Does 'passive income' exist?

People often ask me about how this blog is doing and whether I'm making money from this. Yes, I do, but not as much as people are led to believe because of hype. If you are a frequent reader, you know how I like to draw parallels... Just like most seduction gurus talk about how often they get girls, the reality is that they are, AT BEST, just normal dudes who talk to girls and, like regular folks, they get about the same amount of tails.

Sure, there are times when they get a few more girls, but those are not that often. Unless you don't have a day job, it's not that fun to go on 4-5 dates (with a different girl each time) per week. Dating can be fun, but at that point, it becomes a chore, and who likes chores?!

Similarly, when people talk about earning a passive income, like investing, rental properties, blogging, Adsense, and who knows what else self-help/self-hype gurus will come up with next. There are many active and hidden expenses that people don't know about in order to earn a "passive income." There is a certain amount of voyeurism among people who read blogs, in order to satisfy that, they need a certain amount of personal tidbits and emotional escapism to keep them coming back for more. After awhile, blogging can take an emotional toll or at the very least, it takes a certain amount of passion and drive to keep going.

I was reading this one article about how "passive income" is really a myth. People forget to factor in other costs; take any rental property, those investment self-hype gurus don't talk about the work of finding good tenants, credit and background checks, upkeep of the property, and of course, good customer service is hard work. The easiest way to be rich is to born into a wealthy family, short of that, people have to work hard, work smart, save, and invest. There simply isn't an easy way around this... A passage that people often cite from the book "The Millionaire Next Door" talks about the following: Millionaires are frugal, most rich folks are that way because they saved what they make; sure, they might earn slightly more than others, but their saving habits are what make them rich. "They drive old cars, live in modest houses and wear average clothes. They are rich, not because they are lucky or they have found some secret formula to wealth, but because they work hard, keep a long-term perspective and spend little."

I previously blogged about how to be successful: we must have good mentors, reliable and loyal friends who will challenge and help us, and we don't have to be the best, just slightly better. The trick is to maintain that habit.