holding down a day job—which ensures the food on the table—you fervently experiment to discover what excites you. You give it a serious shot, hold on for a while, then turn. As you go through the motions, you occasionally hit the resonant frequency, and then you don’t have to exert yourself. When I worked in a large corporation in the early 2000s, I spent my weekends teaching, experimenting with subjects, colleges, and more. Soon I realized that teaching is my passion. I also experimented with writing, photography, travel, camping, event management, singing, comedy performances, poetry, but couldn’t find my groove. Once you stumble upon your passion, you realize the futility of the counterfactual. But here’s a warning: Passion is blind. As much as passion enables you, it can also disable you. Invest right As soon as you realize your passion, or passions, you need to invest. Most people do not take their passions seriously and deliberately invest in them to gain mastery. Passion without mastery is a hobby. It keeps you busy, but not much. Mastery requires momentarily saying no to other experiments and doubling down, at least for a significant period of time. Since this is your passion, you won’t mind going deeper, ironing out the kinks and achieving proficiency. Without expertise, you will find it difficult to justify your passion, even to yourself. When I discovered my passion for teaching, I went on to pursue a full-time PhD. I had to leave a stable source of income and settle for a humble allowance. It suited my temperament because mastery does not come easily, especially if you follow academics. Money matters When you discover your passion and achieve mastery, you then look for money, which is through the commercialization of your passion. Why seek money? Will it not corrupt your passion? No, it won’t. Money is a good proxy for the value the world associates with your passion. Until now, your passion has been in the service of yourself – to make you feel good, to keep you meaningfully busy, and to grind your way to the depth of the trait. But if you are the only one who finds your passion valuable, then it is vanity. Someone must be willing to attach a value to your efforts. I took on consulting on innovation, creativity and design thinking based on my PhD thesis, to convert knowledge into money. This trinity of passion, mastery and economy is virtuous. Passion frees you from the external whims, mastery makes you above average in the chosen realm, and economy validates your efforts. You then plow the money back into mastery, or maybe start another experiment, because now you have the financial cushion, thanks to your newfound and mastered passion. However, an important note of caution is to never tax your passion to pay your bills. It is critical that as you experiment, you are not bound to cling to the ones that fail. If you feel you are not making any progress with an experiment, you must have the courage to turn. This is only possible when your survival is not anchored to it. Your passion can, and should, change with time. Don’t feel obligated to be consistent with your past self. Finally, take a portfolio approach to passion, each with varying levels of pleasure, mastery and economy. Your passion is exactly what sets you apart when the going gets tough. So keep experimenting. Pavan Soni is the founder of Inflexion Point, an innovation and strategy consultancy. Write to us at [email protected]