Whenever you chase a dream, people are quick to point out, “You’ll never make money doing that.”

Or whenever you choose a major in college that people don’t understand.

Or when you quit your job to do something new and unusual.

You’ll hear doubt which I am sure Avicii, a 23-year-old DJ, heard countless times.

You’re from Sweden. You’re practically a teenager. All people want from Sweden is copies of that dragon tattoo book and meatballs and IKEA.

Be more realistic with your dreams.

Be careful.

Be smart.

That’s fun to say to newcomers but I’m sure people have stopped saying it Avicii.

According to the August 29th issue of Rolling Stone magazine, he plays around 300 shows a year. For each show, he makes a reported $300,000. I’ll let you do the math.

Never mind, I’ll do it. Avicii is making around $75 million a year, which means he’s earning as much as LeBron James. But let’s say that report is 33% off, an egregious exaggeration for a journalist to make. That still means he’s making $50 million per year.

The point isn’t that you will make that same amount of money. You and I probably won’t. That’s OK.

The point is that you will always make more money than your critics think you will.