I agree with mk as to his description of Pavlina. I don't see Steve having great success in anything except self-help, and as the old saying goes, to make a million dollars, write a book about how to make a million dollars and sell it to a million suckers. The passive income stream idea is great, but it's harder to do it successfully than people think. Of course that shouldn't discourage you, but don't expect to find a magic bullet that everyone else somehow missed - if it was easy, everyone would be doing it :) I personally look up to Derek Sivers, founder of cdbaby. His blog has some great advice about life. As for my work, I'm happy with what I do. It's intellectually challenging and I get paid reasonably well.
I'd go as far as to say that the author's passive income stream is based off predatory dishonesty in the form of this self-help advice. Getting to the point where you're your own boss and actually worth anything is a huge undertaking and gamble. It takes particular skills that most people are never taught nor possess. I've seen many pursue it; I'm not sure I've seen any come close to being able to live off it.
Yeah passive income is definitely a tough nut to crack, I don't expect it to be easy. But boy, having it all set up and rolling really is something desirable! Especially if you can do something you love doing to provide for the income. Oh I will definitely check out Derek Sivers. Thanks!