Why You Should Turn Your Passion Into A Business And How
Around 551 BCE, near Lu, China - give or take a couple of years and GPS coordinates - Confucius laid down the law, “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” The longstanding Chinese philosopher said a couple of other things during his legendary lifetime, but this one was the “biggie.” The one everyone has appropriated, re-tweaked, and sold on mugs and t-shirts meant to inspire. And there’s a reason why folks have been repeating that mantra over and over again.
We need a job, and it partly defines who we are. Studies have shown that people without a job live much less rewarding lives. They are actually stressed out because they do nothing. A job is a critical aspect of our narrative. It is how we relate and how we find meaning. BUT, here’s the kicker, according to studies, over 76% of people are disengaged, dissatisfied, and frustrated at work. It’s that age-old proverb, only less about matrimony and more about getting up early in the morning: “can’t live with them, can’t live without them.” You’re nine-to-five to a degree is the paradox of your existence. But what if I told you there was a way? And it all starts with Confucius and his heavily diluted and sequestered saying?
Passion Play
According to recent studies, the link between income and happiness ends once someone earns $75k annually. Up until a couple of years ago, all research tended to show that happy people were those that made a higher salary. For years that’s what most corporations believed was the driving force behind their workforce. How do you keep your employees content? Offer them a raise.
Then, more or less in the 80s, something odd started to happen. Retention rates in that cubicle existence we called “corporate life” started dropping. Since then, turnover has steadily climbed, year after year. Maintaining talent became a huge problem for most HR departments. And throwing money at the problem was no longer cutting it. And folks, for the most part, weren’t leaving their highly lucrative careers for similar job positions in other companies. Nope, the grand majority were switching fields — and in most cases, doing a 180. Investment bankers set up shop as avocado farmers in California. Security officers opened up animal shelters.?
Today, that challenge continues to stalk HR departments. 65% of employees think they can find better positions or jobs they feel passionate about elsewhere. In March 2020, employee retention rates were hitting an all-time low. By 2030, retention will cost US companies over $430 billion annually.?
It all has to do with passion. And one simple yet honest cliche that is embedded into people’s minds — life’s too short, so why waste your time in a career that doesn’t make you happy?
How to turn your passion into your business
Folks who work somewhere and in something they love to accomplish more. That isn’t hyperbole; it’s math.
“A job that you love … gives you extra motivation to meet your goals, and when you do, the sense of accomplishment is outstanding,” said Masanari Arai, Co-Founder & CEO of Kii Corporation.
?
They feel more motivated, they feel less stressed, and they inspire. Not only that, but folks who love their jobs live longer, according to research by the University College of London. By how much? By a lot. That study found that having a job with social connections, a sense of purpose, and less boredom and stress actually maximizes your lifeline. 35% of people happy at their job were less likely to die within the next five years.
But how do you turn your passion into your business? It’s a mixed bag. There’s a bit of cold hard logic, a lot of self-introspection, and a bit of luck.?
Identify your passion and industry
It’s important to take the time and identify what drives you. What is your passion? What gives your life that jolt of caffeine? Once you have that checked, linking it to an industry to start your business in or a job position you like is as easy as 1,2,3. Today, due to our niche economy, there’s a specific need for absolutely everything.
领英推荐
Do your research
Once you ID your passion, go about the rest of the process with a scientist’s mind. Research, audit, and understand what it is you’re getting into before starting. Maybe you want to start a business on your own? Perhaps you want to help someone else’s endeavors? Maybe your passion, or what you think is your passion, turns out to be a bust. Think back to college — when you were discovering who you were. During that time, how many folks switched mayors halfway through their studies? Or dropped out and started anew??
Build your presence
It’s important to rub elbows with like-minded individuals and your consumer base. Build your presence and your network both in-person and online.
Make a plan
Have a blueprint on how you’re going to approach the challenge. Make an actual plan that considers every aspect of your paradigm-shifting decision. You need to have a plan A and B ready. Along with a budget for your business and personal needs.
Think long-term, not just the immediate future. Most experts have a rule of thumb whenever someone wants to go on a journey of this kind, which leaves them financially exposed. Consider how much money you need to survive a year without steady pay:
It takes time to get your duck in order, you need the breathing space, and a cash amount buffer gives you just that.
Ask for help
In 1949, Joseph Campbell published a rather age-defying book called The Hero With A Thousand Faces. In it, he found narrative patterns that repeated themselves through history. Not only in folklore and myth but in reality. A template that was later adapted into self-help movements and therapy. Essentially it is a 12-step process most heroes go through on their journey of self-realization. And it all starts with a decisive crisis and ends with the hero coming home transformed and changed.
The most important part of this journey comes from encountering “the mentor.” Think Luke yearning for adventure and stumbling onto Obi-Wan.
Well, psychologists have determined that most of us mirror this journey when we pivot on a stalwart part of our lives, such as our jobs. Is art imitating life or vice-versa? It is a critical step when it comes to wellness, psychological growth, and, in this case, switching jobs.
It’s important to understand that you can ask for help. That everyone has had a mentor in their lives. Spielberg had Kubrick, Warren Buffet had Ben Graham, Steve Jobs had Bill Campbell, Jordan had Walter Davis — Luke had Obi-Wan.
Talk to people who have done it. Who have traveled the path you’re just getting started in — drop me a line, and we can chat about it.