It seems that from every nook of the internet, the voices of Generation X echo: “Follow your passion.” Don’t get swept up in a desk job, don’t settle, find something that makes you feel alive. The best stories of success involve multi-millionaires working from home–or even better, not working at all. The other stories–the ones you never really hear about–are the ones who tried to follow their passion and failed, losing their jobs and ending in bankruptcy. With all this talk about following your passion, I have to ask “Is it worth it?”

What happened to a job is just a job?

I am part of the entitled generation, we grew up thinking we could actually make a difference. While our parents may have labored through jobs they abhored, we knew that wouldn’t be our fate. A desk job wouldn’t suffice–we wanted to make a difference, leave our imprint in the world so that others would remember our name.

I wonder if this idea of “following your passion” has sprung out of the new generation or if it has been slowly brewing for years after watching our parents suffer through intolerable careers.

Either way, why does a job have to be a passion? There are lots of jobs: garbage man, mailman, plumber, janitor, you name it, it’s a job that needs to be done and someone has to do it. Does that necessarily mean it has to be your passion?

Is following your passion good advice?

While many may think everyone should at least attempt to follow their passion, not everyone’s passion will translate into the pile of money they envision (unless they’re okay with being poor).

Mike Rowe, host of the TV show Dirty Jobs, says in his speeches that the ones who really get things done in this world are the ones who don’t put their passion first. They put the job first. They see a need, and they get things done. They focus on the business of work.

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, calls following your passion “a bunch of B.S.” He goes on to say that if you really want to know where you destiny lies, look at where you apply your time. Don’t follow your passions, he says, follow your effort.

Finding a balance

Holding on for dear life that following your passion is the absolute best advice you could ever receive, blogger Jon Gluck argues “Unfortunately too many people work to live instead of the other way around and that’s a real shame.”

So instead of working to live, we should live to work? Hmm…

I am 28 years old. I love to read, and write. I work in Public Affairs and get to do social media, create Youtube videos, and it pays well. Do I LOVE my job? No. But I like it enough. There are days where I really wish I didn’t have to work, but those are few and far between.

My passion is hanging out with my husband. Traveling. Cuddling with my dogs. Shopping. Finding a good deal. Those are my passions. I don’t live to work, I work to live the life that I like to have. I am perfectly content with a steady paycheck and could never be a business owner or freelancer without knowing where my next check is going to be coming from.

Perhaps my job isn’t my passion, but it’s good enough for me.