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She is, by far, the most beautiful, the most talented person her friends have ever known.
“Hollywood, here I come!” she thinks, and she’s prepared to take the town by storm, blowing people away with her talent and beauty.
But when she gets there, she hears something she didn’t expect: “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
“What went wrong?” she wonders, with big, dramatic tears that barely smudge her mascara.
The Hollywood Principle
What happened to our heroine is The Hollywood Principle, and it applies to you too.
The Hollywood Principle is this: No matter how passionate you are about something, nobody cares. Unless you make sure they do.
When you dream of making money from your passion – when you realize you love cooking so you open a restaurant, when you want to make a living from your hand-made baby clothes, or when you start any other kind of business based solely on your passions – you run the very real risk falling victim to The Hollywood Principle.
You see, no matter how beautiful or talented our young actress, she’s still “vanilla” until she can find a way to stand out from the sea of other beautiful and talented actors and actresses.
And no matter how passionate you are about something, no one is going to pay you to do it simply because it’s what you love. 
Like our beautiful actress, to get paid for being you, you must stand out. You have to give your audience (or client or customer) a compelling reason to want you.
The Hollywood Principle and Passion
Now I know that you might be kicking yourself right now thinking you wasted all that time searching for passion.
Let me tell you something: It’s not your fault.
You’ve been told a lot of stories about passion. You’ve been told to do what you love and the money will follow. But it’s not the whole truth. It’s more complicated than that.
First of all, passions are still important. They are the fire that can take you from ordinary to extraordinary. And they do factor in to what makes you different.
But passion isn’t enough. To make a living from what you love, you can’t just rely on the fact that you love it. You have to make them care about what you do, too.
Your Unique Why
To get paid to be you, you must stand out from the crowd.
You must make sure the reason your business exists is in sync with what your clients or customers need.
And you must be memorable.
Dig deep and think about what makes you YOU, and what makes your mission, your WHY, uniquely yours.
When you know how to avoid The Hollywood Principle by making them want what you’ve got then you have a real chance of making a living doing what you love.
So how do you make sure you avoid The Hollywood Principle? How do you stand out in a crowd of competitors?
Dig deep and answer these questions to bullet-proof yourself against The Hollywood Principle:
1. What are you already, or do you want to be ‘famous’ for?
2. What makes you a star?
3. Describe the ‘artist’ in you – what do you want to do or create in your life?
4. Why will people never forget your name?
5. Why should you get a “call back” (why do people want more of you)?
6. What is the most compelling reason people want what you’ve got to offer?
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What do you think about The Hollywood Principle and how you can use the key questions above to skyrocket your chances of success? Let me know in the comments below.
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This article is this best Ive read in a while it has really open my eyes about passion. Thank you for this amazing article
Thanks Anthony! I appreciate it.
Thank you Jessica for sharing your valuable perspective on the passion vs skill debate. I especially like your question … “Describe the ‘artist’ in you – what do you want to do or create in your life?”
Cal Newport’s relatively new book “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” effectively debunks the passion hypothesis. A must read!
Hi Brent,
Thanks for stopping by! As you know, I haven’t yet read Newport’s book (though it’s rapidly rising to the top of my must-read list!) So I will temper my perspective. But you might be interested to read read this review – from someone who is less-than-convinced: http://project-based-homeschooling.com/camp-creek-blog/why-skills-dont-trump-passion
I strongly believe in passion, but as I say in this article, I don’t think passions alone are enough. I really feel that for most of us, logging the 10,000 hours it takes for us to become expert at something is easier to do when fueled by passion/strong interest rather than just a desire to gain skills. But it’s the combination of passion and the skills that they allow us to build that makes the difference.
I know from talking to many people out there that lots of us have gotten “good” at something (that is, they’ve gained skills) but the drive to pursue those skills or the job those skills might suit them for is missing. They want to do something they feel passionate about. It’s at the intersection of these passions and the skills they can develop around them that they can find success.
So I have to disagree that the passion hypothesis is debunked!
Thanks Jessica for sharing this other article. My wife homeschools our children so I can see the argument from her point of view … which seems to be that homeschooled (or unschooled) kids already have their passions explored and developed (to a higher degree on average for their age). Newport’s hypothesis then doesn’t apply to them, she argues.
But I argue that his hypothesis is reinforced by project-based homeschooling. For students who don’t have that one-on-one coaching / teaching, they are offered a more liberal arts program (aka open curriculum) through at least grade 12. Past that point, students become adults, and they can pursue their passions / interests more deeply. I concur, from my experience, that we often (but not always) seek to develop our skills in areas that we genuinely care about or discover we have an innate skill.
I also feel the homeschool blogger overlooks the message from Newport’s book that passion is real and passion is important. Being marketable is what matters in the context of the book.
I concur with you completely that there is an intersection of passions and skills. I guess what’s left for interpretation is what comes first :).
I appreciate your insights and glad we connected!
Thanks Brent! I’m glad we’re connected too! I guess it’s time for me to read this one!
So, do you have any tips on finding your passion? I know you must have passion in order to want to do your daily tasks, but how do you discover it?
Bonnie Branch recently posted…How Not to Sell People
Hi Bonnie,
Yes, of course, but as you may imagine it’s a big topic and the answer is different for everyone. In general, I think most “find your passion” exercises are good. There’s a few I’m particularly fond of. But for most people, that’s not where the money is. For most, its about asking what’s preventing you from having found your passion up to this point. Is it that you’ve never encountered what you feel passionate about? Have you forgotten? Or are you afraid of what it means for you and for your life if you find them. For example, are you afraid (deep down) that finding your passions is going to demand more of you and ask you to step up to the plate in a way that you haven’t before? That’s where the real work of finding your passion lies. If you can answer those questions for yourself – if you can understand what’s keeping you locked in confusion – you’ll have a better chance of unearthing what it is that you love.
Jess
Wonderful! I’m happy for that eye opening info. Sometimes we really take for granted that because we are passionate about something things will fall in our laps, but just as you described, we must be relevant and significant and the rest will follow.
Thanks Marlon.
Yes, you are exactly right. Passions are wonderful and very powerful. But they don’t mean everything is going to magically come together. Being relevant and significant while using your passions is the key to making a living doing what you love.
Great insights here Jess. I think you make a very important point about jobs and job searching in general which is it has very little to do with you. Well, it’s all about you but when finding a job, it’s not about you. It’s how you stand out and what you can do for the company, the employer. A lot of people go about the process touting their lives and their achievements without addressing what the employer is looking for or searching for.
And I think your bigger point is don’t care so much about being passionate – care more about how to be an expert or someone who stands out in your field. There was a book about this recently which I read some reviews on – to become as competent and proficient in your field as possible, that they can’t ignore you. Oh yeah, So Good They Can’t Ignore you!
I think once you’ve done your questions above you’ve suggested to get us to start digging, we’ve just got to make it happen and stand out (work hard & smart) so others will know that we are that Hollywood actress! Or the best classroom teacher! or expert freelancer.
Well, I’d never say don’t care about being passionate. I love passion and I believe it is the X factor when it comes to finding something that will make someone happy. But here’s the thing – when you want to make a living doing something you love to do, I don’t want people to make the mistake that passion is enough to allow them to get paid (well) for it.
Passion will lead you to what you love, but if you account for The Hollywood Principle, you’ll understand that in order to be successful you can’t just say “I love this so I’m going to start a business/get a job doing it.” You have to also understand what makes you different and better at whatever you’re doing so you stand a real chance of being successful in this busy world!
Jess, good points and thanks for the clarification. A lot of people miss the point of finding work you’re passionate about, without taking account the next step.
And a lot of the advice out there is simply follow your passion.