Don’t Follow Your Passion

“Follow your passion.” You will hear this nugget time and again, but according to TV personality Mike Rowe, it might be the worst career tip you ever receive. Oscar winners tend to ascribe their successes to the dogged pursuit of their dreams and the rejection of anyone who tells them they aren’t good enough. “Never give up on your dreams,” they urge. While persistence is an essential facet of success, stars’ advising strangers to chase their dreams is imprudent, because many people clutch to impossible dreams. For example, every year, thousands of talentless wannabes audition for American Idol, oblivious ...