You’ve likely heard it a million times: People who are successful follow their passion. It’s 100% true. Yet so many people misunderstand what passion really is; they build a business around something that they’re not really passionate about at all, and then they fail. If you want to succeed, and I am pretty sure you do, you first need to get what passion is—and is not. Then, you can “find your passion” and get down to business. Let me help you out.
1. A Hobby Disguised As A Passion
People often mistake enjoyment of a hobby with passion. The world is full of entrepreneurs who liked doing something in their spare time and decided to build a business around it, only to find that yes, you can have too much of a good thing. Liking something, or even loving it, is not the same thing as being passionate about it.
Hobbies help you relax, forget and unwind from your day. On the other hand, an activity fueled by passion thrills you, charges you up and makes it difficult to relax because you are so chomping at the bit to learn more, do more, and accomplish more in the pursuit of it. You know you’re passionate about your business idea when you work on it all day and into the night, and still get up at dawn to start all over again.
2. A Hot Trend Disguised As A Passion
People also mistake getting a good idea, or having a core competency, skill or talent as having a passion for something. Just because it sounds like a good idea, doesn’t mean you should pursue it, and just because it’s the hot new trend, doesn’t mean you should build a business that requires you to do it every single day.
Even when, on paper, a business seems like a perfect fit for you, if you’re not passionate about it, you will be fail. Either you’ll quit before your business has a real chance, or you’ll make mistakes and sabotage your success so that you can move on and do what you were meant to do with your life. You know you have passion for a business idea when it feels like your life’s calling, that it would help you fulfill you purpose on this planet. And that hot new trend where you can get rich quick. . . if it isn’t in your field of passion, some of your competitors are likely passionate about it and they will eat you alive.
3. A Quick Financial Gain Disguised As A Passion
If you’re looking forward to the day that you can get out of your business – sell it, close it, or hire someone to take over for you – than it’s probably not your passion. Entrepreneurs who are more focused on the quick reward (getting out, or making it big) than the process itself aren’t living or working in their passion.
Passion cannot be satisfied by reaching a specific revenue goal, or by receiving outside recognition. When you are passionate about something you keep moving forward, ever searching for a new way to express it.
Now that you have a better handle on what it actually means to be “passionate about something” you are better equipped to recognize it when it arrives – and say no to everything else that shows up as passion in disguise. So let’s get started. What are you thirsty for?
Nice post Mike. I actually think you should focus on building a business around what you are REALLY good at, and obsessive to build. For instance, my biggest passion is probably surfing. When I was in college, I translated this passion into a business by moving in with my buddy in Surf City, NJ for the summer and starting, “Ship Bottom Surf Lessons, LLC” with our shiny new business skills we picked up in school. It was one of our first business failures, because we wanted to surf more than we wanted to be in the business of surfing.
Now I am diving into content marketing and am interviewing entrepreneurs 5 days a week for my video show and podcast and LOVING it because have a passion to learn but also a passion to build businesses. I guess I will have to leave my surfing, snowboarding, biking etc to help me relax, forget and unwind from my day. Keep up the good work buddy. You are doing a good thing here.
Thank Simon.