<![CDATA[The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit.]]>The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. This is a terrible foundation for pretty much anything.

https://www.joanwestenberg.com/the-passive-income-trap-ate-a-generation-of-entrepreneurs/

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/dd60b89a-22b8-4f47-82f5-6d133d04df2b/the-passive-income-movement-was-a-fantasy-about-not-having-to-give-a-shit.RSS for NodeMon, 06 Apr 2026 13:44:11 GMTFri, 03 Apr 2026 06:27:00 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:41:41 GMT]]>@Daojoan It arguably looks a lot like conspiracy-theory entrepreneurship: the idea that there's a simple, but 'secret' in a contrarian they-don't-want-you-to-know sort of way, area where the game is rigged in your favor; hidden between the visible realms of being the man and grinding for the man.

Very much like the 'alternative medicine'; where there's some relatively trivial(compared to real medicine) miracle cure just quietly hiding out where you can find it but pharma R&D can't, for reasons.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://cyberplace.social/users/fuzzyfuzzyfungus/statuses/116340824564351678https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://cyberplace.social/users/fuzzyfuzzyfungus/statuses/116340824564351678Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:41:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:36:48 GMT]]>@Daojoan Our entire culture has been hollowed out by this thinking. And not just by fly-by-night dropshippers- people with MBAs from prestigious schools. This notion that nothing matters but the bottom line, and delivering as little as legally allowable is the correct and smart thing to do. The result is a negative feedback loop where the only thing that can compete is the shittiest thing. It's a race to the bottom and we all lose.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/VampirePenguin/statuses/116340805355360214https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/VampirePenguin/statuses/116340805355360214Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:36:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:20:34 GMT]]>@Daojoan On one hand, "passive". On the other, not so much: a sustainable range.

A byproduct of single solve mindset education, is to erroneously fixate on one value set. And while this tends to lend more profit for the wealthy in more subjugated masses, it eventually spells disaster for most ecosystems.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/115482733208514503/statuses/116340741546510150https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/115482733208514503/statuses/116340741546510150Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:20:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:52:40 GMT]]>@danbrotherston @Daojoan that’s how I feel about it, but most passive income seems exploitative, whether you’re tricking people into buying a product that they don’t need and/or exploiting cheap labor to build/maintain the product.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://beige.party/users/shadows/statuses/116340631801765211https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://beige.party/users/shadows/statuses/116340631801765211Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:52:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:13:41 GMT]]>@BubblegumYeti Yes, that's addressed by Joan in her piece.

@Daojoan

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/clickhere/statuses/116340478551059735https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/clickhere/statuses/116340478551059735Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:13:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:11:29 GMT]]>@Daojoan At the risk of sounding like a bot, I wanted to say that was a great article and I really enjoyed reading it. Thank you for writing it.

I particularly liked the beach bit and the blender bit. I found the article because @mia boosted it. I'm sad that my view of the Internet has declined to the level that I'm worried about looking like a bot for sending unsolicited enthusiasm.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/volcan01010/statuses/116340469869570189https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/volcan01010/statuses/116340469869570189Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:11:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:10:44 GMT]]>@Daojoan So, if we are cynical about it, the choice is roughly between a bullshit job, constant worry about money, or these mostly immoral schemes you describe so well.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.green/users/timolaine/statuses/116340466963470245https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.green/users/timolaine/statuses/116340466963470245Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:10:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:10:08 GMT]]>@Daojoan I think this is part of a larger picture. The central issue seems to be that it is not easy to find work that 1) is meaningful/valuable, 2) pays the bills, 3) one does not hate performing and 4) one is able to do.

My own opinion, and I may be wrong, is that we have constructed our societies and education systems to provide people with skills that are mostly valuable for someone else, i.e. they do not provide autonomy for an individual.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.green/users/timolaine/statuses/116340464558721074https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.green/users/timolaine/statuses/116340464558721074Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:10:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:05:40 GMT]]>@interpipes @Daojoan
I came to mention landlords too, as if flipping property or extracting crushing rents is passive. Only if you don't care about the property, or the tenants.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://sunny.garden/users/spodlife/statuses/116340446987559186https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://sunny.garden/users/spodlife/statuses/116340446987559186Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:05:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:49:42 GMT]]>@Daojoan

Thank you, and delighted to hear jade roller guy was only $800 down.
Signed, guy who switched to meaningful work 17 years ago and am thankful every exhausting, difficult, frustrating af day.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mindly.social/users/MercG/statuses/116340384254108606https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mindly.social/users/MercG/statuses/116340384254108606Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:49:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:30:42 GMT]]>@BubblegumYeti @Daojoan I have to deal with people who seriously prompt ChatGPT with "make me money out of nothing" and expect it to work.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/jkn/statuses/116340309500731413https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/jkn/statuses/116340309500731413Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:30:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:44:01 GMT]]>@Daojoan thank you for writing and posting this article describing a movement I did not know about. I see some interesting parallels with multilevel marketing as described in the excellent book "Little Bosses Everywhere".

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://ohai.social/users/patrascan/statuses/116340125966974857https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://ohai.social/users/patrascan/statuses/116340125966974857Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:44:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:35:23 GMT]]>@Daojoan of course the only “real” passive income business is to have a large pile of money and assets like a certain class of all too common landlord that nearly everyone has rented from, but that requires too much capital “to step into”, so of course they started grasping at ways they too could get away with giving no shits.

I have no idea why you would want this either. As you observe; my entire business is successful on giving a shit so that we are invited back.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://thx.gg/users/interpipes/statuses/116340092009464263https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://thx.gg/users/interpipes/statuses/116340092009464263Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:35:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:54:12 GMT]]>@Daojoan I live on passive income. I got it by pursuing an advanced degree, getting really good at what I do, and then working 60 hours/week for someone else while saving 75% of my income for several years, which I used to buy index funds. I wish I could say I provided meaningful value during that time, but that'd be a stretch. I'm trying to do meaningful work now, but it doesn't pay well, hence the living on passive income.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://peoplemaking.games/users/Alrecenk/statuses/116339930093535026https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://peoplemaking.games/users/Alrecenk/statuses/116339930093535026Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:54:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:51:46 GMT]]>@Daojoan
I didn't know "jade face roller" was a thing 🤷

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/ifrit/statuses/116339920528170370https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/ifrit/statuses/116339920528170370Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:51:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:42:03 GMT]]>@Daojoan They fail 5 to 10 times and then start blaming it on women, migrants or everybody else.

We all had this already once in the 90s withe everyone and his uncle having online stores. But it was a lot more work back then...

At least that guy is only 800$ down. This can be a lot more expensive.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/masek/statuses/116339882325977247https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/masek/statuses/116339882325977247Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:42:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:40:27 GMT]]>@dahukanna @Daojoan That's a really insightful perspective.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/RosyMaths/statuses/116339875982723403https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/RosyMaths/statuses/116339875982723403Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:40:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:29:36 GMT]]>@Daojoan 🤔 I think my wife got one of those jade rollers...

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116322379374044517/statuses/116339833340049912https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116322379374044517/statuses/116339833340049912Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:29:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:16:06 GMT]]>@Daojoan the fantasy about not wanting to give a shit and thinking things will work out anyway sums up how Trump is in office again. It's the enshittification of people

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hear-me.social/ap/users/116321507429831657/statuses/116339780247948115https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hear-me.social/ap/users/116321507429831657/statuses/116339780247948115Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:16:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:07:30 GMT]]>@danbrotherston @Daojoan I think this is the normal human response, but given the flaunting of wealth in these circles I doubt they caught on.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/koen_hufkens/statuses/116339746419680231https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/koen_hufkens/statuses/116339746419680231Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:07:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 07:40:08 GMT]]>@danbrotherston @Daojoan I always considered passive income to be dividends.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/CosmicCactus/statuses/116339638835355248https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/CosmicCactus/statuses/116339638835355248Fri, 03 Apr 2026 07:40:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 07:03:25 GMT]]>@Daojoan
The “construct or assemble a system of extraction” has been equated to income (passive or active investment by the owner) rather than building a sustainable system of value to others. Unfortunately, the tools to build both are the same, the differentiator is the addressing needs of others is how you get people to pay you.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/dahukanna/statuses/116339494474601727https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/dahukanna/statuses/116339494474601727Fri, 03 Apr 2026 07:03:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 06:53:41 GMT]]>@Daojoan It is still happening... with AI.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/BubblegumYeti/statuses/116339456175441210https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/BubblegumYeti/statuses/116339456175441210Fri, 03 Apr 2026 06:53:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The passive income movement was a fantasy about not having to give a shit. on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 06:45:18 GMT]]>@Daojoan I think most people are seduced by "passive income" not as in they don't want to contribute, but instead as a form of security. If income is passive, then you cannot be fired.

It of course isn't true, but I suspect this is the underlying motivation for most.

Or well, it would be for me, maybe I'm weird, but I do think I'm still pretty human.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://types.pl/users/danbrotherston/statuses/116339423228531819https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://types.pl/users/danbrotherston/statuses/116339423228531819Fri, 03 Apr 2026 06:45:18 GMT