Don't Follow Your Passion | 5 Minute Video

Should you follow your passion, wherever it may take you? Should you do only what you love...or learn to love what you do? How can you identify which path to take? How about which paths to avoid? TV personality Mike Rowe, star of "Dirty Jobs" and "Somebody's Gotta Do It," shares the dirty truth in PragerU's 2016 commencement address.

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Script:

There are only two things I can tell you today that come with absolutely no agenda. The first is “Congratulations.” The second is “Good luck.” Everything else is what I like to call, “The Dirty Truth,” which is just another way of saying, “It’s my opinion.”

And in my opinion, you have all been given some terrible advice, and that advice, is this:

Follow your passion.

Every time I watch the Oscars, I cringe when some famous movie star—trophy in hand—starts to deconstruct the secret of their success. It’s always the same thing: “Don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t have what it takes, kid!”; and the ever popular, “Never give up on your dreams!”

Look, I understand the importance of persistence, and the value of encouragement, but who tells a stranger to never give up on their dreams, without even knowing what it is they’re dreaming? How can Lady Gaga possibly know where your passion will lead you?

Have these people never seen American Idol?

Year after year, thousands of aspiring American Idols show up with great expectations, only to learn that they don’t possess the skills they thought they did.

What’s really amazing though, is not their lack of talent—the world is full of people who can’t sing. It’s their genuine shock at being rejected—the incredible realization that their passion and their ability had nothing to do with each other.

Look, if we’re talking about your hobby, by all means let your passion lead you.

But when it comes to making a living, it’s easy to forget the dirty truth: just because you’re passionate about something doesn’t mean you won’t suck at it.

And just because you’ve earned a degree in your chosen field, doesn't mean you’re gonna find your “dream job.”

Dream Jobs are usually just that—dreams.

But their imaginary existence just might keep you from exploring careers that offer a legitimate chance to perform meaningful work and develop a genuine passion for the job you already have. Because here’s another Dirty Truth: your happiness on the job has very little to do with the work itself.

On Dirty Jobs, I remember a very successful septic tank cleaner, a multi-millionaire, who told me the secret to his success:

“I looked around to see where everyone else was headed,” he said, “And then I went the opposite way. Then I got good at my work. Then I began to prosper. And then one day, I realized I was passionate about other people’s crap.”

I’ve heard that same basic story from welders, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, HVAC professionals, hundreds of other skilled tradesmen who followed opportunity—not passion—and prospered as a result.

Consider the reality of the current job market.

Right now, millions of people with degrees and diplomas are out there competing for a relatively narrow set of opportunities that polite society calls “good careers.” Meanwhile, employers are struggling to fill nearly 5.8 million jobs that nobody’s trained to do. This is the skills gap, it’s real, and its cause is actually very simple: when people follow their passion, they miss out on all kinds of opportunities they didn’t even know existed.

[TrapMusicNow]

Seems like a recruitment video to keep you in the 9 - 5 job cycle living a boring, monotonous lifestyle.

[douglasmartinez]

"Never follow your passion, but always bring it with you"
I like that

[ronnie_]

Chris Rock once said to tell kids, "You can be whatever you want, as long as they're hiring."

[stevethomas]

A Ironworker for 40 years. I can look at the Atlanta skyline and see memories of good friends and a decent paydays. When I was young I was self conscious about working in construction. Later I was very proud of my occupation, still am.

[shadeburst]

They said, "Find something you love to do and you'll never work a day in your life." Darn right. That field isn't hiring.

[tsanderson]

Correction: Follow you passion if you actually have ability in that area.

[nikol]

I think what he said at the end is what a lot of people missed “NEVER follow your passion, but ALWAYS bring it with you”

[PassionFruitOfficial]

I feel like this is a bit misleading. I think the point that's simply trying to be made is think reasonably. Don't be blinded by "inspirational" quotes and media to throw your life away to "chase your dream". You simply need to be smart about it. realize your potential. Realize what you're good at, and go off of that. If you're good at something and it lines up with your passion then that's a bonus. I just think saying it like "don't follow your passion" is a little off, but the point remains the same; don't be blinded by the "chase your dreams" ideology, be smart and radical and don't make rash stupid decisions

[TheTacticalMess]

Or follow your passion but don't let it govern your life to the point where you miss out on opportunity.

[safir]

“Sucking at something is the first step at being sorta good at something”

-Jake the Dog

[orthopraxis]

"Kids you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is - never try" - Homer Simpson. 😂😂😂

[DanielBobke]

Scott Adams of Dilbert fame once said "Success fuels passion more often than passion fuels success." Absolutely correct.

[RoTenken]

This should be played in high school before senior year. I'd would save you a lifetime of bad decisions and heartbreaks.

[Joeyblondewolf]

I've always wanted to be an artist. But I played my cards right and did it as a side thing, while working a good job that paid my bills. While I build up my skill. Now I'm at a point where I can do art as a main source of income 😀 you just have to be smart about it.

[mcdonalds]

I d say, "I love my passion but it ain't going to pay my bills".

[ronaldboulder]

Survivor bias here: I followed my passion and literally got my dream job.

[SleepingZenitsu]

this all the rappers out there that keep handing out mixtapes at age 40

[hensomm]

I am someone with a lot of education and several degrees. I amazes me that people look down on tradesmen and craftsmen. Jobs we used to call "a good day's work". Trade schools and amazingly important for the future of our country and people, and those that work the 'dirty jobs' are the backbone.

[onlysea]

It's hard to believe, but I grew up in Korea and chose to be a software engineer when everybody said that it's a really bad idea to be a software engineer. Many computer science classmates changed their major to medical or they found any jobs that are not software engineer. I ignored where everyone's heading and I like my decision.

[startek]

I followed my dreams and now I have a great job at a great company. The trick is to have a passion that isn’t useless