Why “Find Your Passion” Is Bad Advice !

And What To Do Instead …

“Follow your passion” sounds great, until you realise that passion doesn’t pay the bills, teach you grit, or build a meaningful life.

This is a story of how I planted the seeds of a career, a company, and a life I love — without ever “finding” my passion.

The Problem with Passion

When life feels uncertain, the world offers a single word as a solution: passion.

We hear it everywhere; WhatsApp forwards, social media reels, influencer speeches: “Go find your passion!”

It’s become a universal prescription. In this narrative, passion means something glamorous like photography, travel, or content creation. And the “9-to-5” job? That’s painted as lifeless and dull.

But I’m here to tell you this: I never went looking for passion.

And I’m still incredibly fulfilled with how life turned out.

An Unremarkable Beginning (That Turned Out Remarkable)

I didn’t choose my school, my parents did. It was the only reputed one nearby. Every day involved a long commute on winding Himalayan roads and in morning prayers I was reciting Sanskrit shlokas. Later, I shifted to a government school close to home and it came with no rules, no teachers, and yes, poker during lunch breaks.

I didn’t care about studies. I appeared for engineering entrance exams without preparation and, unsurprisingly, scored poorly. I ended up in a tier-3 engineering college because there was nowhere else to go.

I didn’t choose my stream either. A cousin said “go for electronics,” and I did. I wasn’t driven by dreams or clarity. I was just moving forward, one step at a time.

The Accidental Spark

In my second year, I joined a training institute in Chandigarh along with my classmates. Around the same time, I went through a breakup with my then-girlfriend. To avoid awkwardness, I moved to Noida for another training program.

There, I wrote my first program, one that made an LED blink based on a switch press. It was a simple embedded systems task, but something clicked.

I wrote code. The hardware responded. I had control. I was building something real.

It felt like magic.

That moment was my first spark; not a grand passion, but a quiet ignition. I decided: This is what I want to do.

Driven, Not Passionate

From that day on, I did whatever it took to get better. I offered to cold-call for a company in exchange for training hours. I freelanced. I skipped semesters to work. I learned nonstop.

After college, I didn’t care about high-paying jobs or job security. My peers chased BPOs and public-sector jobs for higher pay. I chose a ₹5,000/month trainee job because it let me work on core IoT systems.

I didn’t chase money.

I chased mastery.

From Engineer to Entrepreneur

By 2016, I started freelancing full time. One hire led to another, and soon, I had a team. We worked out of a 4BHK apartment. My friend Vishal’s marriage was called off because his in-laws didn’t want their daughter marrying someone “working from a house.”

That hurt.

So I registered a company & we moved into an office. I learned how to lead. I made mistakes. I worked 14–16 hour days. I wrote code. I ran meetings. I met deadlines.

I didn’t sleep for two days at many times. But it didn’t matter. I was building.

When Your Passion Evolves

In 2017, I stepped away from coding and started scaling the company. One day, a prospect asked for a business presentation. We were a 20+ engineer team but had zero marketers. So, I did the presentation myself—on a 21-inch screen, in a tiny room.

I nailed it.

And I discovered a new version of myself—confident, articulate, persuasive.

Later in 2019, at a tech expo, I realised the people running booths weren’t superhuman. They were just like me. That gave me the courage to sell, pitch, and market.

And just like that, sales became my new spark.

The Real Truth About Passion

Here’s the truth no one tells you:

Passion is not a prerequisite to live a fulfilling life. Being driven is.

We treat passion like a destination; something to find, chase, and hold onto forever. But life doesn’t work that way. Passions evolve. Interests shift. New sparks emerge.

The problem is, every time we hit a roadblock, we start looking for a new “passion.” But that’s just a distraction from the hard work it takes to build something worthwhile.

Instead, if you focus on showing up, learning, creating value, and being open to evolution, you’ll discover you’re passionate about many things at different stages in life.

Why I Wrote This

People are often surprised when I tell them I never planned to start a company. Even today, I don’t have a detailed expansion roadmap. I just follow what feels right and keep showing up.

This post is a reminder that you don’t need a “north star passion” to make it.

Writing is my new spark. And yes, it’s hard. I face blocks and doubts. But I’m driven to share my story—and that drive matters more than momentary excitement.

Final Thought

Don’t chase passion. Stay driven.

Create. Build. Learn. Show up every day. That’s how you grow.

And when you look back, you’ll realize—you didn’t find passion.

You built a life worth being passionate about.

Remember: The grass always looks greener on the other side. But it grows where you water it.