You may already know what you want to do to change the world and make money, but what if you don’t know? Apply these 3 criteria to decide:
- What you like (or would like to know) — your passion
- What you are good at (or know) — your skill
- What there’s a need for in society — the market
Why you should follow your passion
In this post, I’ll discuss why you should follow your passion, but why that isn’t enough in itself.
When you do what you like, you have more energy. I’m sure you’ve experienced this yourself. When you’re bored or uninterested, it’s hard to continue to work. You may even feel tired. But as soon as you switch to doing something you love, you suddenly get a second wind.
You should do what you love because:
- You’ll have more energy to do what you need to do
- You’ll be inspired to find solutions to obstacles
- You’ll get better results when you do what you enjoy
Why your passion isn’t enough
It’s possible to love something that you aren’t good at. It’s frustrating and sad when this happens, but sometimes it does. Here are some examples I’ve seen myself, not all related to business:
- A person who loves marketing but isn’t good at it
- A person who loves singing but isn’t good at it (many people who try out for American Idol) — or art or sports
- A person who loves teaching but isn’t good at it
- A person who loves computers and never becomes very computer literate
If you’ve tried to do something over and over and you haven’t succeeded, maybe it’s not right for you.
You may have read or heard Internet marketing gurus tell you that if you only buy their course, you’ll make lots of money. If you only follow the same steps that they took, you’ll be successful, too.
By now, you probably know that that isn’t true. You’ve seen it in your own life or in the life of someone you know. Not everyone will succeed at everything.
In Part II, I’ll talk more about why you should do what you’re good at. But for now you should know that passion isn’t everything. It’s just one component to consider when you decide what to do with your life and what business to pursue.
What else can go wrong?
We all have weaknesses that can hold us back. Some examples are:
- Fear
- Procrastination
- Poor time management skills
- Lack of knowledge and/or understanding
- Bad luck?
If you find yourself afraid to move forward or procrastinating, coaching can help you deal with these issues. The same is true when you can’t find the time to do what you want to do.
You can deal with lack of knowledge by reading a book or taking a course.
Bad luck? This is a controversial topic. Another way to put this is the law of karma, or “as you sow, so shall you reap.” Your past actions can affect your success in the present.
All is not lost!
If you aren’t succeeding at something you love, that doesn’t mean you should stop! Just don’t depend on it to make money. Maybe the present isn’t the right time and you’ll succeed in the future. You can certainly continue to pursue your passion as a part-time avocation or hobby. In fact, you should. Doing what you’re passionate about will bring you happiness and that is an important goal in and of itself.
7 replies to "The 3 things you need to succeed: Part I-Passion"
Hi Ellen
Is it a holiday if you’re still working?? 😉
Follow Your Bliss as Joseph Campbell put it is great advice. But sometimes you have to look more deeply into what drives it.
It’s true that sometimes, we may have to find a way to express our passion in, say, a hobby rather than a career. But sometimes, we’ve simply discovered the passion expressing though a form where we have no skills. Or the passion is actually being driven by a need, such as a need for recognition, rather than a true passion. Finding your core drivers/bliss can take some experimentation. Or some reorientation. Sometimes there is a unique way to channel a passion through our skills.
Last year, I took a course where they distinguished between skills and gifts. Gifts are exceptional skills we’re given for others rather than for ourselves. They’re often not apparent. What we’re really good at we may not realize because its easy for us and we take it for granted. But I’m getting into the subject of part 2…
David, those are nice points. The idea that a passion could be driven by a need is interesting. I think we just have to be honest with ourselves. When I coach people, I give them a form. They list every major thing they’ve done and note if they liked it and if they were good at it. It helps them to think through these points.
Hi Ellen
Yes, that sounds like an excellent exercise. The other aspect I was reminded of recently was temperament. Our temperament rules the way we relate to others, to ideas and to things. It will have a strong impact on the kind of work we’re best suited to (crafts, helping, planning, etc), and often, the kind of skills we naturally develop.
Awhile back, I took a self-employment program that included a business temperament test. It “translated” personal temperament into business style. I found that insightful as it highlighted the parts of the work I’d enjoy and the parts I should plan on hiring to fill.
What I failed to note above was how temperament drives the form of our passion. That’s why I raised it. 😉
David, I agree that we have inherent (inherited) traits that affect what we like. That is affected by experience. So, someone who is shy probably won’t like public speaking. Temperament could also affect what you’re good at. Someone might be patient, so would be good at detailed work. That test sounds valuable and I’m sure there are a number of similar ones out there and using to decide what you’ll do and what you should hire someone else to do is a great way to use the results.
Ellen, I really appreciate that your first led off with “passion.” I couldn’t agree more that passion alone is not enough to guarantee success, but without passion, the perseverance to withstand the hurdles to success is typically enough to permanently derail us. And while temperament may influence both in what we individual find passion and in how we demonstrate that passion, the existence of passionate interests, I believe, is not based on personality. Individual traits merely focus where we express those passions. Great post, Ellen….I really enjoyed reading it!
Trevor, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for bringing up perseverance! In my experience teaching other adults, I’ve often come across the problem of people not persevering. I taught them what they needed to know, but they didn’t act on it, they didn’t carry through. I’m sure they are not happy with the situation, but what they may not realize is how discouraging it is to the teacher, too! I’m moving in the direction of workshops or bootcamps, during which attendees implement what I teach as we go along. I’m hoping that will be more effective and valuable for them. (I think I’ll write a blog post on this subject!)