Before you start your business, the first thing I need to get right is my mindset. You can have all the knowledge and information in the world, but if you don’t have the success mindset, all that will mean absolutely nothing and you will not accomplish much.
So what does it take to have a success mindset?
Different people will tell you different things. Some might say it’s focus, others might say it’s visualization. They are all right in different respects, but, the key to success really comes down to one thing:
Passion.
When you love what you’re doing, you’ll never give up. You’ll keep focused, you’ll push yourself and you’ll feel motivated. When you can align your passions with your goals, then the whole mindset thing will eventually catch up with you. That desire to accomplishing your goals kicks in.
It’s almost like your goals become your passion. And when your goals become part of your passion, then you can’t help but to achieve them.
I love internet marketing; I absolutely enjoy it. Yes, it’s a lot of hard work. I work 110% every single day. But to me, it’s just like fun. I breathe, live and eat 24 hours a day… almost to the point of obsessiveness.
Look at people like Donald Trump, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet. They don’t do it for the money. They do it because of the passion they have for what they do. These people are billionaires yet they are still working. I’m pretty sure they’ll have enough money to live on if they choose to retire tomorrow.
Don’t know what you’re passionate about? Get a pen and write down a list. Think about:
- What are my hobbies?
- What gets you excited?
- What do you love to do in your spare-time?
- What are your talents?
- What were your childhood dreams?
- What do you daydream about doing?
- Is it something you would do even if you didn’t get paid?
Look around and see if your passion is just right under your nose. It might be “stored” in a photo album of your childhood, it might be from a book, it might be from a movie. Go up to your family members and friends and ask them what do they think you’re passionate about. Sometimes, we don’t see that passion ourselves and miss the forest for the trees.
Finding your passion is the right place to start, but it may also be the most difficult part of becoming an entrepreneur. Business can be fun. If you don’t have fun, if you don’t enjoy it, you’re never going to be successful.
Success waits for those who follow their passion.
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September 14th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Nice to get back to basics of entrepreneurship. Your passion comes through quite clearly and I have no doubts that you will be very successful.
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September 14th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Nice post, indeed as you said if you enjoy what you do, you will most likely succeed and stay focused.
Always choose something your passionate about, if not your most likely to fail in what your doing.
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September 14th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
This is so true. It’s also really important to distinguish between what you love and what you’re good at. I was smacked in the face with the realization that just because I was good at something doesn’t mean I want to do it for the rest of my life. It’s easy when you’re praised and rewarded to stick on a path …
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September 14th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
This is the best line:
“Sometimes, we don’t see that passion ourselves and miss the forest for the trees.”
I’m rethinking a lot about work and the things I do for fun, and how to combine them. Very excellent and timely post. Thanks.
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September 15th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
This is always my motoo : “Do some money, but also have some fun on the way” otherwise you risk it to becom boring or eaven worse can become a burden.
Anyway i heard of some cases also in which the entrpreneurs didn’t really liked what they do , but because of the nice earnings they passed this unpleasent phase:)
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Nicole Price (80 comments) Reply:
September 18th, 2009 at 11:23 am
This is the first time that I have come across this phenomenon. I of course know of cases where the entrepreneur is asked to take up responsibility by the family and reluctantly takes it up only to get quite involved in it. Somehow the passion is still missing in such cases and they do not do as well as had they gone off on their own.
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September 16th, 2009 at 3:28 am
hey stanley,is me again,kuan:)
your post are so true..nice.
Besides,we can find every single human being have their own
“hidden talent”.
I love the way Michael Jackson compile his musics and dances..
The only thing I doubt is his eQ..
I wish soon u would share with us the topic on eQ of millionaires,and how they manage them effectively
Regards,
Ivan Warrant Kuan Chun Shen
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September 16th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
“Do what you’re passionate about.” Absolutely EVERYONE is talking about it, and for good reason. But there are many things that we don’t talk about.
My friend loves watching movies but is an accounting major. How can he turn his passion into something he can make money with? Start a blog? Not everyone is a good writer or enjoys it. I’ve tried to get him to blog but he just doesn’t like writing.
Start a video blog? He doesn’t enjoy being on video.
The thing is, people would love to do something that they’re passionate about. However, what if they’re not passionate about writing or video. How then can they turn their passion into a career?
Garyvee once said that if you love Smurfs, start a Smurfs blog and monetize it. Do you think that’s realistic?
Personally, I prefer the Tim Ferriss method. Automate your work life and spend time doing what you love.
What do you think?
- Jun Loayza
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Nicole Price (80 comments) Reply:
September 18th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Most of us go through a life time trying to find what it is that we love/like!
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Nunti (5 comments) Reply:
September 21st, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Unfortutnately i know some ppl which gave up these dreams and i find thid very sad. All of us should do what we like and not to be “slaves” of our society.
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allison Maslan (1 comments) Reply:
November 29th, 2009 at 7:05 am
I am enjoying reading your blog and the great comments. Here are my thoughts about creating a career that you can be passionate about. Why would you want to do anything that you were not excited about on a daily basis?
Here is an exercise in turning your passions into profits. Write down all the activities, subjects and ideas that inspire you, stimulate you, and bring you joy.Then write down all of your talents, including the ones you take for granted like being a good listener or multi-tasker. Then put the lists side by side and read them from top to bottom several times. What are the patterns? Do you see some themes running through both lists?
The answer to a career that you can feel passionate about AND attain prosperity lies within the combination of your talents and inspirations. When your career or business has meaning to you on a deeper level, you will give it the heart and soul it needs to thrive. And when this career or business comes from a natural talent that you already possess, you will be way ahead of the game. The ultimate goal is to love your work, and your play.
~Alllison Maslan
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September 17th, 2009 at 6:35 am
Agreed with it totally. Do what you like to do and it will eventually rise.
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September 21st, 2009 at 2:00 am
Doing what you love is the most important thing to excel in your chosen field. Thanks for this article.
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September 21st, 2009 at 9:47 am
hello
Very interesting,but without sounding too much of a negativist !!!!!!!!!!!!
if the desired results from your passions and hobbies are not achieved is there a possiblity of a damaging psychological effect on your approach to IM?Just a thought,thank you
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September 22nd, 2009 at 9:44 am
I agree, having an interest in what you are promoting really helps you achieve and have a better understanding of how that industry works and the knowledge to create great content and interact with your readers.
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September 22nd, 2009 at 11:07 am
Hi Stanley,
I completely agree with you on this. Different people just choose to describe it differently. That’s it. People wouldn’t persevere, show the kinda resilience it takes to succeed, unless they are just completely in love with it to the level of thinking about it for every day, every second of your life. It’s formula for success, in any field.
Its cool that you know it, prech it & practice it too.
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September 23rd, 2009 at 10:17 am
i am totally agree with it. in order to success you must do what you love but also you must do what is wise
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September 27th, 2009 at 4:03 am
You are right! And thanks for the nice tips
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September 27th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
You have came out with the truth. Whenever we stick to the basicswe are more in line with the correct path. There for it is not that hard to find out the way to the success. Great work done. I respect your opinion
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September 30th, 2009 at 3:09 am
I think for the most part, things that you like you will be passionate about. This is a good reminder of what everyone hopes to be true– do something long enough and well enough and you can profit from it. It’s exciting to know that you are doing what you love and making enough money to survive.
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October 2nd, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Don’t chase cash. Let the cash come to you!
Believe it or not, that’s the way it works best. Work on establishing something strong and then go for it’s monetization.
Nice post
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October 4th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Yeah because by doing what you love most.. It can last you a long way..
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October 4th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
That there is a given. If you are not having fun doing what it is that you are doing I see it is a complete waste of time. I am quitting my job (where I have been for 7 years) at the start of next year and going back to university to study medicine because that kind of stuff gets me really excited. I had been lying to myself for years that I was happy working for a pharmaceutical company.
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October 6th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
One thing I noticed about bloggers and their desire to blog…If you want to have a great blog, you don’t only have to be genuinely interested in the topic(s) you write about. You also have to be jazzed about writing. If you hate writing, your blogging future will have a bottleneck.
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October 16th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
what you wrote about pasion is true, but passion it isn’t everything at all. For exemple. Music is everything for me. I could die for it. I tried very, very hard to become a good musician. I used to practice 12 hours a day for years. I had the right enviroment for it. Lot of bands and so, but to be a good musician you need more than that and I didn’t hv it. So than came the time to let it go. It is hard, but it is also important to aknoledge this moment. Now at days I think about it and I know this “training” has tought me a lot and I am very proud of it, but if I keept trying I would be a frustrate musician today. So, passion is very, very important to achieve our objectives, but there are a lot of another things that we need.
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October 21st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I completely agree about having passion for what you do. That, to me, is the single most important quality for anybody to have in order to be successful.
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November 17th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Yes you are absolutely right. It’s passion that drives us to success. Nothing could be more true than that. But as with every other things, we need a bit of luck to have this taste of success. Some people get it easily while others need to strive. These are the rules of life which we unfortunately cannot change. No two people have the same fate. I’ve not seen that till date, so I don’t know if it really does exist. That was a great post and provided food for thought.
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November 18th, 2009 at 2:49 am
this is what i lack. i always seem to do things which I am not an expert nor love it. In those blogs that I made, I literally failed.
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November 19th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Yes, we all need that. Passion is the energy that comes from bringing more of us into what we do. May all be blessed with this gift.
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November 21st, 2009 at 10:21 pm
For me it is true that doing what you love is like not working at all. Everyday I wake up and have passion for what I do. I remember the younger years and working at jobs that truly sucked. It was a pain everyday. I remember wishing every moment I was some place else other then my job. I know not everyone has it but it’s something I am very grateful for.
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November 23rd, 2009 at 6:52 am
That is probably one of the most powerful post titles I have heard in a while, passion and sticking with it is the key!
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June 15th, 2010 at 7:37 am
you don’t have to be an expert to do what you love. as long as you do with with passion and without hesitation, success will follow
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