“ When I was younger there was something in me. I had passion. I may not have known what I was going to do with that passion, but there was something –and I still feel it. It’s this little engine that roars inside of me and I just want to keep going and going.” – Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET and CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts The virtues of following one’s passion have been cornerstones of 21st-century motivational speeches. We’ve been taught that excelling at — and monetizing — our favorite activities is the only true way to lasting professional and personal success. Some argue that social media platforms make it possible for everyone to make a living from their talents without requiring acceptance from the traditional gatekeepers of industries. With platforms like SoundCloud and YouTube, musicians don’t need record labels to distribute their music anymore. Publish platforms, like Medium , allow writers to share their work directly to the internet, and engineers can now...