Do What You Love, and All That...
"Do what you love and the money will follow" sounds great on a bumper sticker. In practice, it's an oversimplification. By all means, as an entrepreneur, you should pursue something you're passionate about. That passion will sustain you through all kinds of doubt-provoking situations.
But while you should do what you love, you also need to do something that a) you're good at, and b) people will buy at a price you can make a living at.
As proof of (a), just watch the auditions for American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance? Business is no different. Loving doing something doesn't necessarily mean you have the talent or skill for it. You may be able to develop it, but do that before you make your livelihood depend on it.
And as a great illustration of (b), consider this great satire piece from The Onion: Ridiculous Small-Business Plan Encouraged By Friends. Like really great satire, it reads just a little too much like a true story -- I've seen almost identical cases in real life.
To learn how to balance passion with practicality, check out Choosing a Business to Start: Two Opposite Approaches? Or the Best of Both?
Comments
I find your post really inspiring. It takes nerves of steel to take on a challenge like American Idol or any on display men and women in show business. But it is true, passion can conquer the fear of failure or the fear of success with a just do it attitude.
It’s not at all times we get the best of both worlds. See why there’s black hats, white hats out there? It spells a world of a difference.
I remember what Robert Kiyosaki talks about… Often in order to be successful you need to learn to do something that you actually don’t love doing. Like paperwork, or writing a proposal, speaking in public, raising money, etc.
Being an Entrepreneur and and Entertainer I think it’s learning how to balance. Hey I am doing what I love GREAT. .OK why am I not successful doing it? NEW SKILLS YO!
Scott- YOU ARE THE MAN!! Let’s do a podcast.