If you’ve heard the phrase, “Do what you love!” once, you’ve heard it a thousand timed. It’s a cliché, but the funny thing about cliches is that they got to be cliches because they also happen to be true. The reality is that when you do something that you love, it stops being work, and starts being a joy, and when you love what you’re doing, you’re not only willing to work harder and longer hours to make the vision that you’re so passionate about a reality, but you’re also more apt to apply both sides of your brain to the equation. That’s important, because it unlocks creativity, and these days, you have to be creative to get ahead in business.
Passion Breeds Creativity
A lot of what we do in the day to day, nuts and bolts operation of business is left brain, logical stuff. It’s not all that interesting or exciting, but it still needs to get done. When you’re doing something you’re rabidly passionate about though, it automatically engages both sides of your brain and makes you apply that creative side of yourself to everything you do.
Now granted, by itself creativity won’t automatically turn a profit. If it did, then we wouldn’t be treated to another cliché, that of the starving artist. The reality is that there are lots of creative people who struggle to make the rent and keep the lights on. It is only when you mix a healthy dose of creative thinking with good business sense that you get the recipe for profits and profitability, and that’s what makes doing what you love so powerful.
It’s A Marriage Of Dreams And Practicality
Business sense and logic without an idea to form an actual business around won’t get you very far. Likewise, a dream and stars in your eyes won’t pay the bills. You’ve got to have both in order to see magic happen, and that’s the reason that discovering what you’re passionate about then finding work in that area is of such vital importance. Not only will you love doing whatever it is that you’re doing, but you’ll have a much higher chance of success, and the hours you spend on it won’t seem like work at all to your brain. That’s wins all around, but not just for you.
As you know, business isn’t a solitary pursuit. Sure, it starts with you and a Big Idea, but very quickly, it grows beyond you, and others sign on to help make your vision a reality. When that happens, you’re responsible. Not only for the ultimate success of your business, but also for the people who have placed their trust in you, your idea, your vision and your passion. They’re counting on you, just as you’re counting on yourself.
Think about that for a moment. If you’re doing something you don’t really enjoy or feel a strong tug of passion for, and suddenly you’ve got all these others who are relying on you to consistently deliver the goods, that’s a recipe for disaster on a number of levels. You start to feel trapped, stifled and boxed in.
When you start feeling those things, are you more or less likely to excel? Nobody I know could thrive for long in such an environment, and if you’re honest about it, nobody you know could either. Do what you love; do what you’re passionate about, and thrive like never before.
