Chidozie ChimaThere’s the work you do because you love it. And then there’s the work you do because bills exist. Ideally, those two things overlap, but let’s be real—most of the time, they don’t.
If you’re lucky, you get paid to do work that actually excites you. But more often than not, the work that matters—the stuff you’re passionate about, the things that feel meaningful—pays in “personal fulfillment” and not in money. Meanwhile, the work that pays—the client projects, the endless revisions, the “make the logo bigger” stuff—is what actually keeps the lights on.
Balancing the two is a game that never really ends.
The Illusion of Doing What You Love
We’ve all heard the line: Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.
Sounds great, too bad it’s complete bullshit.
Doing what you love for money doesn’t mean it stops being work. In fact, it often makes it harder because now your passion is tied to financial survival. The thing you once enjoyed for fun? Now there are deadlines, revisions, invoices, and clients who think they know more than you do.
Take web design, for example. I love making websites. But you know what I don’t love?
- Explaining to a client why their “tiny change” isn’t tiny.
- Chasing payments from people who “forgot” they owe me money.
- Rebuilding the same WordPress site for the third time because someone decided to install 50 random plugins and break everything.
This is the reality of turning a craft into a job. You spend less time on what excites you and more time managing the business side of things. And if you’re not careful, that love you had for the work? It starts to fade.
The Work That Pays (And Why It’s a Trap)
The work that pays is necessary. You can’t live off passion alone (unless you enjoy living off instant noodles and hoping exposure will pay your rent). But chasing only the money is a dangerous game.
I’ve taken on projects purely for the paycheck. I think most freelancers and business owners have. And at first, it seems harmless. But here’s what happens when you focus only on work that pays:
- You get stuck doing things you hate, for people you don’t like.
- Your best energy goes into projects that don’t excite you.
- You have no time left for the work that actually matters.
It’s a slow creep. You tell yourself you’ll do “just one more” high-paying but soul-draining job, and before you know it, your entire business is built around things you never intended to do.
The Work That Matters (And Why It Doesn’t Always Pay Well)
Then there’s the work that actually means something to you. The personal projects. The creative experiments. The things you’d do even if no one paid you for them.
For me, that’s writing posts like this. Working on small, weird web projects. Building things just for the fun of it. These are the things that make me want to keep going.
But the truth is, this kind of work usually doesn’t pay well—at least, not right away. If it did, everyone would be doing it. The projects you care about don’t come with guaranteed paychecks. They don’t have clients waiting with money in hand. Instead, they come with uncertainty.
- Will anyone care?
- Is this a waste of time?
- Should I be doing “real” work instead?
That’s why so many people let these projects die. They get buried under the never-ending list of “urgent” things. And when that happens, it’s easy to wake up years later and realise you spent all your time doing work that mattered to other people, but never to yourself.
So, How Do You Balance the Two?
I’d love to tell you there’s an easy formula. There isn’t. But here’s what has helped me so far:
1. Set Boundaries on the Work That Pays
Money is necessary, but it’s not everything. If a job drains you completely, no amount of cash is worth it. Learn to say no, even when it’s tempting.
2. Make Space for the Work That Matters
If you wait until you “have time” for personal projects, you’ll never do them. You have to make time. Block out a few hours a week for the stuff you care about, even if it doesn’t make money yet.
3. Find Ways to Make Meaningful Work Pay (Eventually)
Sometimes, the work that matters can pay—it just takes time. Maybe it’s a side project that turns into something bigger. Maybe it’s a skill you refine through passion projects and later get paid for. But that only happens if you keep at it.
4. Accept That Not Everything Needs to Be Monetised
Not every passion needs to become a business. It’s okay to do things just because you enjoy them. Sometimes, the best way to keep loving what you do is to not turn it into a source of income.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, you need both. The work that pays keeps you afloat. The work that matters keeps you sane. The trick is to not let one completely kill the other.
So yeah, chase the money when you need to. But don’t forget to do work that actually excites you—because that’s the work you’ll remember when it’s all said and done.