It`s an interesting and definitely fun article, but it`s also a dangerous set of assumptions. The essence is that there`s no benefit to "passion," one should walk away from the word and focus instead on a more "real" world.
Unfortunately, with no definition of passion from the writer`s perspective, we really have no idea what he`s talking about.
The bottom line is that a true passion is hard to come by. When people find themselves captured by that passion, they`re driven to do what they`re doing and haven`t got much choice in the matter. It`s close to an obsession. Not many people get into that condition.
However; plenty of people think that a strong feeling is the same as a passion. They confuse lust, greed, excitement, or other powerful feelings for passion. Following those types of biochemical drivers often leads to calamity.
What`s more interesting in the article is that the people doing the jobs "love" what they`re doing. The writer could just as easily said the people are "passionate" about what they`re doing. By choosing "love" over "passion," all he`s done is a) substituted the argument, and b) confused the issue.
A passion is the result of making an ideal our highest value. That value ought to be higher than anything else. If we therefore value a person higher than an ideal, saying that we`re "passionate" about the person, we`re bound for trouble.
Love is the result of making a tangible or concrete individual, physical person or thing the highest value. We love a person, but we`re passionate about justice, for example.
In the article, the writer says that each example person has one thing in common: they`re not part of a team. They`re individuals, independent, doing what they want to do, not being made to follow rules and patterns. That form of independence-while-being-paid is an ideal.
The job-holders aren`t passionate about the jobs in particular. That would be love. Instead, they`re passionate about their freedom to choose, freedom to decide, freedom to use their own judgment---in short, their personal freedom.
They also get paid for exercising that freedom, initiative, judgment, and skill. That`s why the expression says, "if you can get paid for doing what you `love` to do, you`ll never `work` a day in your life."
Passion isn`t love. Love isn`t passion. But to understand ideals means having a particular view of reality that`s been under attack for more than half a century.