There are countless examples, in business, of people who are barely breathing, merely scraping through and surviving. Survival is not your goal. Your goal is living passionately, fiercely.
However, being fearless does not mean being reckless – it means taking on challenges with passion, with well-informed calculated risks, not in a miserly way like people who are happy just to pay off their mortgages and are not proud of their work: the zombies of the business world.
Whenever you meet a successful person, a thriving entrepreneur for example, what is the thing that strikes you the most? What is the spark about them that you take back with you, the thing you remember them by? It is their passionate personality, their charming enthusiasm. You never fondly remember the grim rich guy in a morbid suit who is always full of himself. Everyone knows the proverb: ‘a man is known by the company he keeps’. In the world of business, it is much more than a mere saying – it is one of the key elements that shape your personality.
How is a solid reputation earned?
It is common knowledge that business is all about reputation and goodwill. But how is a solid reputation earned? Simply by going on working? Nothing can be farther from the truth. The very first thing that establishes your reputation is your ethos – your basic approach towards work.
If you are one of those ambitious people who are simply toiling at making a fortune, your hollowness will show. If you are weak at your craft, a dabbler in the field that you have taken up, you will immediately be revealed. But if you have sound knowledge about what you are trying to do and indomitable zeal to see it through, you will create a lasting impression in the world of business. And to cement that impression, you must collaborate with like-minded, passionate people who will carry your work forward.
Here are a few pointers that passionate entrepreneurs must have in mind:
- Find your passion: Before you chase the dream, you must find the dream. Don’t land up with anything that simply interests you because it’s lucrative – what you do for a living must first interest you. Otherwise, you won’t be able to sustain your interest in it – money is a big motivator, but it’s not everything. After you begin succeeding at something, that something must be able to keep you interested for you to carry on.
- Be the best: There is no alternative to being a master at your trade. No matter how famous someone gets, the thing that will keep them famous forever is the real substance they have inside. It is so common to hear about shooting stars in the world of business, whose rapid rise to success is only rivalled by their speedy descent into oblivion – all because they lacked real mettle. The factors that made them succeed eventually ran out of steam. Something that never runs out of steam is expertise.
- The passionate vs. The zombie: These should be the factors that help you choose the people you do business with. When you collaborate, you must choose people who are passionate like you, so that you can support each other and create a synergy which is characterised by unconquerable zeal and enthusiasm. You will have to make many compromises, but never compromise about dealing with the best in every field – the best suppliers, the best recruiters. Being known for hiring the best people available – that is a reputation that cannot be taken away, because that is a reputation that cannot be bought. When word spreads of your passionate work ethos, more talent will flow towards you, and one good collaboration will lead to many more.
