Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow – Or So They Say

July 28th, 2010

Maria Helm

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“Do what you love and the money will follow.” ~ Marsha Sinetar

I love the optimism of this quotation, and for the most part, I believe it’s true. If you’ve not read Marsha Sinetar’s book (by the same title), she can make a believer out of you as well. Her book is a practical and inspirational primer on getting your passion to pay off.

Marsha Sinetar is not the first to advise us along these lines. One of Buddha’s main steps for achieving enlightenment, for example, is discovering your right livelihood. And at the other end of the spectrum, John D. Rockefeller believed that the power to make money was a gift from God, which is simply another way of saying, “Do what you love and the money will follow.”

But still we ask: Does it really?

Yes. But not the way you’re used to getting it. First, unless you win the lottery, the money usually doesn’t come all at once, especially in the beginning. Second, the money will come from unexpected sources. But it will come and here’s why. When you start following your true path and passion, you’re finally using your talents and skills that are more natural to you. Imagine doing something that is forced and unenjoyable. Do you think you’ll put your best efforts into it? Trust me, doing what you love does eventually lead to the ATM. But you might have a few detours before you get there.

For some of us, the paycheck doesn’t arrive every Friday or even once a month. I don’t want to scare you, but sometimes it can even take years. Still, it does arrive. And the first time you get paid for doing what you love to do will be one of the most thrilling moments of your life. Remember that doing what you love is not about money, it’s about wonder.

It’s worth the wait. It’s glorious. It’s bliss. It’s nothing less than experiencing Heaven on earth. As the English novelist Enid Bagnold reminds us, “There may be wonder in money, but, dear God, there is money in wonder.”