One Way to Uncover Your Passions and Build a Business You Love

This entry was written on Jan 25, 2010 by our Entrepreneur Guru Carma Spence-Pothitt

The first step in starting a business you love is to uncover what your core passions and skills are. Here is an exercise you can do to help you do that.

Do you remember what you dreamed about when you were just a kid? What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was five, I wanted to be an anthropologist. I went through many sciences - archeologist, planetologist, paleontologist, astronomer, everything-ologist - before I finally settled on science writer when I was in college. Write down your list here:

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Now, remember the games you used to play when you were a kid. What did you do when it was just you and you had to entertain yourself? When I was about 7 years old, I had a bad bicycle accident and scraped the side of my face really bad. The doctor said I needed to stay indoors and rest for a few days. So what did I do? I created a board game based on "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" by Dr. Seuss. In my teens, I used to play teacher and give my sister homework - which she never did, I might add. What did you do with your time? Write down your list here:

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Now take a look at these two lists. Do you see any patterns? If not, have someone whose opinion you trust take a look at them and see if they notice any patterns. From these two lists, you will see a recurring pattern of activities that draw you and skills that you exercise naturally. These will most likely be related to your core passions and interests.

Why are you doing all this, you may ask? Because a business you love HAS to be built around your core passions and strengths. Also, a business that is built around your core interests and skills has a much better chance of attaining longevity and being successful.

Set an Objective and Know WHY you're doing it

You've set your objective, but do you know why you want to reach it? The WHY is the motivating factor -- without it, you may fail to reach your goals. Your WHY will most likely be a result. For example, you want to make six figures this year in your business because of the freedom it will provide you. Focus on that outcome to stay motivated in your day-to-day tasks to reach that goal.

Keep Focusing on the Positive Goal You Want

O.K. Sometimes things don't always go according to plan. Get over it. Dust yourself off and carry on. As author John C. Maxwell says, fail forward. Find a positive meaning or learning from the experience. When you focus on the positive, you won't get bogged down by the negative. Think of it this way, is it really worth all your time and effort to stay stuck in anger and angst? Grab some sugar and make some lemonade, lemon meringue pie or even lemon chiffon cake!

Affirm Your Self Worth

Many in the self development field talk about the importance and effectiveness of affirmations. Basically, the idea is to change the way you think for the better through repetition of positive statements. One good affirmatio to start out with come from Brian Tracy's book, "Chage Your Life, Change Your Thinking": I am a thoroughly good person and I am going to be a big success in life." Everything that happens to me, good or bad, is simply a part of the process of achieving the great success and happiness that are inevitable for me.

Journaling and the Entrepreneur

A journal can help you chart your entrepreneurial course. It can help you through choppy waters, as well as calm seas. Use the journal to gather your thoughts. Write down your wildest brain storms. Jot down notes from self-development books. Express your daily gratitude to help you keep moving forward. Use your journal as a store house for ideas you want to remember but can't work on right now. And, every once in awhile got back and find those gems and see how far you've cove on your entrepreneurial journey.

Setting a Goal Toward Success

Many new entrepreneurs never get past the planning stages of starting a business. Why? Is it because they lack certain skills that successful entrepreneurs do? Maybe. More than likely though, with all the planning, there was never a clear goal in mind for the entrepreneur to reach. It is easier to get to where you want to be if you know where you are going in the first place. Having clear, defined, “finish line” goals helps you move forward and put your plan into action. Imagine for a moment what your business may actually be like once it's off the ground. What are you doing? What do your products look like? What sort of income are you making? Are you a giant enterprise or a small, yet successful shop owner? Write down your thoughts in a business journal. Make it your goal. Then create action steps on how to achieve to your goals.

Successful Entrepreneurial Traits - Innovative Spirit

Innovation and creativity are siblings. Teresa M. Amabile, Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School, once explained the relationship this way: "All innovation begins with creative ideas." She defined innovation as "the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization," and believed that creativity was a necessary but not sufficient condition for" innovation. Successful entrepreneurs are not only creative, but they are able to take their creativity and run with it, creating innovative solutions to the challenges their target market faces. This innovative spirit drives them to ever improve upon their ideas and leads to success in many of their endeavors.

Successful Entrepreneurial Traits - Determination

Winston Churchill once said, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." This is the essence of determination and it is a key trait of successful entrepreneurs. When you have a vision, if it will come to life, you have to have the determination to make it so. You will face challenges along the way, but determination will see you through to the end. One way you can help the process is to break long-term goals down into several short-term goals. Then, as you achieve each milestone along the path, celebrate your successes. Nothing breeds success better than success!

In Business to Succeed

Do you fear success? That may seem like a silly question, but it is possible to fear success and not be aware of it. Answer these questions:

• Do thoughts of failure go through your mind more often than dreams of success?


• Does the thought of people seeing you as a success make you nervous?


• Do you avoid talking about your business with others even when the opportunity arises?

But now that you know, you can work on getting over that fear. Read a book, research the topic online, hire a coach or therapist ... there is help available and you can be successful!

Definition of Success

Success is very personal. One person's failure can very well be another's success. Therefore, you need to set measurable goals for what you consider success. What milestone along the way do you consider important? Only then can you know if you have succeeded or faced a setback.

Successful Entrepreneurial Traits - Creativity

One key trait of successful entrepreneurs is creativity. Entrepreneurs create opportunity where others see none. They build businesses, develop products, create services that meet a need. Nurture this creativity. Keep abreast of new ways to do business. Keep an eye out for new ideas. Read widely. Watch out for needs that are not being met. Follow trends and create a vision for where you think that trend is heading. And, when inspiration is being a fickle mistress, ask you customers what they want. Often their answers will inspire you.

Successful Entrepreneurial Traits - Delegating

Yes, it can be a trite saying, but no one is an island. No successful entrepreneur has gone it alone and done it all by herself. You need a team so you can delegate those tasks that don't play to your strengths. You need to be the leader. For each task you do, ask yourself, "Does this play to my strength? Is this the best use of my time?" If your answers are no or even not really, delegate! This can be the key to the growth of your business. As someone wise once said, "Nothing is impossible if you can delegate."

Affirmations and Letting Go

I know this may sound odd, but in order for your affirmations to come true, you need to relax and let them go. Trying to make them happen can actually slow down the process by introducing stress and strife. Say your affirmation, then relax into trust that it will happen.

How to Write an Affirmation

Affirmations work best when written in the present tense, as if you already live the desire you seek. This is to "trick" your subconscious mind into believing it is true, so it will work with the universe to make it so. An affirmation needs to be short, easy to remember and positive -- the subconscious mind will drop any "not" or "never" it comes across.

Using Affirmations

Do you use affirmations to help you change the way you think for the better? Although you can't depend on affirmations alone, they are a key component for success. To use them effectively you need to interact with them, fell the emotion they represent. One way to do this is to place your current affirmation in a wide variety of places so you will be reminded of your goal throughout the day. Here are some suggested locations: your journal's cover, wardrobe doors, refrigerator door, bathroom mirror, sun visor in your car (for when you are parked, of course!), your wallet and the side of your computer screen.