Transforming Love Into Usefulness

BusinessTransforming Love Into UsefulnessByGlenn Bostock,Forbes Books Author.for Forbes BooksAUTHOR POSTExpertise and opinions of authors published by ForbesBooks. Imprint operated under license. | Paid ProgramJun 05, 2026, 01:15pm EDTDreaming big and doing what you love is hollow without usefulness.gettyOne of the things that adults ask children is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Once they respond with whatever they want to do, the older person sometimes says back something akin to, “As long as you find something you love, you will never work a day in your life.” I lived by that mantra for a long time. I spent my days doing what I loved, using my mind and my hands to build high-end custom furniture. But it wasn’t financially viable. How I ended up correcting that while still keeping my love intact changed my life and business forever. Passion Isn’t PurposeAt the time, my wife and I were young, and we didn’t panic when the funds didn’t come right away. We felt that eventually my passion for woodworking would bring me success. But then life punched us in the gut. My wife became pregnant, and our first daughter, Anne, was stillborn. We had been living with my grandmother to help take care of her in the evenings while we saved up for a down payment on a mortgage, but now our grief overwhelmed us so much that we could no longer do that, either. It was devastating. A few years later, I was still running a business that wasn’t profitable, and now I was deeply in debt. My wife was pregnant with our fourth child, and we had to get on government assistance. I couldn’t understand why things hadn’t taken off yet. Having Passion isn’t EnoughThis notion of working on something you love is romantic, yes, but not entirely realistic—at least not how it’s currently framed. My father was a partner at an elevator maintenance company. When they needed to replace the interiors, they would either scrap the entire shell or outsource the work to a local contractor. He suggested...