Ann Meyer wrote a wonderful piece yesterday talking about the Pursue the Passion Tour. I was quoted on Monday am in the Chicago Tribune article about turning Passion to Profit. Can you always turn passion into money?

"That type of passion might make a business successful in the long run, said Brett Farmiloe, founder of PursueThePassion.com, who is traveling the nation this summer with three partners in pursuit of stories about people who have followed their passion to launch new careers. "Passion is pretty much everything in entrepreneurship," he said. "I’ve talked to people who have been so close to bankruptcy but that drive to succeed is what keeps them going."

Still, the downside to passion is not being able to let go of the dream even when it clearly won’t materialize, Farmiloe said. "It can be a little dangerous," he said.

Farmiloe isn’t sure whether his passion project will lead to a commercial enterprise. For now, he is grateful to sponsors such as Chicago entrepreneur and author Barry Moltz for their financial backing.

Moltz is a big believer in the power of passion. "Entrepreneurs as a breed of people are dreamers, but that’s OK," he said.

That’s how new ideas emerge, Moltz added. Still, "somewhere along the line there should be a reality check," he said. "There should be some plan to make money."