What Price Passion?

I spoke to a friend today who told me his wife is leaving her job as a vice president of a major Chicago advertising firm. She's fed up, he said, and wants to take the rest of the year to figure out what she really wants to do. He said she's always hoped to open a bakery. I loved hearing this. Who isn't cheered by a good "follow your dream" story? We all wish we had the courage to chuck it all in search of some bliss, but how many of us actually do? But no sooner had I voiced my enthusiasm when my friend began hedging. It would all depend on whether his wife could adjust to the severe drop in income. How many cakes would she need to sell to make her dream worthwhile?

It was a question similar to one another friend posed to me last night: how much money do we really need to be happy? She shared a "fact" she came across while blog-surfing: that supposedly $40,000 a year is all one needs to be happy. Enough to cover food and shelter (though not cable TV) and the rest is gravy. Or icing on the cake.

The problem is, we all want our cake, but...you know the rest. It's easy to put a price tag on the things we want to acquire, but not so easy to quantify the things we give up. When there is no one there to pay us or pat us on the back for our efforts, can we still feel fulfilled doing it? Can it even be called a passion? Does it get downgraded to a hobby, or an avocation, or worse still, a past time? Playing checkers is a past time. And it's hard to imagine anyone leaving a job to pursue a life of checker-playing, unless it's at the retirement community.

But hurray for those who take the plunge and resolve to do what they love! How else can you find out if your passion is priceless, or only priced to sell?