I don't think I quite agree what he's getting at. You can put effort in to anything, but unless it's something you care about (are passionate about), you're not going to want to maintain that effort and actually get good at it. That's where his argument falls apart - the idea that expended effort leads to being good at something which then leads to being passionate about it only works if you expend enough effort to actually get good at it. If you don't care about it, you're likely to quit before you get good.

The idea of "follow your passion" means you should start expending your effort into something you're passionate about. The problem is that many people don't actually know what it is they're passionate about - and those that do don't understand how to turn that passion into an actual sustainable career.

So, I disagree. I say follow your passion.