I agree and disagree with MJ!

[GlassCannon]

Today I had a sort of epiphany. I guess it was a slow-moving epiphany that formed over time but today it culminated when I was poking around on twitter and I saw so many SEO and Realtors who were following well, everybody. I thought to myself "Who is going to follow a realtor's twitter page? Their tweets are all just self-serving and self-promoting."

That's when I realized just how many people and businesses operate my almost exclusively taking value from other people. What do Wall Street big shots do that bring value to anyone? What do they build? They get paid millions whether they perform or not (hellooo bailouts!).

This is where I agree with MJ - you need to provide massive value. Your twitter account should be entertaining, not self serving. Nobody cares that you just put up a blog post or you have a new listing for sale, and if they do then it's because it's wedged into a bunch of solid and entertaining content. Same goes for your business, you need to be providing the value, not begging for it.

Where I am starting to disagree with MJ is that I believe you need to also have a passion for the value you are providing. Some people can work 60 hours a week on a topic or business they have absolutely no interest in, but then again millions of people work 40-60 hours a week at a dead end job they hate. I think it's very hard to have motivation if you don't care about what you're doing.

Therein lies the dilemma...how can you turn a passion into a profitable business, realizing that the train has left the station on the whole professional blogger strategy? I'd appreciate any ideas on how to find your passions and figure out ways to create a business out of them.

 

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[AttractionVal]

this is a great topic BobbySoFamous...I'd like to get some feedback on this subject as well

 

[fast_track_chaz]

Therein lies the dilemma...how can you turn a passion into a profitable business, realizing that the train has left the station on the whole professional blogger strategy? I'd appreciate any ideas on how to find your passions and figure out ways to create a business out of them.

I think in simple terms according to the book. If you try to get rich on passion only, its only part of the equation. You cant get rich by doing what you love to do. But if your passion has massive impact on customers on a global scale, that is where it leads to the fastlane.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Where I am starting to disagree with MJ is that I believe you need to also have a passion for the value you are providing.

Actually, then you might just agree with me because I agree with your statement. If your dispassionate about the value you are providing, you cannot execute to the best of your ability.

In Chapter 30, I specifically say "passion" is the motivational fuel for the Fastlane.

Passion beats “do what you love,” because passion fuels motivation for something greater than yourself and is generalized. When the focus is “doing what you love,” the focus becomes industry-specific and you’re likely to violate the Commandment of Need. Why are you starting this business? Because you love it? Or because there is a real market need?

I repeat: Passion for an end goal, a why, drives Fastlane action.

Once you find a passion for something generalized, then you will do *anything* for it; the latest episode of the Celebrity Apprentice, some stupid game on Facebook, or anything else, simply CANNOT compete.

I'm not entirely passionate about writing, blogging, or doing videos -- but I am passionate about my topic, freedom, and entrepreneurship. That motivates me to do things that I might not necessarily love.

Hope that clarifies a bit.

Welcome aboard!!

 

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[domular]

For me I'm passionate about marketing so the subject of the products or services I provide are irrelevant as long as they aren't immoral or illegal. And to be passionate about marketing I have to an excellent at understanding what my customers wants are and exceeding them.

I think people fantasize that turning a hobby or passion into a business would be ideal. Perhaps it can be for some but let's not forget when you start to do passions for money and others it can turn into work instead of joy for yourself. Think about how many sport players, musicians artist, etc have become completely burned out and walked away from what they would have done for free before they "made it".

The other way to look at things is what Tim Ferris touched on in the 4 hour work week - a muse. A muse business is something you create to fund your real passion. The two do not need to be one in the same, they harmonious co-exist and support each other without crossing.

 

[GlassCannon]

I probably didn't see a distinction between 'doing what you love' and 'passion' generalized. I think that's good advice - take something that you love and then boil it down, generalize it, until you find what it actually is you have a passion for then pour everything into that. Of course, then there's the little thing of turning it into a business...

 

[Mr.Marnier]

The obvious sweet spot is to find a place where your passion leads you to create something that people find massively valuable and in turn you receive great reward, what I got from MJ's book was that simply having passion alone is no guarantee of success, as some would like to make out.

It is like watching Dragons Den or Shark Tank, I saw a lady on there who after some sort of assault became massively passionate about "happiness" and spreading those "positive vibes" to the world, so she came up a product line which was basically everyday items like sandals and umbrellas with happy words and phrases written on them and wanted to sell them all over the world.

The problem? she had only made about $18000 in sales over 5 years! so it would seem, as the entrepreneurs tried to point out that the market is trying to tell her something, she doesn't have something they want to pay for, however she of course disagreed with all of these massively successful business people and vowed to go on and make it happen.

That is a clear case of letting a real passion cloud your judgement, and I suspect is the kind of thing that kills so many failed startups.

 

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[John C.]

When teaching about this concept, I like to draw three intersecting circles. One I label your passion, what you love/enjoy doing. The other I label your talents/skills and the third circle I label what people/the market wants AND is willing to pay for.

Then you need to look for where those three circles overlap. This should be the sweet spot. I believe you need to really love/be passionate about what you are trying to do. I also believe that you must have some talent/skills in that area. You can love doing certain things but unless you have the knowledge/talent/skills to do it effectively, you will struggle. And of course the market must want/need the product/service AND be willing to pay for it.

I advise people to spend lots of time on this. The more time and effort you spend on getting into the business that is right for you, the easier life will be. Getting into the wrong business can be extremely painful. We become attached to our ideas and have a difficult time admitting mistakes. So spend a lot of time on the front end. It will pay huge dividends.

 

[garyfritz]

I thought to myself "Who is going to follow a realtor's twitter page? Their tweets are all just self-serving and self-promoting."
That's when I realized just how many people and businesses operate my almost exclusively taking value from other people.

That's why I only have FB friends I'm genuinely interested in, and I don't do Twitter at all. Most people use "social media" to take value from others. They use it as a freebie advertising service and they spam all their ""friends"" with their latest shtick. I have never understood why you would "like" a business -- you're just signing up for spam. OK, if the business gives you some benefit in return, I can see it, but otherwise you're just volunteering to let that business cram ads into your head.

Provide massive value. Don't take value from people like most FB and twitterhead "marketers."

 

[yveskleinsky]

There is a great quick read called Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk in which he talks about how to monetize your passion. Really, it's a must read. I think MJ's dead on with providing value--as the world doesn't really care about what your passion is; I think Gary's right on monetizing your passion. If you can navigate the intersection between value and passion, I truly believe that is where the sweet spot is found.

 

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[GlassCannon]

There is a great quick read called Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk in which he talks about how to monetize your passion. Really, it's a must read. I think MJ's dead on with providing value--as the world doesn't really care about what your passion is; I think Gary's right on monetizing your passion. If you can navigate the intersection between value and passion, I truly believe that is where the sweet spot is found.

I own and have read "Crush It", and the main difference I see is that Gary V advises to focus solely on your passion. To use the venn diagram example the poster a few up wrote about, Gary V is content to focus on the passion circle without any regard for your talent ('your enthusiasm will trump talent!') or market demand ('there are others like you, just as passionate. if you build it they will come'). Those aren't actual quotes but that's the gist.

If I'm reading MJ's message correctly, it seems that market demand should be the primary focus, followed by passion then talent. You can always build up your skill in an area.

 

[yveskleinsky]

To me the difference is kinda like being hungry and really wanting fresh trout for lunch, (bear with me here ) so you head out to a lake, but your not sure which one to go to. You stop at the store to get directions to a good lake. The guy at the desk tells you that there are two lakes in town--the first lake is full of carp and they jump in your boat. The second lake is full of trout but they are somewhat finicky and you will need to figure out what type of bait to use, what time of day they prefer your bait, what kind of rod and reel they like and so forth. So then the question becomes, would you prefer to have fish jump in the boat or would you prefer to use your pole and wait and see what you catch? MJ's approach makes so much sense as it eliminates a lot of variables--the main goal is to find a need and fill it, versus creating a demand (not to say that filling a need is easy by any stretch--it's still hard work, but the customer base is there and in many cases that's more than half the battle.) Both approaches are valid, just in different ways and perhaps in different time frames as well. ...Keep in mind that money is not usually the primary reason people stay or keep interested in a business--it's the freedom, time and/or stuff that money brings. If you are making good money (which in turn fuels the lifestyle that you want) at a business that isn't your passion, my guess is that you will begin to really enjoy that business.

 

[Kid Corona]

When i turned "what I love" into a business (although very profitable) I ended up hating it with a "passion". Then, I ended up having a hard time getting out of it because I kept getting more and more business. Sounds weird, but getting more business was actually pissing me off because I had no passion or desire to do this business for everyone else.

But, working in the radio and TV industry, although I love it, my passion for it everyday was greater than my love for it. The passion I had for radio and TV drove me to kick a$$ and do it better each and every time. Entertaining people and giving them what they wanted was a greater satisfaction than just doing it because i loved it.

I hope this helps as well.

Best,
Kid Corona

 

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