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I don't think this is an accurate distinction. I know a number of people who are living in penury right now due to chasing this boomer fallacy. People tend to

I don't think this is an accurate distinction. I know a number of people who are living in penury right now due to chasing this boomer fallacy. People tend to downplay the requirement of a minimal level of material success for happiness, because the alternative is admitting that society isn't set up to profit from, not help us achieve, our hopes and dreams. It's part of the bootstrap fallacy, essentially - you just need to want something enough, and everything will fall in place.

georgemcbay 10y ago
I think whether or not it is an accurate distinction depends upon the person and the situation. The author of the post being discussed here actually had two separate goals in tandem (one to follow their passion and two to find business/monetary success as a startup), though they only really explicitly acknowledged the passion aspect. If you seek both of these goals (following your passion and finding financial success) simultaneously you are likely to come up short on the financial success end, but that doesn't mean following your passion is always bad advice, to assume so implicitly assumes that one's only goal in life should be to be financially well-off, which is certainly not a universal belief. There are people out there who follow their passion with eyes wide open to the fact that this decision is likely to mean they will not amass much money doing so, and I think that's perfectly fine and should be commended in many cases. Following your passion only becomes an issue when you do it blindly without thinking and end up making bad decisions like going into massive student debt, etc. There are lots of people out there who have followed their passion in a realistic manner and are living the modest life they want to live. The actual message shouldn't be to never follow your passion, but to be realistic about the trade-off that usually has to be made between following your passion and being financially successful, and then this realism has to be applied to big life decisions.
_andromeda_ 10y ago
I think that both schools of thought are wrong in this case and would like to propose alternatives. Number 1, it doesn't matter whether you want to call it following your passion or not, hard work and applying yourself are the most important things here. Secondly, as it pertains to what you refer to as the bootstrap fallacy, this is beyond important for wealth creation. You have to have a low time preference in order to accumulate the capital needed to invest in whatever business you're in. You have got to be 'froogle' so to speak. All in all, all these debates are borderline useless unless hard work and frugality are employed.
CuriouslyC 10y ago
Material success only matters for happiness to the degree that it alleviates wants/needs. Truthfully, if you don't buy into all the things society says you should want, you can live on a startlingly small sum of money, and be genuinely happy. The brutal trap is people who chase wealth as a proxy for social status; as you become more successful your peer group tends to change, so you never get ahead of the curve.
jomamaxx 10y ago
I think they are distinct. Passion implies that there is likely a sense of purpose, fulfillment or fun in it. If you do something you are very passionate about, money matters a lot less.

georgemcbay 10y ago

I think whether or not it is an accurate distinction depends upon the person and the situation. The author of the post being discussed here actually had two separate goals in tandem (one to follow their passion and two to find business/monetary success as a startup), though they only really explicitly acknowledged the passion aspect. If you seek both of these goals (following your passion and finding financial success) simultaneously you are likely to come up short on the financial success end, but that doesn't mean following your passion is always bad advice, to assume so implicitly assumes that one's only goal in life should be to be financially well-off, which is certainly not a universal belief. There are people out there who follow their passion with eyes wide open to the fact that this decision is likely to mean they will not amass much money doing so, and I think that's perfectly fine and should be commended in many cases. Following your passion only becomes an issue when you do it blindly without thinking and end up making bad decisions like going into massive student debt, etc. There are lots of people out there who have followed their passion in a realistic manner and are living the modest life they want to live. The actual message shouldn't be to never follow your passion, but to be realistic about the trade-off that usually has to be made between following your passion and being financially successful, and then this realism has to be applied to big life decisions.

_andromeda_ 10y ago

I think that both schools of thought are wrong in this case and would like to propose alternatives. Number 1, it doesn't matter whether you want to call it following your passion or not, hard work and applying yourself are the most important things here. Secondly, as it pertains to what you refer to as the bootstrap fallacy, this is beyond important for wealth creation. You have to have a low time preference in order to accumulate the capital needed to invest in whatever business you're in. You have got to be 'froogle' so to speak. All in all, all these debates are borderline useless unless hard work and frugality are employed.

CuriouslyC 10y ago

Material success only matters for happiness to the degree that it alleviates wants/needs. Truthfully, if you don't buy into all the things society says you should want, you can live on a startlingly small sum of money, and be genuinely happy. The brutal trap is people who chase wealth as a proxy for social status; as you become more successful your peer group tends to change, so you never get ahead of the curve.

jomamaxx 10y ago

I think they are distinct. Passion implies that there is likely a sense of purpose, fulfillment or fun in it. If you do something you are very passionate about, money matters a lot less.