Hey Rohan, thanks so much for reading and responding. You’re absolutely right that it’s a passive income stream. I actually tend to think about it differently, though. I call it “deferred income” because there’s really nothing passive about it.

I look at writing on Medium (or any royalties deal, as Medium pays royalties just like a book deal or acting contract) as an active income stream with deferred income. After all, I’m not making money here “passively” from having invested capital. I’m making money actively from hundreds of hours of work, but I get paid out over months and years.

I like having an “active” mindset because it helps me keep in mind the link between effort and reward. Pretending that it’s “passive” just because it’s future earnings I think is the wrong call.

To me, passive earnings is owning real estate and using a property management company to rent it. Active earnings is leveraging my real estate profit by renting it out on Airbnb myself — even though I had to invest capital into it to have the opportunity.

Cheers!