| Guys love the word 'passion', but that's not our topic. This is about business passion - and it should be very close to your life passion.
I'm frequently asked;
|
|
"What kind of business should I start?"
My answer is; "It doesn't matter, but it better be the right one." Example:
1) Lewis Carroll, Author of 'Alice In Wonderland' wrote: One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?", she asked. "Where do you want to go?", was his response. "I don't know", Alice answered. "Then", said the cat, "it doesn't matter, because either one will get you there."
2) Baseball legend Yogi Berra said:
- When you get to a fork in the road, be sure you take it!
AND
- You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there.
Ok, follow me. When I was young, I saw the difference that Oprah made in the lives of her audience. I thought, 'Hmmm, I would like to do something like that'. And "that's" the road I've chosen again and again - including choosing the man that supports my passion and is capable of creating the MOMtrepreneurs Network with me.
Question.
Which road do you keep choosing?
More on this...
Not a simple answer
Defining your passion and knowing how to answer the question is critical if you want to get somewhere. Otherwise, who cares? You'll get somewhere without it right? Maybe this is why people don't take you seriously?
Listen carefully to what Sandra has learned.
You'll want to know the ingredients on how to endure the day-to-day challenges and consistent skepticism of your friends and family while strengthening your belief system.
Defining your passion and posting it 'on the fridge', so to speak, will help a lot. It's a simple process, though not an easy one. It's a learned skill. Daniel and I know!
You will enjoy the training on the process and pitfalls of getting the spark of faith into your belief system, while learning to see the milestones as you travel toward your goals.
Ready to go?
Let's look at the ingredients of Knowing Your Passion.
(next column) |
|
|
 |
Knowing is a process.
Knowing comes by faith through a series of experiences. Some are planned, some are serendipitous, some are statistical inevitabilities. Knowing isn't something you can get from someone else, but by gathering, testing and refining your best guess, you will get closer to believing and possibly understanding it.
| Like a good novel, there are clues in each chapter. The journey is full of challenges and rewards. Knowing with absolute certainty seems to be an elusive thing closely tied to your emotions. |
|
This is further complicated by our lack of self-understanding, and possibly lack of faith, or self-esteem, but certainly it's postponed by our inability to see what's in our hand.
More on this...
Although, we're usually the least able to see our own face in the mirror, we can learn to observe closely. And therein lies the hope. It's the hope of knowing who we are that fuels each decision to try again. Let's take a closer look at the process.
Observation includes the following:
- Listening to your 'Knower'
- Noting joys from the past
- Carefully listening to others
- Reading for patterns
- Documenting your passion
- Purpose outside yourself
- Paying the price for your passion
- Re-directing and starting anew
Listening to your 'Knower'
Some people refer to this as having a 'gut feeling'. Listening Define your business based on your passion. Listen to your 'knower' or 'heart' and even play the 'what if' game to start expressing the hopes of what could be a reality if you let go enough emotionally to discover what you would love to share with others about you and also happen to get paid for it.
Even in the 'passion discovery' process you will become enthusiastic and energized to share with others what you are considering pursuing.
As your confidence level increases you might be surprised what doors may open because of its expression.
Noting joys from the past
Experiencing your passion is like living as a child with adult discernment.
What were some activities that you really enjoyed as a child that linger as the greatest moment in your life that you would like to repeat again and again. Or what circumstance did you experience that you would love to encourages others to discover and are willing to help them to just that?
Carefully listening to others
Sometimes as adults we have been so ingrained to live and think a certain way that we forget pieces of who we are or what we have experienced in the past. Family and friends that know and care about us are great resources in reminding us what brought us joy.
By inviting the participation of others into discovering or refining your passion, the process can produce incredible sessions of ideas, thoughts and ways in which your passion can become a reality.
Napoleon Hill studied the lives of the most successful people in history. He suggests that they shared a habit of creating a mental 'board' of mentors. These are an imaginary group of advisors chosen for their input to help with decisions. Martha Stewart talks about this in her interview.
|
|
Reading For Patterns
A really sad part about graduates is that they usually stop reading, and worse, they think the learning is done. Gladis Knight (G.K. and the Pips) is married to motivational speaker Les Brown. Les speaks around the world about "life-long learning". It is absolutely essential for an entrepreneur to practice this.
At the very least, make 'toilet time' a visit to the library. Ten minutes a day will finish a couple books a month. That's the same as counseling with 24 experts a year. Imagine how many similar lives to yours you can read and learn from!
Documenting your Passion
Our minds are the most incredible tool we possess. There's a mental skill used by
athletes and POWs to overcome adversity and challenges. Our mind doesn't distinguish between vividly imagined events and real events when it records memories. Both are equally etched into our neural pathways. You too can practice this skill and benefit from it.
When writing about your passion, take time to day-dream. Just before falling asleep and before waking up, imagine living your passion as vividly as possible. Then take a few moments and write down your thoughts, feelings and intuitions. This will create positive pressure and expectation ensuring that forward momentum is started.
| If your learning preference is visual, create images and post them where you'll see them frequently.
|
|
Daniel uses his PC desktop to 'remind' himself what his desired life is becoming.
Question.
Where can you post vivid reminders?
More about this...
A Purpose bigger than yourself
When your 'Purpose' in life is larger than yourself, meaning that your goal is to help other people, passion gets evoked. It's like squeezing citrus juice from the fruit. You get the fuel out of the pressure surrounding your situation. That's why top
athletes and achievers seem to be like the Energizer Bunny - going and going and going!
Paying the price for your passion
Find a quiet place to spend a number of hours reflecting on the activities you've felt deep joy through. Do this several times a year and you'll come up with a list of possible missions, a likely life-purpose, and a hint where to focus your passion and enthusiasm.
As you mature, adding more experiences to your equation, you'll be able to answer the question: "what am I most drawn to do - without pay?" Then all you have to do is figure out who would buy this service or product from you and refine actually getting paid to do it.
Live your passion
You can actually start living your passion everyday if you are not already. In small increments if you want or in total emersion. It's up to you.
When you live your passion daily, even in small increments, you influence others and over time your enthusiasm will open doors that you might never have dreamed possible. That's how NBC and The Apprentice called me. That's how the SBA awarded me for our work.
Living your passion is a journey. Taking steps, each day, will get you to your destination, and the money will follow.
Redirecting and Starting Over
Daniel is constantly learning; to fly gliders, to windsurf, to produce media and software. He frequently says that: "ACTION
precedes everything". It's impossible to steer a bicycle that isn't moving. When you crash, getting up is the ACTION you must take. It's not how many times you fall that counts. It's how many times you get up!
Everyone starts over at some time. Accidents, poor choices, health and financial challenges are some of the reasons. Each time you have to get momentum going by relying on the good ingredients of your life, letting go of the garbage so you can redirect your course with a refined strategy.
Question.
What's stopping you from getting up again?
What tiny step can you take to change this?
* references:
(1) Living With Passion
(2) The Success Principles
Next Tip >
 |