They meant it as inspiration.
“If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
But I call bullshit.
Because that phrase has quietly done damage to people like us—the rebels, healers, builders, and visionaries whose love for our work runs marrow-deep… and whose exhaustion runs just as deep.
We’re told that passion is the antidote to effort.
But what happens when you're tired and grateful? When you're burnt out and in love with your mission? When you hit submit on something sacred and still have emails to answer, clients to hold, content to publish, boundaries to reinforce?
Let’s be clear:
Loving your work doesn't mean you’re not working.
It means you’re invested. It means you care. It means you’ve chosen a path that’s rich with meaning—not free of friction.
Some days do feel effortless.
Imagine it: you’re doing what you love at the highest level you’re capable of.
Your tongue drips with wisdom.
Your clients are transforming before your eyes.
Incredible opportunities fall into your lap like confetti from the cosmos.
That ease? That grace? That’s real too.
But it doesn’t cancel the cost. It coexists with it.
You’ve paid for those days—in nervous system repair, in skill-building, in every sacred no that made room for the yes.
Let’s permanently retire “If you love your work, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Because it’s not wisdom. It’s erasure.
It erases the labor.
It erases the emotional weight.
It erases the complexity of building something sacred and sustainable in a system that profits from your burnout.
I love what I do—but I still work.
I still show up on the days when the magic feels thin.
I still make the spreadsheet, hold the boundary, answer the email.
I still do the things I’d rather not, because the vision matters more than my momentary mood.
Loving your work doesn’t make it effortless.
It just makes the effort worth it.
👉 Reflection prompt: Where have you internalized the idea that love should cancel out labor? How might you honor both your passion and your effort in this season of your business?
🔥 Daily Affirmation:
My passion is sacred.
My labor is worthy.
I honor the fire that fuels my work and the rest that renews it.
Devotion flows through me without depletion.
Ease and effort move together in harmony.
This is what it means to build something holy and alive.
PS:
Profit is Protest—but that protest won’t always feel dreamy. Sometimes it looks like gritty consistency, sacred boundaries, and bold refusal to let joy be exploited. Loving the work doesn’t mean it isn’t work. It means the mission is worth every damn step.
🎧 Song of the Day: "9 to 5" (Dolly Parton & Kelly Clarkson version)