I think where this article falls flat is in it's assumption that there are many hobby passions with which you can't make money. I don't believe this for a second - if you are good enough, you can make money off anything. And being really good at something, in addition to genetics, talent, etc, is a result of being passionate - since you like something you naturally put in a lot of work and get better.
I challenge someone to come up with any hobby you can't make money from if you're good at it. Even the most ridiculous ones, playing video games, watching movies, etc. all have associated careers in which you can make plenty of money if you are good and put in work. And if you aren't putting in work or don't think you can be good enough, it's probably not a passion.
Then on top of that is the whole part where making money is just not as important to you when you're doing something you enjoy for most of your waking hours. How much money is your happiness for ~40 hours a week worth? For me, it would be pretty steep.
What percentage of video game players make a living from it? Skateboarders? Gardeners? Musicians? Poker players? Actresses? Hobbies are rarely viable career paths.
What separates SOME hobbies (computer programming, for instance) is that they're still relatively obscure. Out of 1,000 random people, maybe 3 can program, and all of them likely suck. So if you're passionate about programming, it's not difficult to make a career out of it.
This article doesn't seem to be targeted at STEM-type careers. It's more targeted at the lofty ideas. Roughly 6 degree programs account for over 50% of the Bachelor degrees earned these days. These students are creating an extremely competitive environment for themselves by chasing their very popular ideal careers.
If you're able to get a good-paying job doing what you enjoyed as a hobby, you're lucky. Not everyone has such obscure hobbies as you and I.
The hobby? Collecting and watching laserdiscs. Check out http://www.lddb.com/ and http://forum.lddb.com/ for a look into the hobby and community surrounding it, respectively.
Also, I don't think any of the LDDB shop owners are making a living off of LD sales alone.
I challenge someone to come up with any hobby you can't make money from if you're good at it. Even the most ridiculous ones, playing video games, watching movies, etc. all have associated careers in which you can make plenty of money if you are good and put in work. And if you aren't putting in work or don't think you can be good enough, it's probably not a passion.
Then on top of that is the whole part where making money is just not as important to you when you're doing something you enjoy for most of your waking hours. How much money is your happiness for ~40 hours a week worth? For me, it would be pretty steep.