Rules for Business Success – #1 What’s passion got to do with it?

Enthusiasm differs from passion

Many smart entrepreneurs develop a deep knowledge of the fundamentals of their businesses before they launch or expand. However, in reality, there are a lot more experts than there are successful entrepreneurs.

You most probably have read about otherwise intelligent people who have made the mistake of risking their hard-earned savings or leaving a good job to pursue a brand-new venture about which they know almost nothing. They become enamored with an idea and talk only to people who will encourage them uncritically, instead of seeking out advisors or consultants who will objectively analyze their idea. This is natural, but it is actually heartbreaking to see smart, capable people rush into a situation without the proper preparation or research.

At the earliest stages of a venture, sometimes entrepreneurs get their priorities mixed up. They mistake enthusiasm and impatience for the more basic passion that inspires people to want to learn and become expert and make good decisions.

For example, spending lots of money is a real seduction to people who think they can’t even get started before they buy all kinds of equipment. The truth is, what you need to learn about your future business is how much hard work it is. You have to discover whether you really love the work and you are able to do the physical labor. A good piece of advice about trying things: ‘If you can’t keep up, how are you going to catch up?’”

There are situations where someone has an idea so unusual or original that there is no good model for how to go about developing it. The only option in that case is to just jump in with both feet. Several very well-known, successful entrepreneurs did this, including some of the best-known high-technology executives: Steve Jobs of Apple and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. However, that sort of situation is very rare. The success stories with these sorts of entrepreneurs are quite unique. Most have emerged in the short window following a scientific breakthrough that opened the door for innovation—in manufacturing, communications, marketing.

It is fine to look at successful college dropouts as a model of drive, determination, and intelligence, but please do not simply abandon your education or current job with the misplaced faith that your enthusiasm will be enough for success.

Ultimately, business people who do well have more in common than may be obvious from the type of product they sell or their personal style. They have passion, curiosity, a work-hard ethic, and a commitment to doing what they do with the highest degree of excellence.

The delightful secret of the entrepreneurial life is that when you love your work, you rarely get tired. You are so driven to do what you do well, that every piece of knowledge or insight you work to develop acts like fuel: It gives you momentum. Think about some of the great entrepreneurs you have heard about. You would never read that once they succeeded they felt tired. On the contrary, they become more self-disciplined and aim for higher achievements.

When you are consumed with passion for what you love to do, you will enjoy demonstrating your expertise and your ability to think on your feet.

This article is inspired by the book “The Martha Rules”, which you can purchase here as a hardcover, paperback or Kindle edition. If you prefer listening to it, you can now benefit from a special offer and do that absolutely free of charge by starting a free 30-day trial of the audiobooks library.