TJ Walker says the passion-versus-usefulness debate is false. Real success means following what you love while gradually shifting toward what people actually need. He points to the Property Brothers, who abandoned acting for TV, and his own pivot from failed talk-show host to online courses that generated tens of millions in sales.
Chapters
So there's this huge debate, what's really better, follow your passion in life or focus on being useful? Well, I think that's a phony debate. To me, the real success is when you follow your passion. It doesn't work out right away. You do something similar where you still have passion, but you just take a step right, take a step left. Look at the Property brothers. They wanted to be famous actors and musicians. Well, they're worth hundreds of millions of dollars doing something aw similar. They're on camera all day long and they are still using their talents and following their passion. But they kept tweaking till they found it where they were useful. I did the same thing. I was a failed talk show host for years, but in 1998, I started doing online training courses that have since sold tens of millions of dollars. Not exactly what I started off doing, but I followed a passion, built a skill, and took a step or two in different directions till I became useful. That's really the best career advice.