A product is selling. The industry is booming. People are making money hand-over-fist. And so you jump in.
A FEW MONTHS LATER, YOU’RE BROKE AND OUT OF BUSINESS.
WHY???
What happens when you jump into a business niche, chasing the mighty dollar, drooling for a quick fix to your financial woes, without the slightest consideration to the task, the industry, or the probability your core values make you a fit?
What happens is you fail…
You don’t know (deep down inside) who you are, or which opportunities your skill set and “hard-wired” preferences encourage you to pursue. You’re just out there running hard, chasing your financial dreams.
As an entrepreneur, your background, core competencies, mental aptitude, and personality traits play a huge role in determining your chances for success. Think about the shaggy-haired Bill Gates kid that’s been writing computer code since he was fifteen, or the Beyoncé teenager that’s been winning talent shows and standing in front of the mirror with a fake microphone since diaper days.
There is a clear pattern, an innate connection, a roadmap forward that has little to do with profit. The money will come because of the intrinsic desire to do the work … the hard work that’s always involved with success. Because, when you do what you love, it’s not hard work at all.
Self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis once said, “If you don’t love what you do, then you shouldn’t do it.”
He was talking about the fallacy of relying on money motivation, exclusively. It’s a short road to misery. The lure of profit won’t get you out of bed each morning. To face the ups and downs of an entrepreneurial lifestyle, you need a sense of engagement and purpose that connects with your very soul.