I spoke with a college student I know well yesterday and came away
with an unsettled feeling.  When I asked what he would be studying, he
informed me he was applying for medical school and hoped to be accepted
next spring.  As we talked further, it appeared he really wasn’t that
interested in medicine (or dealing with sick and / or injured people
for that matter.)  “Then why are you going into medicine?” I asked. 
“Because doctors make a lot of money,” he told me, giving me that look
that said, “You must be the stupidest person on the face of the earth.”

I cringe every time I hear that response — “because you can make a lot of money.”  I’ve written before about having a passion for what you do.  
There’s no substitute for passion.  I mean, really, do you want to go
to a doctor who really doesn’t care for or about sick people — who’s
only doing it for the money?  Do you want to take your car to a
mechanic who hates working on engines?  Would you enroll your children
in a class whose teacher was only in it for the money (granted if a
teacher was in it for the money, you’d have questions their financial
skills as well?)

No.  You want to go to see a “professional,” and by professional, I
mean professional in every sense of the word.  I want someone who lives
and breathes cars to work on my car.  I want a teacher who can’t wait
for tomorrow to begin teaching my children.  I want a doctor who
graduated at the top of her class, not because she’s the smartest, but
because she has such a passion for fixing what ails the human body she
finds every day an adventure.

If you want the best care, and the best service and the best
results, go to someone who’s passionate about what they do.  It won’t
take long talking to them and you’ll know whether they have the fire or
not.  Don’t waste your time and money on someone who’s “in it for the
money.”

To my young friend I would say this:  You’re going to spend more
time at work than you do with your wife and children.  You wouldn’t
marry for money (would you?) so don’t work for money.  Marry for love
and joy, fulfillment, excitement and companionship.  Work for those
same reasons.  Find something that gets you up in the morning.  The
money will follow.  The top performers in any profession make good
money.  You can only be at the top of your game if you have a passion
for what you do.  Don’t be so shallow as to base your career on,  “it’s
a great way to make money.