You love the term PASSIVE INCOME! You love the idea of PASSIVE INCOME! You are in love with PASSIVE INCOME!

You read a bestselling book on how you can attain financial independence, watched a video describing X number of ways to generate extra moolah or even read a classy blog post that turned your mind upside down!

Your imagination takes you to wonderland picturing yourself sitting at the beach or atop a beautiful mountain peak, with your passive income checks flowing in consistently without a single shred of doubt in mind. Your life is fabulous! It dawned on you that Passive Income was THE ONLY WAY…

Hmmm.. Let me scrape the band-aid right away and tell you one simple thing – as enticing as the proposition of having a passive income is, the more difficult it is to generate one.

Do you see Warren Buffett listing out his stock picks before he purchases them? Does any famous rich person you look up to ever share a success story before even succeeding?

Don’t think too hard, because even though you are afraid to admit it, the answer is NO!

We live in the age of capitalism, and nothing, I repeat, nothing is FREE! Are you falling prey to lavish lifestyle videos and claims of early retirement, where the entire video is showcasing a beautiful mansion and several possessions, but says NOTHING about HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? I can say yes, because I have been prey to such tactics at an early age that I have described in another post The Stupid & Shameless Way to Success.

No, I’m not saying passive income is a fictional notion, but it isn’t as easy as many have claimed. Some of the top ideas you may have heard to generate a passive income would include buying real estate, stocks, starting a YouTube channel or writing a blog or even a book and even invest in businesses owned by other people. Sure these are all legitimate ways of starting your journey towards earning a passive income, but you missed a keyword there – JOURNEY. Simply having positive thoughts isn’t going to make you rich, it requires positive doing. Making money isn’t bad, but expecting money to drop from the skies for having an idea is just being delusional!

Earning a passive income takes work, tons of work. Whether you invest in the stock market, requiring you to research every buy or sell decision or start a YouTube channel, it is going to take a lot of work. Let’s face it, there are thousands of people who have Googled “Passive Income Ideas” and bumped into the same list of “easy” things you can do to go get that beautiful beach chair. Unless you are aware of a sure shot way of going “viral” with a single attempt, this process will take time.

What you do not realize is that while you were busy watching the beautiful “staged” house and luxury cars, and imagining yourself to have it all one day, you were holding on to this platinum bait, while the fisherman was turning your valuable time into green money! No, I’m not saying every single contribution on the internet is a scam, and there are tons of genuine helpers, but you must help yourself first before anyone else.

Regardless of what path you take – real estate, writing, photography or marketing, allot yourself the time to LEARN. Learn the pros and cons before you dive in to an alternative career. Do your research on the field you choose and clearly estimate the kind of returns you can expect for this choice. Ask yourself the following:

“Does this excite me?”

“Is this something I can spend a few hours on each day?”

“Are the returns enough for me to quit my day job some day?”

“Am I simply following the herd?”

You may not like investing in stocks, and I am not here to force you to do so. You love traveling, and you genuinely feel you can share your travel stories and at some point even make some money from it. Start small, involve your family and friends and see the reactions. While a positive feedback would offer the necessary encouragement you need, seek the critics and see how they feel about your ideas. This allows you to improve on your shortcomings and will take you a step higher on the path of learning. Learning will never end and the day you think you know it all – QUIT!

Is Passive Income a far fetched dream?

Certainly not! However, the portrayal of passive income is certainly more or less fiction. It does not imply you never have to work again, but is a continuous process of improvement that can reduce your workload considerably, allowing you to explore other areas of interest. Instead of looking for ideas on the internet, explore your personal interests and you may discover something you truly enjoy.

The Two Qualities for Passive Income

No, I will not lay out a long list of things you need to do to begin your journey of financial freedom. The only two qualities you must develop are LEARNING and PATIENCE. You will not get rich today, tomorrow or even 6 months from now, but don’t lose heart and stick to your plan. Having patience is key to attaining your goals. While you are patiently waiting to hit your targets, strive to learn something each day. Read about your interests and even about things that do not interest you, because all this knowledge will be useful at some point in time. Don’t let the learning stop!

I hope this post has encouraged you to take a step forward while offering some clarity on some mistakes we make in search of shortcuts. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on passive income, so feel free to share in your comments.

Be Frugal, Be Smart, Be Rich!

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