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Yes but no. It's always with disappointing rewards tgat those studies are done. Pay people considerable amount and then compare.

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That's a different question. People like money. People may like the activity and the money combined more than just the activity. But the studies show that they like it less than the activity and the money not tied to one another.

If Bezos wrote me a large enough check to never participate in specific hobbies again, I would take him up on it. I would be happier than before I took the offer. But I would clearly be even happier with a check that wasn't tied to ruining a hobby.

I don't take it that way, and I'm deeply fortunate to be living the life suggested by GP. If I get to do what I'm passionate about even if it includes the closely-related grungy part to make it successful (not an altogether different job like marketing) and I am paid enough money to not have to worry about my daily needs and retirement savings, then I have a chance to spend a solid part of my productive day on it, engaging deeply, and building a deeper intuition, all the while not having the personal worries of stability at the back of my mind. My passion no longer needs to compete with my work for my mental energy. And I get to work with talented people who complement my skill, doing the part they enjoy and I don't, to make what we collectively build successful.

That being said, I'm a software engineer, and that's a really fortunate occupation to be passionate above due to the breadth of its applicability (e.g. allowing one to work more closely on my topic of interest) and salary potential.

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