What are you passionate about in your business?

[DtRockstar1]

This is a question that has been plaguing my mind. We know that "do what you love" is not the way to go, unless your love/passion is something that is extremely high in demand and you are the best at it. However, you can't do what you hate either.

You can do something you don't actually love and still be passionate about it. If you are not passionate about what you are doing, when times get tough (and they will), it will be too easy to quit, as one guy said on The Secret Entourage.

A friend of mine has his own business making dental appliances (retainers, guards, ect). I think it's a safe bet that he is not passionate about retainers. I doubt whether he has a retainer collection in his room, and highly doubt whether there is such thing as a retainer enthusiast club. But he is passionate about his work. His REAL love is sports cars and racing, and his business helps fund that hobby. But I can't help but wonder what it is about his work that he is passionate about.

Even if the business you own is not doing what you love, what are you passionate about in your business? I'm assuming you are passionate about it, because it wouldn't last otherwise. Is it making a difference in the world, helping other people, using your hands, creating something new, ect?


Chris

 

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[Duane]

If your business is, for the most part, separate from your time, it's not really a hassle and something you gotta dread to get up to do. In the initial stages, it's a lot of work and it's going to be tough to pull through, but once you pull through it's really a nice lifestyle in my opinion. You're solving people's problems and making good money at the same time, that feeling you get is what keeps driving you. You will never fully enjoy anything you do all the time, there will always be times where you don't want to do it, but if you push through those times it balances out.

Once you've built a business that's big enough to support doing what you love, then you can invest your free time and money into what you love. Now you aren't constrained to have to make money out of doing what you love, which is where so many people fail and very few succeed.

 

[Ubermensch]

This is a question that has been plaguing my mind. We know that "do what you love" is not the way to go, unless your love/passion is something that is extremely high in demand and you are the best at it. However, you can't do what you hate either.

You can do something you don't actually love and still be passionate about it. If you are not passionate about what you are doing, when times get tough (and they will), it will be too easy to quit, as one guy said on The Secret Entourage.

A friend of mine has his own business making dental appliances (retainers, guards, ect). I think it's a safe bet that he is not passionate about retainers. I doubt whether he has a retainer collection in his room, and highly doubt whether there is such thing as a retainer enthusiast club. But he is passionate about his work. His REAL love is sports cars and racing, and his business helps fund that hobby. But I can't help but wonder what it is about his work that he is passionate about.

Even if the business you own is not doing what you love, what are you passionate about in your business? I'm assuming you are passionate about it, because it wouldn't last otherwise. Is it making a difference in the world, helping other people, using your hands, creating something new, ect?


Chris

I love what I do.

Here's what happened last week:

I had a call with one of my mentors, a 50-something dude that runs one of the largest energy brokerages in the country (nearly 9 billion kWh - or 9 million mWh under management).

We discussed projects currently in my pipeline:

First, a 600,000 square foot office building in Cincinnati, Ohio. The owner of the property has long considered a large elevator project to replace the old system that sucks energy. For years, property management has urged ownership to proceed with the project. Yet, the $3,000,000 capital outlay has heretofore been to large a pill - i.e. check to cash - to swallow.

PACE solves for this.

PACE (stands for Property Assessed Clean Energy) will allow the owner to perform the $3,000,000 elevator upgrade, because the project will produce energy efficiency. Ownership will not have to put up any capital out of pocket. Most importantly, instead of paying for the project all at once - ownership will pay off the project over the course of 20 or even 30 years, through a tax assessment on the property.

If ownership sells the building, the tax assessment stays with the property, allowing ownership to reap the $3,000,000 value add to the property.

This transaction resembles a $3,300,000 PACE project I closed last year, which entailed a $2,000,000 roofing upgrade and a $600,000 building-wide LED retrofit. This transaction led to a partnership with the Mayor's office of Columbus, Ohio. The previous Mayor of Columbus - Mayor Coleman - enacted an energy challenge, citing a goal of "20% energy reduction for all commercial properties over 70,000 square feet in size."

The PACE project that I completed - with the help of a $65,000,000 roofing contractor and a $20,000,000 LED supplier - resulted in an annual energy reduction of 30%.

What I do is the very definition of doing well by doing good.

It cracks me up when people dare to impugn the validity of what I do for a living, because I am literally making the planet a better place. Energy efficiency upgrades have mathematical equivalents of planting trees, removing cars from the road, and eliminating land fills. While the haters take breath to voice false words against me, I'm busy taking action to make the air we all breathe more clean.

Surfing on the crest of the wave of innovation, seemingly defying gravity whilst simultaneously wrestling with the vicissitudes, is massively exciting in today's world economy. I try not to look down at my fellow humans treading water - struggling to just stay afloat, instead of trying to ride the wave - because it only distracts me from doing what I love.

Anyway, back to what I did this week.

When you deal with multi-million dollar projects, and you add significant value in a unique way, you can rightfully ask for a few points on the deal (say, 3%, 4%, or even 5%). Three to five percent of a three million dollar deal is more than most Americans make in a year.

Needless to say, the fact this $3,000,000 elevator PACE project belongs to a client with hundreds of millions of square feet in commercial property under management, gives me reason for great confidence and excitement.

Happily, the same client is allowing me to broker their electricity contract for a different piece of their portfolio (300,000 square feet of separate office space). I have played this game for years now, and it often brings a smile to my lips - and a hearty laugh in my belly - that I have developed this level of finesse. Soon - sometime in Q2 of this year - I'll be doing this on the beach, surrounded by hotties with sexy bodies.

This client is currently one of seven in my pipeline. I often discuss these transactions with businessmen much older than myself. In most cases, they've assumed a kind of mentor role, which I acquiesced to because of their eight or nine figure net worth. If you're ballin' at that level, I respect and seek your opinion (in the proper context, of course) above nearly all else. As of this moment, they all affirm the soundness of the logic and the solidity of the empirical data supporting one of my ventures - the core venture of a soon-to-be exponentially expanding matrix of ventures.

In this moment, looking at - for the first time in my life - a sales pipeline realistically capable of making me millions, I have a true sense of the power surging in my theory.

My theory was simply that the evidence presented in Russ Alan Prince's Rainmaker reveals the path to seven figure - and potentially eight figure - earnings in sales, and this applies to any industry. In fact, the extent to which the advice applies towards the ultimate strategic goal - immense income from a platinum, diamond-encrusted pipeline - is a mathematical function of the size of the industry, the size of the transactions, the percentage of revenue and/or profits negotiated by the business development pro.

In sales, the pros often talk about building the pipeline:

Rainmaker represents perhaps the most empirically validated method of creating a pipeline literally worth millions. The entire concept - "strategic partnerships with centers of influence" - somewhat ironically mirrors affiliate marketing. In theory, the most efficient way to build a million-dollar pipeline - which should then become a million-dollar portfolio that consistently pays out to you like an annuity - means having profitable conversations. Having profitable conversations is the purpose behind prospecting. You prospect to find a party interested in your product or service, and then proceed to have a conversation about implementation.

For me, the ideal strategic partner is a center of influence with many deep relationships with commercial construction companies - general contractors and subcontractors (electrical, mechanical, HVAC, roofing, drywall, etc). I am close to beginning a strategic partnership relationship with two separate entities with access to billions of dollars or construction projects. Even a closing ratio of just 20% - 30% will yield hundreds of millions of construction dollars under management. Earning just a few points on the deal will produce a healthy seven figure, if not low eight figure net profit in fees. These are construction projects valued at $10,000,000 - $50,000,000+ in total value.

In a word: BO$$.

This is what I love, and why I love it. This is business at the highest level, in one of the largest (if not THE largest?) industry on the planet. The challenge of amalgamating the most conceptual and abstract philosophical notions - the power of flawless logic (Aristotle/Ayn Rand) and reason (branching from and intricately tied to irrefutable empirical data) and the will to power (Nietzsche) - with a real-world strategy (shout out to Robert Greene, Dr. HAHA Lung, Miyamoto Musashi and Sun-Tzu) to make sure that I actually get what I want out of life demanded everything good in me. I have so much pride in my accomplishments, such an extraordinary degree of genuine self-love, and it stems from knowing the good I do. When millennials my age and younger reach out for me and ask for a shot in sales, the ones that I actually give a shot have real potential to make six figures in their first year. Possibly seven. No joke.

What a beautiful puzzle to put together, the picture of your life. To be honest, life used to scare me, because I chose to walk the unexplored path. I had no instruction manual containing the wisdom of how to actually get what I wanted. This fear, the fear of failing, pushed me to explore the depths and furthest extents of knowledge, all just to make sure that I achieved my goals. To fight for yourself like that, to pursue your goals with such fist-clenched determination, you have to love yourself. Your love for yourself bleeds into the love for the grind.

I know I deserve greatness. I've felt so much pain in my life. I remember the times I wanted to cry, because I felt like I was dying inside. I remember the days when I didn't have lots of women in my life to give me genuine affection and love. As I see the future taking shape in my mind's eye, I see the checks and deposits that will come from a massive pipeline still in its infancy stage. I feel, right now, a level of joy exponentially exceeding the pain from the past, because my work is my life. I have always dreamed of affecting the world in a massive and positive way. I'm doing it.

 

[GoodluckChuck]

This is a question that has been plaguing my mind. We know that "do what you love" is not the way to go, unless your love/passion is something that is extremely high in demand and you are the best at it. However, you can't do what you hate either.

You can do something you don't actually love and still be passionate about it. If you are not passionate about what you are doing, when times get tough (and they will), it will be too easy to quit, as one guy said on The Secret Entourage.

A friend of mine has his own business making dental appliances (retainers, guards, ect). I think it's a safe bet that he is not passionate about retainers. I doubt whether he has a retainer collection in his room, and highly doubt whether there is such thing as a retainer enthusiast club. But he is passionate about his work. His REAL love is sports cars and racing, and his business helps fund that hobby. But I can't help but wonder what it is about his work that he is passionate about.

Even if the business you own is not doing what you love, what are you passionate about in your business? I'm assuming you are passionate about it, because it wouldn't last otherwise. Is it making a difference in the world, helping other people, using your hands, creating something new, ect?


Chris

If you are in a business you control and it is taking you to where you want to be, I think you can be passionate about it. What you're passionate about is getting somewhere, and the business is just the vehicle you are driving to get there. That's why there are people who passionately run "shitty" businesses, literally.

Like Ubermensch said above, he loves what he does because it is taking him down the road he wants to travel. If his pipeline wasn't leading to the wealth he desires, he probably wouldn't love it as much.

I go to work every day and a lot of times I have to perform tasks that are unpleasant, but I perform them passionately because I am stoked about where those actions are taking me.

I just spent the day working on a project very passionately for no other reason than I think it's another step in the right direction. I even forgot to eat. That has to be passion.

 

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[Lukebrisbane]

I love what I do.

Here's what happened last week:

You are changing the world, I don't care if people call me a fanboy of yours. It's because of your post I went out there and called some businesses in the construction Industry and landed an LED sales job with the fastest growing startup in Australia LEDified. I start in a week but i'm doing what you suggested, putting together a lead list of Industrial businesses, plotting strategic partners. I might not ever have the impact you do, but your posts gave me hope, and something to aim for. So thank you. Thank you.

 

[Ubermensch]

You are changing the world, I don't care if people call me a fanboy of yours. It's because of your post I went out there and called some businesses in the construction Industry and landed an LED sales job with the fastest growing startup in Australia LEDified. I start in a week but i'm doing what you suggested, putting together a lead list of Industrial businesses, plotting strategic partners. I might not ever have the impact you do, but your posts gave me hope, and something to aim for. So thank you. Thank you.

When I read about Jeff Bezos (billionaire amazon founder) and Elon Musk (you already know), I see them focused on creating sustainable life for humans on other planets. At the very least, I figure I can do my part by making this world a better place. By definition, commercial construction and commercial energy efficiency entails building new buildings, and making improvements to new buildings. When it comes to LED and other energy efficiency and conservation measures, this technology quite literally makes the world a better place. Installing LED lights is the mathematical equivalent to planting trees, taking cars off of the road, making the air cleaner, etc.

After I closed my first PACE project, the mayor's office in the city I did it in entered a strategic partnership relationship for marketing purposes. Politicians - government officials from local to state to federal - all aggressively champion what we're doing. Last year, one of my partners was invited to the White House to discuss PACE. Do the research on PACE. Look at all of the massive political support.

@Lukebrisbane I am impressed by your rapid evolution. So often, when I talk this stuff, the people that response seem so human, all too human.

In Mastery, Greene points out that humans ascended to the zenith of the animal food chain due to the power of rationality that developed with our pre-frontal cortex.

In the movie Limitless, the film perpetuates the STUPID YET WIDELY BELIEVED MYTH that we humans only use 10% of our brains.

In Mind Sword, Dr. HAHA Lung mocks this myth (neuroscience explains why it's so utterly ridiculous), and then accurately points out that we humans only use our brains 10% effectively. He then points out how much time we waste. Five minutes here. 30 minutes here. It all adds up, and if you're not careful, it can lead you down a slippery slope of missed opportunities, unaccomplished goals, unrealized dreams, and - ultimately - a wasted life.

You seem hellbent on going in the exact opposite direction. I encourage you to make an art of your craft. Immerse yourself in the idiosyncratic details of the immense industry you've joined. You are now a hustler gladiator fighting in the largest arena.

Welcome to the brotherhood.

The most epic battles - the juiciest kills and the biggest paydays - happen "on these sands," and in the concrete, in the dry wall, in the lumber, in the steel, in the wire, and in the lighting - in the newly constructed office, retail, and industrial facilities, in the retrofits and renovations of properties with capital conscious commercial owners.

In this game, we have companies with revenues that larger than the entire industries of other hustlers. Likewise, carry yourself with an aura of superiority. No one's playing with more money than the players in this game.

 

[Ecom man]

This is a question that has been plaguing my mind. We know that "do what you love" is not the way to go, unless your love/passion is something that is extremely high in demand and you are the best at it. However, you can't do what you hate either.

You can do something you don't actually love and still be passionate about it. If you are not passionate about what you are doing, when times get tough (and they will), it will be too easy to quit, as one guy said on The Secret Entourage.

A friend of mine has his own business making dental appliances (retainers, guards, ect). I think it's a safe bet that he is not passionate about retainers. I doubt whether he has a retainer collection in his room, and highly doubt whether there is such thing as a retainer enthusiast club. But he is passionate about his work. His REAL love is sports cars and racing, and his business helps fund that hobby. But I can't help but wonder what it is about his work that he is passionate about.

Even if the business you own is not doing what you love, what are you passionate about in your business? I'm assuming you are passionate about it, because it wouldn't last otherwise. Is it making a difference in the world, helping other people, using your hands, creating something new, ect?


Chris

I am currently operating a business selling products I don't love. In the next 3-6 months I am going to increase my product line by 2-3x. I am not planning on being passionate about those products either. If you were to ask the people around me if I am passionate about my business the answer would be a resounding yes!

I spend between 10-12 hours a day working on my business. It is what I think about most of the time. It is what I talk about most of the time. I am building a 25-50 million dollar a year business.

To me the passion is building something that can change my family's future. I want to retire in the next 5 years and spend my children's childhood years with them rather than being at work. I want to see their ball games and recitals. I want to play with them in the yard or the pool after school rather than getting home late and not wanting to move. I am passionate about building a business because of the life it gives my family and the time it gives me with them.

 

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[Striver]

I love what I do.

Here's what happened last week:

I had a call with one of my mentors, a 50-something dude that runs one of the largest energy brokerages in the country (nearly 9 billion kWh - or 9 million mWh under management).

We discussed projects currently in my pipeline:

First, a 600,000 square foot office building in Cincinnati, Ohio. The owner of the property has long considered a large elevator project to replace the old system that sucks energy. For years, property management has urged ownership to proceed with the project. Yet, the $3,000,000 capital outlay has heretofore been to large a pill - i.e. check to cash - to swallow.

PACE solves for this.

I still can't wrap my head arounf the fact that you sold electricity to people... from that one thread. Around here, the power company sells it, and no one else. I don't even have a choice which company I choose!

But I'm glad it's doing great for you!

 

[minivanman]

I still can't wrap my head arounf the fact that you sold electricity to people... from that one thread. Around here, the power company sells it, and no one else. I don't even have a choice which company I choose!

But I'm glad it's doing great for you!

When I lived in Nebraska they only had 1 company that you got your electric from. But here in Texas there are 50 companies that you can get your electric from. They have people selling electricity just like the ladies that sell Avon or all the weight loss products. You can even sell it here in Texas from your home where ever you live I think. If you want to know the name of one of the companies just send me a message. I have no idea about how it works though or if there is money to be made.

 

[Cwholesale]

You dont allways need to be passionate about your business , i have done a lot of diffrent stuff that i honestly hate but i do it for the money so i can focus on building the business i really want to work with .

 

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