BD #2: "Build something you're passionate about"

29 November 2025 | 5 min read

Braindump #2: How this advice is making it worse for me.

Braindumps are more like journal entries.
They help me gather my thoughts and work through stuff that’s keeping me awake at night. Sometimes I come to conclusions mid article, sometimes I change my mind while writing.
This is probably the most honest insight into my brain you’ll get.

I have goals for the future, and I know exactly where I want to be in a few years. The path to this destination is unclear, but at least I know where I’m headed.

One path I could take - and the one that currently seems most likely - is to build a software product.
I know this is so generic; it makes me feel like that Buzz Lightyear meme:

Why not? It’s fitting.

I love programming and software, and I’ve always wanted to create something with “my own hands” from the ground up, even before I became a programmer.
I enjoy my craft.

To stay consistent, you have to be passionate about what you’re doing or building, and I am passionate about the work I do intrinsically, but not necessarily about the things I’m building. They feel more like hobby projects, little toys or tools, but I have yet to find my Magnum Opus.

Maybe it’s all a lie or even just a form of procrastination, but honestly, what I build is important to me.
Sure, I want to make money to gain freedom over my time, but I also want to create something good and positive, something that can truly help or at least make people happy.
I could never forgive myself if something I created hurt people in any way - physically or mentally.

I want to wake up excited to work on this thing, not because it’s going to fill my pockets, but because I want to feel like I’m doing something meaningful with my life.

Now that brings me to the question:

“What am I passionate about?” - Me, every single day.

I like sim-racing, cars, computers, technology, programming, self-improvement, health, fitness, and a few more things.
Now that’s a list someone can work with, right? Well, let’s see. Let me introduce you to my list of excuses.

• Sim-racing? Ultimately, we’re playing a game and wasting time. It’s fun, but gaming takes away from our limited time on this earth. I say that as an avid gamer myself.

• Cars? Okay, they’re useful and bring joy to people, but it’s not like I can start a car brand from scratch. Maybe I could build something for cars, but I’m not that technically deep into them to start tuning engines. And that’s not really meaningful either.

• I could build a workout app, and if that changes someone’s life for the better, that’s nice, but I’m not passionate about that idea, especially because the problem has already been solved so well. I don’t think I could build something that improves much upon the existing top solutions.
  I use one myself, and there are maybe one or two features I’d add or do differently, but nothing major.

It goes on like this for many of the topics.

Maybe too ambitious.

Two problems that I believe are worth solving, and that I am somewhat passionate about:

• Helping people conceive children when they have trouble doing so.
• Making the world a safer and more positive place by reducing conflicts.

These two hit really close to home, but they’re such big tasks that it’s simply unrealistic to even think about them now.

The health sector is highly complex, not easy to access, and most likely very expensive. How could I build software or an app that helps with this problem? Is it even possible? The only thing I can think of is a journal or something similar to document your own and the doctor’s findings. Everything else would require me to build a hardware startup and probably study medicine.

The other goal could also be named:
I want to achieve world peace.

Such a small, humble goal, I know.

I’m just so tired of all the conflicts, people fighting over everything.
Religion is not the problem.
Politics are not the problem.
It’s the people.
The people, a lack of intelligence and education.

When you’re raised in hostile conditions, you inherently become hostile yourself. You’ll abuse anything and anyone to achieve your goals, push your agenda, and justify your means. When all you know is taking, you’ll take. When all you know is hate, you’ll hate. You become what you’re surrounded by. Of course, there are also people who are evil by nature, and we can get rid of them by any means necessary. However, I really think that most problems are caused by poverty and a lack of education.

Enough of the philosophy.

Obviously, these are very unrealistic goals, and I’m aiming way too high here. What I was trying to show you with this extreme example is how high expectations that you place upon yourself can lead you down a path of despair and freeze you. It’s very likely that I’ll never be able to contribute to these fields. And of course, compared to these two beautiful goals, everything else seems meaningless.

But that’s exactly the problem.

I should just build small, helpful things, help a small bubble - maybe the people in my community. Build a niche app, help a handful of people, then move on to the next problem from there. I’ll gain experience, maybe even capital to tackle a bigger problem and help more people. If I do that for the rest of my life, maybe I’ll be able to reach these high goals, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll finally be able to make people happy by helping them.

And if I’m very lucky, I’ll finally help myself and become happy.
Thanks for sticking around, friend. :)