Turning Your Passion Into Your Full-Time Living… Is Overrated
But still worth doing if you want to live a fulfilled life.
The Decision That Changed Everything
Following your dreams and your passion is overrated as fuck.
There. I said it.
I probably could have come to the same realizations and elevated myself to the same level of consciousness without so much pain and suffering. All I had to do was pick any other industry that wasn’t the music industry and maybe just be a little less emotionally turbulent along the way.
But I didn’t. I couldn't…
And what followed were ten dark years of pain, self-doubt, anxiety, mild depression, and almost losing myself entirely.
The day I went all in…
I was 19 years old, sitting in my Marketing class at George Brown College in Toronto. A midterm exam was in front of me. I was working toward a Business Administration degree.
And then it hit me.
I started going through what I can only describe as mild PTSD. I was thinking about what would my life look like working in a corporate environment. Sitting in an office every single day, wearing a suit and playing the game of corporate politics for the next 45 years of my life.
It shook me to my core.
It was a visceral reaction. So visceral that I literally walked out mid-exam and didn’t look back. I didn’t even bother going to my locker to pick up the old textbooks and backpack I had in there for my other classes.
I knew what I had to do. I couldn’t live in peace with myself if I didn’t do this.
I had no clue the next ten years would be some of the most depressing and dark years of my life.
Everyone in my circle told me pursuing this music dream was crazy. They said I should find something “safer” to get into. But I was so stubborn. So adamant on proving everyone around me wrong that I stuck to it.
Even though all the signs told me not to.
13 years later, after finding success in the music industry, I am here to report:
It was single-handedly both the best and worst decision I ever made in my life.
The Trap of Turning Passion Into Work
I turned something I loved—music production—into my full-time job.
I was able to make a full-time income off my creativity. That was both liberating and entrapping at the same time.
Here’s the thing most full-time producers or creatives don’t tells you.
This pursuit can rob the joy and wonder of creating music/art. I had to work with artists I didn’t like. I had to work on music that didn’t resonate with me. All just to survive.
Creating music eventually became a burden.
Something I once enjoyed. Something I loved. Something I did simply for the love of the art form. Something I had spent tens of thousands of hours doing for free for over six years before ever making a penny.
It became my prison sentence. One that I had to repeat day after day.
What was once a source of joy and creative expression now became a chore. A source of anxiety and despair.
“Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” is a half-truth at best. The full truth is: “Do what you love for money, and you might start hating what you once loved.”
The Golden Cage
As the years went by, I began to feel the need to evolve. I wanted to be more than just the label of “music producer.”
But the rules of this social media game locked me into this tiny niche. If I tried to pivot and experiment with new creative expressions and art forms, I could lose my business.
I became trapped.
Because I was so locked in and deeply invested, it felt wrong to jump ship and try something new.
How long would it take me to pivot to another career?
At this point, I was around 28 years old, about to turn 29. I had been doing music production full time for almost 4 years already. But I could project into the future and see that this was just another job. One that was going to slowly kill the joy and childlike sense of wonder I once had.
I was not getting any younger. Every day that went by, I felt this pain and wave of anxiety slowly creeping in. Especially if I wasn’t actively trying to find a solution before I turned 30.
The Paradox That Made It Worth It
However, along this path, it opened up a whole world of self-development and elevation of my consciousness. For that, I am eternally grateful.
I have long since moved on from being a freelancer. I’ve ascended up the ranks of entrepreneurship by moving into agency work and team building for a talent management agency. I’m also slowly moving into a humble form of venture capitalism. (more on this later)
Moving away from freelancing and into scaling a creative agency was the next natural progression on my self-development path.
Had I listened to everyone’s advice and gone down the “safer route,” perhaps none of this may have ever happened.
It’s a paradox I often think about. And I’ve come to accept that everything needed to happen the way it did.
I don’t think it would have been possible to reach this level of growth were it not for all those years of pain and suffering just trying to survive in the ruthlessness of the music industry.
“In order for your business to grow, you need to grow.” — Alex Hormozi…or some other online guru I think…
I just wish I could have controlled my emotions better along the way. So I wouldn’t overreact to setbacks that would put me in a frenzy and lead me down to self-destructive behaviors.
There were so many days I would panic to certain situations. A client not paying me on time. A nightmare client who I knew I shouldn’t have been working with, but I accepted because I needed the money. Clients who would put me in revision purgatory for their projects, taking up so much time. Time that could have been better spent looking for better clients.
These setbacks would lead me down a path of indulging in my vices. Overeating by snacking on junk food. Or feeding my sex addiction by going out with multiple girls just so I could get a nut out…or two that day.
The Ultimate Game
PLAY THE GAME TO BEAT THE GAME SO YOU CAN FINALLY BE FREE OF THE GAME — Naval Ravikant…on that Chris Williamson podcast I think…
I wish I had other interests. But the only thing that could hold my attention for any prolonged period of time back then was music. And I got pretty good at it, so it was logically the only option I had.
I wish I could have just had even a slight interest in real estate, mechanics, engineering, programming, law, accounting, day trading. Or even just a genuine interest in making a shit ton of money.
Anything but this music game. Which is literally one of the hardest industries to break through.
Music was the only thing I could think about day and night. During my early 20’s, a successful day and a fulfilling life meant waking up each morning, opening Ableton Live, making a few beats, finish editing a few vocals for my clients, and having just enough money to pay for my basic living costs.
For a few years, I got exactly what I wished for.
But I soon realized there is so much more to life than simply being a good music producer and making just enough money to get by as a creative.
As I continued down this path, trying to figure out how to make this a sustainable and profitable pursuit, I discovered new worlds. Health and fitness. Journaling. Reading. Writing. Business development. Philosophy. Psychology. Leadership. Economics. Finances.
It was inevitable. I had to evolve.
But here’s the paradox: Would I have evolved if I had just played it safe and gotten a “safe corporate” job with a guaranteed salary?
I could spend all day thinking about that question. But my mind has concluded, for the sake of not dwelling on the past like a midwit, that no—it would not have been possible.
And for that reason alone, I say it is still worth going after the pursuit of “chasing your dreams”. Because along the way, you need to level up if you plan on getting any kind of success in your field. Especially for something as outlandish as breaking through the music industry.
Why Entrepreneurship Is the Ultimate Game
You need to leave behind old habits, interests, friends, and even deep-rooted limiting beliefs that have been pre-programmed into you by society. Society doesn’t want you to wake up and discover your unlimited and untapped potential.
Making the decision to enter the arena of entrepreneurship will shake you to your core. It will test your inner will and soul to see if you got what it takes.
I truly believe it is one of the most interesting games of life that you could play. Most people never get a chance to even become aware of it.
Society has beaten that idea out of them. It’s told them that entrepreneurship is dangerous and they should just play it safe. Go down the tried and true path that everyone else around them has done. Go to college, get a “real job” with health benefits and a retirement plan, etc…etc.
And that is perfectly fine. We are not all meant to be high-risk takers and disagreeable unemployable people. We wouldn’t have a functioning society if we all thought this way. We need our cogs in the machine and worker bees to keep this system going.
But if you have read this far, and you have some kind of inner desire or vision of a project or business idea you want to take off the ground, one that keeps you up at night…
Then I don’t think you can classify yourself as one of these cogs.
I think you know deep down you are one of the chosen ones. You were meant to pick up the sword and wander into the vast land. Like a depraved wretch in Elden Ring or Skyrim.
The Depraved Starter Build
You have a map that is completely shrouded in clouds and undiscovered. You only recognize the little bubble you were pre-programmed into.
You have no skins, enchanted weapons, armor, guilds, alliances, or even specialized stats that you could use to your advantage.
You are starting depraved from zero. Not just with known unknowns that you are already in the process of discovering. But also unknown unknowns at every corner looking to take everything away from you.
It is the ultimate game.
Because unlike Elden Ring, where you can respawn unlimited times by the fire after you have died (while maybe only losing a few items along the way), in this game of entrepreneurship, most people only get a few respawns.
And then that’s it. The game is over.
I am talking literal life or death.
There are some who literally un-alive themselves after suffering severe financial loss. After long periods of high stress and emotional turbulence. After everyone around them left because they couldn’t see the vision during the dark years. Years of not just no returns, but literally putting themselves into massive financial ruin all in hopes that they will catch their lucky break.
This game is not for the faint of heart.
The First Taste of Success
But here’s the thing.
If you do manage to even get just a small piece of success—like simply making enough money from your creative pursuit to pay the bills and just scrape by—the amount of inner confidence you will develop is insane.
The next iteration of your character that you will have unlocked can now handle bigger and harder boss fights with ease.
It becomes addicting.
You’ve gotten a taste. You are no longer watching your older bro hog the controller to the PlayStation, playing the game you want to play.
You now have the controller in your hand.
Your palms are sweaty. Your heartbeat is slightly accelerated. You’re focused intensely on the screen because you are now in a state of flow where the challenge is just enough for your current level.
You are now in control of all the actions you see on the screen. Instead of just passively sitting by watching someone else play the game you want to play.
You have now become the main character.
You are literally operating at a different frequency. And after this evolved iteration, you can’t just sit by and watch anymore. You need to be the main character. There is no other version of reality that you can fathom where you are sitting by watching someone else enter the arena.
This is what happens when you decide to muster up the courage to “follow your dreams”.
The Ones Who Come Back
Most people fail once and decide this game is too hard. It’s not meant for them.
But for the select few who experience that first failure yet had so much damn fun along the way? They are already looking forward to getting right back in that game. Even as they go back to working their full-time or part-time job to help get them out of the debt they probably just put themselves in from their first failed business endeavor.
They are counting down the days to recoup enough savings so they can get right back into the arena.
This is the beauty of the game of entrepreneurship.
…is there an end to this game?
Well, yes and no.
There may be an end to your original business idea and how far you can naturally scale it. You first achieve a certain financial goal that keeps you satisfied and saving enough money for the rainy days. Then you scale your business big enough to a point that it is sustainable, profitable, and perhaps not worth the headache to try and scale it out further.
Many would say this is the end of the game. And for many, it would be.
But maybe you are a “true gamer.”
You beat Resident Evil 4 in “Hardcore” mode. But you want to dabble and play the same game in “Expert Mode.”
Or maybe you just want to play a whole new game altogether. Maybe a whole different business in a whole different industry or niche, like me. Or maybe that’s it. You accomplished what you set out to do. And now you want to play the game of parenthood.
The beauty of life is that you, as the main character, get to pick and choose which game you want to load up in your console.
But at least you played it. And you can either choose to go back to your comfy and idle lifestyle. Or maybe you’re like me. You got a taste. And there is no other version of reality for you other than to pick up the longsword, jump back in, and start swinging.
13 Years Later
I chose music production as my path. I wish it could have been an easier industry to get into. But it was the only thing that caught my interest at that time. So I chose this path.
Years later, after leaving the music industry and now building new businesses—my talent management agency, and looking to break into a traditional brick-and-mortar gym business within the next two years—the beauty is I can go back now and make music anytime I want. Without restrictions. And with a whole new financial backing to see projects to their fullest forms.
Which I have.
(Shameless plug: Check out my Apple/Spotify profile with my latest release. I’ve also got a new album I’m finishing up right now which I’m really excited about and is scheduled to be released by the 5th of May this year! Please follow if you want to get notified of its release!)
It took almost 13 years to be in this current position of full creative, financial, geographical, and time freedom.
But I had to eat dirt for over six years. And then another three years of doubt, stress, and uncertainty to actually make any significant income to get to this point.
That is something you will need to deeply consider: Are you prepared to go through the 10 dark years?
The Framework: Surviving the 10 Dark Years
If you’ve chosen a similar path—going into a creative field that many would consider “a childish dream”—but you know deep down this is something you must do, then here’s what I’ve learned and what you could expect if you take a similar approach as mine:
Phase 1: The Leap (Years 0–2)
This is the phase where you gotta get out of your head, grab your nuts and just fucking go for it. Stop pondering. Take whatever projects you can get. Work with absolute imbeciles if you have to. You must build out your portfolio so you can eventually be discovered by higher quality clients. You also don’t know how the economy is going to change in the next three to six months or how many projects you’ll be getting for the next month, two months, or three months. Accept this uncertainty and be grateful for what ever work comes your way.
Phase 2: The Trenches (Years 2–5)
This is where you eat dirt. You’re doing your craft not for the joy of it, but for survival. You’re working without health benefits, social security, 401k, or stability. The passion becomes a job. The job becomes a burden. But this is what is required to evolve into the next iteration of yourself.
Phase 3: The Breakthrough (Years 5–9)
Maybe you get lucky like me and you find some success. Maybe you get to a level of income where you can pick and choose the clients you get to work with, you’ve doubled or maybe even 5x’d your prices from when you first started and you have wonderful clients that pay you well and don’t make your life a living revision purgatory hell. Life is fucking good now and you get to enjoy the fruits of your labour…Or maybe you get bored of the repetitive nature of freelancing and start to feel the longing to build something bigger. Or maybe you take an arrow to the knee unexpectedly—AI replacing your technical skill, an employee sabotaging your business, or some crazy black swan event like a plandemic forcing you to shut down. Either way, you can say you fucking did it, you “escaped the matrix”…even if only just temporarily… and no one can ever take that away from you.
Phase 4: The Transformation (Years 9–13)
If you've made it up to this point, you will have transformed and become completely unrecognizable. Assuming you were dedicated to mastering your craft and you were consistently reading and absorbing high quality content that could help give you the next tactic to make your business more profitable. Levelling up your social circle with other ambitious and like minded individuals. Discovering you need HIGH ENERGY in this entrepreneurial game to beat your competitors so you go down the rabbit hole of health, fitness and nutrition to maximize your cognitive and physical performance. You started saving some money and you want to start investing so then you stumble across the world of finance and crypto and realize… money isn’t real and you need to find a place to store your hard earned cash so it doesn’t devalue over time…
You’re no longer the same person who walked out of that exam college classroom or steady salary job. You’ve developed anti-fragility in almost all domains of life. You can go back to your craft with childlike wonder again—or you can pick an entirely new game to play. Either way, you’ve won.
The Big Lesson
“Choosing to play the game of entrepreneurship—even if it is for something as ridiculous as being a music producer—is really the ‘safest bet’ you can make in this modern day and age of economic uncertainty.” — Dan V
Even in the most grim scenario where you tried but failed once, or twice, or like me, three times before finally getting some traction and consistency—this path will put you down a road of self-discovery and anti-fragility in almost all domains of life.
This legit pain and suffering along the way is what is required of you. It will make you uncomfortable. It will keep you up at night because you have too much month at the end of your money and you don’t know how you’re going to pay next month’s rent if you can’t land another four projects within the next 6 days.
This game will force you to be better. It will force you to adopt new, healthier habits so you can be at your most optimal state to perform for your business admin tasks and deliverables to your clients—deliverables that are far better than your competitors’.
The Final Word
If you don’t give a fuck about “hobbies” “dreams” or “passions” and you’re just here to make some money and don’t care what industry it is in, then I envy you.
I wish I was as motivated as you when it comes to making money. Life would have probably been so much easier if I had a genuine interest in real estate which is what my mom wanted me to get into, or some form of trade that was steady and high paying.
But if you are not that person, and you know deep down this is the only choice you’ve got…
Then fucking do it.
You know what next actions you must take. No need pondering over this any longer.
Just be aware: You won’t come out of this game unscathed. You will have some scars. You will have lost some friends, family, and old-world paradigms along the way. You may even end up hating your craft because you’ve now enslaved yourself into another job.
But that’s the price of reclaiming your agency and being the main character.
Don’t expect to come out unscathed from this.
Good luck, fellow wanderer.
I believe in you.
— Dan V