Passionpreneurialism - There is a mouthful! A big word, to say the least, but what the heck does it mean? You’ve no doubt heard about being entrepreneurial, which is the art, science, and spirit of starting new things. As of late, I’ve been doing a lot of reading, listening, and reflection. I’ve stumbled upon a great group of folks over at 48days.net, which is a group of people who are essentially passionpreneurs, founded by a guy named Dan Miller. If you’re a Dave Ramsey fan, you’ve probably heard Dave talk about Dan’s book 48 Days to the Work You Love. One of the big concepts floating around is identifying your passions and pursuing them in such a way as to make income. In my travels of this fine nation, I have encountered a lot of people who really don’t love what they do for a living. I can’t imagine anyone getting fired up every morning to do taxes for other people. Or scrubbing toilets at rest stops. Or stirring ‘samples’ in the hospital laboratory.
So what if…
Do What You Love
One of my ‘heroes’ is a guy named Indian Larry, who prior to his tragic death, built custom motorcycles. He was very successful doing what he loved. He died doing what he loved. Many times, young, aspiring motorcycle builders would approach him and ask for advice on how to get started in building. His simple advice typically would be, “Do what you love, the money will follow.”
Do you think this could be true for you? Do you even know what you love to do? If we’re mostly honest, I’d venture to guess that many people would say no. Even those of us who are ‘called’ to something have days where we wonder why the heck are doing whatever that calling may be.
Show Me the Money
If we do we love, does it even matter if we get paid for it? I don’t know about you, but I only have 168 hours every week. Most weeks I spend between 40-60 of those hours at my job. Imagine if I could put all of that time and energy into doing what I love. What would that look like? What other things could I do with my time instead of exchanging it for a little bit of cash? I have a laundry list of things, let me tell you!
Identifying Your Passions
For many, this is a hard process. How the heck do we even know what it is that we’re passionate about when our lives are so filled with work, school, kids, meetings, etc? I’m still in process with this, but deep in my heart I know that I’ve been able to identify my passions, which will take some time to flesh out. If you’re like me, it may be helpful to talk these through with someone. I’m always willing to exchange emails/phonecalls/tweets/whatever…hit me up!
Be Willing to Look Foolish
It probably goes without saying that many people will look at you funny when you tell them you’re stepping out to live out your passions. And, if it goes without saying, why did I have to say it? Bottom line, you probably will look a bit foolish and make mistakes. In my first few transactions as a seller of custom goods, I made a few pricing mistakes. I also made a few mistakes in communication of expectations. But even through those mistakes, I’ve had repeat business because I took care of the mistakes, learned from them, and moved on!
So, what is it that you’re passionate about? What are you working on that you’d like to share with the world? What kind of help do you need? I’m here for you. Let’s talk!
