EE 065: The Importance of an EXECUpreneurial Fire in the Belly
Though I’ve said it before, you cannot build a successful business empire (or even a small village) on passion alone. Now, you have to have it or you’ll never push through the BS. And there will be BS. Mark my words.
Passion represents one of the most important aspects of becoming a successful entrepreneur or corporate exec. Without passion your business endeavors will turn out to be just another J-O-B. Yuck to that!
This is where the “fire in the belly” comes in. It’s that drive that propels you forward in the face of failure. It’s that idea that wakes you in the middle of the night and ignites unparalleled creativity. It’s that sense of purpose that keeps you on task in the face of life’s plethora of distractions.
Without passion, and lots of it, your business dreams will get lost in the day-to-day grind of running a business. Take a look at the top ten most successful entrepreneurs and you will easily surmise that their passion is the number one driving force behind their success. There is no way to escape this fact… you simply must be passionate in order to achieve your goals!
Start with a Dream
The best way to start a business is to take what you are passionate about and find a way to turn that into a viable business. You need to start with a dream. And make it BIG!!!
If you don’t have passion for your work then you won’t have the motivation and energy to keep pushing through obstacles, you won’t be willing to take the necessary risks required to succeed and you won’t be able to sell your dream to others.
Start big and think even BIGGER
The unfortunate reality is that once a business reaches the beginning of its third year its chances of surviving drops dramatically. Only about 44% of businesses live to see their fourth year. (And that is a generous statistic.) Without the passion you derive from living your dream you won’t have what it takes to survive year after year. This means that you should start your business from the ground up using your dream as a foundation.
Whatever your dream in life may be, you need to get all up and personal with it. What does it feel like to be living a day of your dream business?
Sights…sounds? Are you solo or leading a large team? So many factors to explore.
Open up a notebook or break out a dry-erase board and get to dreaming! Write it all down. No editing. Read over it and see what inspires you to dream BIG!! Then get to work building your foundation of passion.