I recently read a blog post that made so much sense to me I wanted to share it with others, especially with anyone thinking about starting a business. This blog originally appeared on the website www.dumbtax.com. [Ed. note: This website no longer exists.] I don’t know anything about the author, who seems not have published anything on this site since December 2011. Nevertheless, this post about finding your passion is worth repeating.
Without further adieu, here it is.
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If Profit Is Your Passion, You Will Fail
When I meet with young business startups or entrepreneurs, I always ask why they want to start their business. Their outcome, and ultimately whether or not I choose to work with them, is based on the legitimacy of their motives. If they simply answer “money” I will not get involved. Profit is not a passion. It is an outcome of passion applied.
Seriously, enough with the money fetish already people. Your passion always needs to be greater than the sum of the potential earnings. Your drive for money is not enough to spur innovation and generate the resilience, which is required of you to be successful. The desire for the pursuit of money will die long before your passion does because the desire of money is quickly diminished by discouragement.
The reason is that most startups will take years before you see profits. I co-founded a venture 6 years ago and yet to have seen a single dime from it. My passion for the technology and industry is what drives me.
If your motive is purely money, get ready for a business or idea that won’t last very long.
Fortunately, a proven antidote for discouragement is passion.
Beware of partnering with people whose passion is profit. These people can be bought for a price and easily lured away. Their loyalty is in their personal financial gain. I had an early business relationship, which seemed to be a match made in heaven and the road ahead seemed full of promise and potential. After several months, he was lured away by a hefty paycheck and left me holding the bag for the business liabilities.
All the great businesses and enterprises are founded on passion. Your passion for your idea or business is driven by what it could be: passion to solve a problem, passion to see things change, passion to integrate, passion to optimize, passion to streamline, passion to invent, passion for industry, people, technology and others. Again, if your sole passion is to make as much money at any cost, you’ll end up chasing mirages. Sad but true: many people operating in this manner have wound up with a criminal record down the road.
Don’t get me wrong. All successful businesses must have a profit motive but money should always be the cherry on top, not the body of the ice cream sundae. One year, I calculated that my average hourly wage between my ventures was less than $3 an hour. But I loved every moment of it.
For many people, a paltry sum like that would be indicative of failure, but for me, that $3 an hour is worth $300 an hour to my soul. I am driven by my passion, and the fulfillment is the largest payout for me. Follow your passion, back it up for all your worth and the money WILL follow. Trust me on this.