Not too long ago, my friend Michael Joesfowicz shared the message in the image to the left on Twitter. His thought had me thinking a great deal about how much more important passion is than money in almost any business or personal situation. With true passion for your goal, it’s possible to overcome even the most seemingly daunting obstacles.
Let passion be your fuel
One of my friends has been expressing a great deal of frustration lately about not being able to get enough work done. Her frustration stems from not having enough hours each week to work due to some short-term personal obligations. Think about that. She’s frustrated because she can’t work enough. Show me 100 people working in a cube farm and I’ll bet you no more than one or two would feel the same way as my friend. But you see, my friend owns her own business.
No, it’s not about the money. She truly loves what she does. She misses the work. She misses the collaboration with clients. Since departing from the cube farm, she’s been following her passion to do the kind of work she loves. It takes that kind of passion to be working at 10 p.m. after a long day taking care of family obligations. Again, it’s not because she has to. None of us really has to do anything except die and pay taxes. My friend is motivated by the work and by helping clients achieve their goals.
When you have to decide what not to do
Over the last few years, I’ve reinvented the businesses I am involved in. I now wake up each morning not wondering what to do; but instead what I wont’ be able to do. Sure, some days reality dictates I pick the work that will generate sales and cash flow; but not most days. Most days, I pick the two or three tasks that I know will drive the businesses forward. For me, the work we do in these two businesses has become my passion.
Michael Joesfowicz also helped me put a label on that passion a few months ago. He referred to me as a disruptive innovator. So that’s my passion: Running businesses that innovate in disruptive ways. When I am focused on my daily tasks that align with that passion, time is irrelevant. There is no morning, no noon and no night. There is just the work. And I don’t mean “work” in the negative “It’s Monday morning and I have to go to work again” way. Instead, I mean “work” as in doing your life’s work.
Back to the money …
This internet age we live in has allowed me to start several businesses with virtually no initial cash outlay. With great passion for what you want to do comes an inner drive that can fuel all but the most capital intensive startups. When you bootstrap a business with your own sweat equity, there are not investors to share the rewards with once the business succeeds.
Now it’s your turn. What’s your passion? What gets you out of bed in the morning?