The Truth Behind Making Passive Income


Hello Reader,

Everyone loves to learn how to make money passively, right?

Nothing beats having money drop into your bank account while you do nothing.

What’s more, in today’s world, your salary from your job is not catching up with the rising cost of living.

Many people want to make more money without spending additional time and energy they don’t have.

Unfortunately, many people never really make passive income because of the misplaced idea of what passive income is.

Hard truth: Passive income isn’t really passive.

I hate to break it to you, but most passive income ideas aren’t truly passive:

  • Investing in the stock market requires you to understand how the market works.
  • Collecting rental income requires you to have a property to rent in the first place.
  • Making money online or through royalties requires you to first create the product.

As you can see, they all require some active participation from you.

Don’t believe me? Check out this article from Investopedia that goes into the technical definition of passive income and 24 ideas to make passive income.

The only true passive income is through inheritance or living off generational wealth. But this is rare for most people.

If there’s no such thing as passive income, what should you do?

Make passion income instead.

Passion income is what I call doing work you love that comes easily to you and makes the money you want and need.

Unlike a job you hate where doing the work is hard and unfulfilling, making passion income is money you make doing work you love that comes easily to you. It probably won’t feel like work to you. It’s inspirational and you gladly and obsessively want to do it.

Here’s how you can start.

Step 1: Pick a passion income activity that uses your talents, skills, and experience.

People usually prefer doing what comes easily to them. Naturally, you get better and better at what you enjoy doing because you tend to do more of it. Regular practice makes you even better at it. It’s a reinforcing cycle.

It’s important to pick something you enjoy doing because making the money you want from your passion income activity will take time.

For example, writing, training, and coaching come easily to me. I enjoy it. It's what I do in my full-time job too.

So my passion income activity is writing on LinkedIn, making guides like this one, freelancing as a trainer, and conducting free workshops.

Step 2: Consider the time you have to work on your passion income activity.

A lot of people underestimate the time it takes to build your passion income up to the point you can depend on it fully for all your financial needs.

When they don’t make the money they want in the timeframe they want, they give up.

Sadly, this happens because they aren't prepared for how much time it’s truly going to take to make the kind of money they want.

You have to consider the time you have available to work on making passion income. Remember nothing is truly 100% passive, especially in the beginning.

As working moms, our family and work need our time and attention. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t do it all. The key is to try your best to do what you can in the time you have and build from there.

Step 3: Manage your expectations and have a backup plan.

Since it will take time to grow your passion income activity, ease up on the pressure to make money from it right from the get-go.

This also means you’ll need a backup plan for your ongoing bills.

I made the mistake of going all in for my passion income activity in 2014 by quitting my full-time job to start a cafe with my husband.

It didn’t take off as expected and instead left us with a 6-figure business debt.

With no income and bills to pay, it was the most stressful time of my life.

This is why I don’t recommend people do that, especially when you have a family to support.

Instead, get a job that’s easy to do because it leverages your strengths and talents. This frees up mental and physical energy so you can work on your passion income activity concurrently.

Ideally, do a job that also helps you build up your passion income activity on the side so they reinforce each other so you can kill two birds with one stone.

Do your best to excel in your job so you have the bargaining power to negotiate for the highest possible salary you can get.

Even if you don’t get the salary you want, ask for support and sponsorships to continuously upgrade your skills and invest in yourself.

You are your own highest return on investment.

Conclusion

Passive income isn't truly passive and requires time, money, and effort from you.

Many people either find it too difficult to start or give up when they realize it takes more work than they were prepared for.

You can do this with more ease and joy as long as you:

  • Pick an activity that leverages your interests, natural talents, skills, and experience so you can stick with it.
  • Consider the time you have available to work on your passion income activity so you can do it with ease and joy.
  • Manage your expectations and have a backup plan so you don't get financially stressed.

Finally, remember to appreciate what you already have and celebrate your wins along the way, no matter how big or small.

Although it takes some work, making passion income isn’t rocket science or complicated.

You can certainly do it.

Reply and let me know what passion income activity you picked or are working on!

Talk to you again next week.

Sharon

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205
Unsubscribe · Preferences

Sharon Singh Sidhu

Get practical tips on building a business a coaching business with 1 hour a day. I love going deep to explore the mindset and emotions that drive your actions to get the results you want. I'm particularly passionate about empowering women and moms to be financially independent and to live a life where you're happy, free and alive!

Read more from Sharon Singh Sidhu

Reader, What's your first reaction when you don't get what you want, when you want it? Self-doubt? Frustration? Disappointment? It's easy to make up a story about why you're not where you want to be. And our brains love defaulting to the negative version. What if you could turn any 'difficult' or 'challenging' situation into an opportunity? Imagine how much more empowering that'd be. In this week's episode, I share how I see disappointments and frustrations as opportunities and how I use them...

Reader, I never wanted to be a mom. Until I became one. That's how many of my most rewarding accomplishments in life and career have been. So now I've learned never to say never. Instead, I stay open to what life offers me, embracing the challenges as an opportunities to discover why and how it will turn out to be the best thing for me. Like: reluctantly becoming our family's sole/primary earner. getting into a 6-figure business debt from a failed business. delaying my dream of quitting my...

Reader, This is the last episode of a series of women I've invited on the podcast to share their stories about building a businesses. In this final guest episode, I chat with career coach, Keji Ogunnaike. Keji is more than just a career coach though because she works with her clients holistically. She shares how our personal lives can limit or propel our careers. But a career coach can help you navigate these without judgement that frees you to talk about topics that can be hard to discuss at...