When I reflect on lessons learned when launching a business, I think about how I chose my original business. That business was based on what I knew (or what my husband knew based on a long work experience) rather than based on our passion.
Why did that matter? Truly, I didn’t love what I did – it was just a change. I wanted to be self-employed but did not think about all the options available to me. In fact, it wasn’t until I took out a loan and started a business that people asked why I didn’t start a bakery or other business – choices based on things I loved and things I was good at – that I realized I really didn’t think about my passion at all – it was simply an option. Would I have been successful in a different type of business? Maybe, maybe not. But, following my passion would have led to a more fulfilling life. I must admit that although I started the wrong business for me, it led me to find my passion through networking and events I attended as I built business relationships and learned about all the amazing possibilities I had never even considered. I am now following my passion to help others through this blog and other activities. My passion is to help others, to connect them, collaborate with them and finds ways to create sustainable change.
Marli Williams also sees Education that helps students find their passion to be the change she wants in the world. This is a topic near and dear to my own heart as I feel every budding entrepreneur needs to consider why they are starting their business. It should be a mandatory part of any start-up loan process and ingrained within the education system. When you feel passion for your work, you will feel more content, more excited for the day to day activities that as an entrepreneur consume you. Choosing the wrong path may lead to contempt for the very business you started and will make running your business successfully that much more difficult.
When you follow your passion, you will live for each day and feel more rewarded by your success. You will be excited to share your (and your company’s) story. The long, hard days spent doing what you love will make it all worth while. You will be happier following your passion than spending your days doing something you come to hate.
It is time for educators, mentors, parents, friends and family to encourage each other to follow their passion and apply it in their every day lives.
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