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There Is Nothing Passive About “Passive Income”
I was 24 years old when I first heard the term “passive income.”
The internet made it sound like the greatest invention since gluten-free bread:
- “Work from anywhere in the world”
- “Earn money while you sleep”
- “Never need a 9–5 job again”
And so on.
For years, I dedicated myself to learning everything I could about this elusive destination — the lush, castle adorned mountaintop where money grew from trees. I downloaded PDF guides. I lurked SEO blogs and sales funnel Facebook groups. I watched YouTube video after YouTube video, trying to wrap my head around exactly what I needed to do to unlock what I assumed was The Career Path of the Century.
I never quite figured it out.
Then, when I was 26 years old, I quit my job to become a full-time ghostwriter.
The very first thing I did was hop a flight to Atlanta to visit one of my closest friends. I told him about how I was ghostwriting for founders and executives making great money — and how I saw an opportunity to teach other people how to do the exact same thing.
“We could launch a course together. I’ll teach. You film it. And once we get it up and running, it will generate passive income.”
What we learned was quite the opposite.
There is nothing passive about launching a product on the internet. Just like there is nothing passive about buying, selling, or managing real estate, or building a software company, or <fill in the blank>.
Anything capable of producing “passive income” is a full-time job — and the moment you stop caring about it, income stops.
This is an Atomic Essay from the Ship 30 for 30 daily writing challenge.
