I disagree about Watterson's speech. It seems very actionable to me for the common man: define meaning in life for yourself, don't get stuck on the hedonic treadmill, think about what your values are and shape your life around them, etc
No one told Watterson to love cartooning and hate “work” the way he says it with disdain. He was just born that way.
And he also turned out to be an exceptional artist. People with exceptional skills should refrain from telling others to follow their paths. It’s disingenuous and not in the interest of the audience at all. Follow your passion will fail badly at you if you are bad at it.
I'm not particularly exceptional, and I give the same advice.
More like not blindly following other people's definition of success.
We all have choices to make. And most of us could, for example, choose a less prestigious job in order to have more time and energy for other stuff. Among other things..