Louis C.K. is arguably the most successful standup comedian working today. Not just because of his sitcom or standup specials, but because of his do-it-yourself mentality. He famously produced, shot, edited, and distributed his standup special Live at the Beacon Theater.

This smart self-distribution model was quickly adapted by others.

In an interview with the New York Times Louis C.K. asserts that such creative freedom didn’t happen overnight (the bold questions are the Times reporter):

Does it matter that what you’ve achieved, with your online special, and your tour, can’t be replicated by other performers who don’t have the visibility or fan base that you do?

Why do you think those people don’t have the same resources that I have, the same visibility or relationship? What’s different between me and them?

You have the platform. You have the level of recognition.

So why do I have the platform and the recognition?

At this point you’ve put in the time.

There you go. There’s no way around that. There’s people that say: “It’s not fair. You have all that stuff.” I wasn’t born with it. It was a horrible process to get to this. It took me my whole life. If you’re new at this — and by “new at it,” I mean 15 years in, or even 20 — you’re just starting to get traction. Young musicians believe they should be able to throw a band together and be famous, and anything that’s in their way is unfair and evil. What are you, in your 20s, you picked up a guitar? Give it a minute.

Notice his use of the phrase “horrible process” in describing his rise. This is exactly what is wrong with telling people, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life”. You’re providing them with a flawed description of reality.

Building a business requires a lot of work. Sometimes even “horrible” work.

For me this adds value to my belief that those self help types who tell their clients to “find a job they love” are totally missing the point of having a meaningful career.

The problem with this is the self-serving bias behind it. The New York Times does not interview all the people who are not successful, but put the hours in, who also went through the “horrible process” but in one way or another were not that lucky. Don’t get me wrong: you have to put in the hours to be successful, but it is a necessary and not sufficient condition.

Listen, as entrepreneurs, sometimes we have to do shitty things that we don’t love, or even like, doing.

That’s a reality of being an entrepreneur that few will talk about, but it’s true.

Those people who are lead to believe that “they’ll never work a day in their life if they do what they love” are often the first ones to give in when the going gets tough.

It doesn’t help that self help gurus preach the gospel of being happy all the time and thinking positive.

Don’t get me wrong, a strong mental focus will help, but what helps more is the realisation that the business you’re building will be a pain in the ass sometimes and your source of greatest joy at others.

Neil