generationbreakthrough.com

Grrrrr. Having trouble creating a smooth career or business based on your passion? Me too! Maybe we’re misunderstanding how to use our passion most effectively.

Passion is an essential part of young peoples’ lives today. Although we preach about using your passion in an entrepreneurial way, Generation Breakthrough is about much more. It may work for many in our generation to use their passion in business, or even start small businesses based on your passion. However, just as we recognize that climbing the ladder isn't the best or only pathway to success, we must also realize the ironic concept that entrepreneurially pursuing your passion may not be the best way to pursue it!

In The Four-Hour Work Week (which we recommend most strongly) Tim Ferriss recommends a book that inspired him, The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E Gerber.  In his book, Gerber makes a very surprising point through telling the story of the typical small business owner. My bootleg version goes like this…

Once upon a time there was an Entrepreneur, a Manager, and a Technician. Recognizing their skills and common passions, they were inspired and motivated to start a business together. Their small business was fresh, exciting, and loved by all. It grew and grew until there was so much to do that the Entrepreneur, the Manager, and the Technician were working more than full time at the company. Suddenly, the three recognized they were so overwhelmed and stressed out that nothing could get done properly. Even hiring more workers couldn't help! They began dreading the thing they were once so passionate about, and decided to close their business… giving up on their dreams forever.

Why did this happen to such passionate, and hard working individuals? 

Because the Entrepreneur, the Manager, and the Technician were actually all ONE PERSON! 

The moral of the story is that we all have these three personalities within us. When we start a business, we must learn to balance them effectively, so that we end up owning our business, not being owned by our business. The idea of entrepreneurship is to ignite and tailor an idea into creation, not just to make a new job for yourself that requires even more time and energy than working for someone else. And taking this concept to its rational conclusion: if you own a business, you shouldn’t be the one doing any of the day-to-day work at all.

This message is especially pertinent to Generation Breakthrough, who are starting our businesses in a time when incredible technological advances make starting a completely automated business easier than ever.

But then I often find myself thinking, “But I love doing the work. If I’m going to start a business, shouldn’t it be one that I’m passionate about, so I can commit to doing the day to day work?”

This is the ultimate (and ironic) problem that causes so many small businesses to fail. We think entrepreneurship is all about cutting everything else out of your life to focus on the one thing you choose to be passionate about. This couldn’t be more detrimental, because, just as the above story warns, the demands of the business often ruin your enjoyment of that passion. Without your enjoyment, the workload cannot be maintained. 

As part of Generation Breakthrough, you realize that the true reason behind starting a business is not about finding an outlet for your passion. There are easier and less risky ways to do that. Instead, the real reason we start a business is to create the lifestyle of our choice. When it comes down to it, we all want a lifestyle that allows us to spend as much time pursuing our passions as we want. Not a lifestyle that dictates how much time we must spend doing even the most fun work. When it comes down to it, these passions shouldn’t be burdened with the necessity of making money. 

For Generation Breakthrough, when our passions aren't our money-makers, that doesn't mean they must be relegated to mere hobbies. In his book, Gerber defines and outlines how to create a systems-drive business. With such a business, that doesn't require much of your time to make money, you are then freed up to focus on your passions with the typical amount time and energy that most people devote to their careers. 

So, Gen Y, even though pursuing your passion may be the most important goal, there may be a better way to reach that goal than turning it into a business. We justifiably have many demands about our futures. We want to do work that we are passionate about, but we also need to make tons of money in order to provide for our families, our futures, and our dreams. The great thing is that using the "E-Myth" method, WE CAN DO BOTH!

As Gerber says, “The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next.” By pursuing both your passion and systems driven businesses, you will be empowered to actively build your ideal lifestyle. In this vain, Generation Breakthrough can turn Gerber’s "E-Myth" story into a fairytale with a happy ending

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written by SRF, October 27, 2008

Your comments ring to true to me and my experience. It also reminded me of Stephen Pressfield's great historic novel "Tides of War". In it the main character (Alcibiades) who is heroic but arguably a pretty opportunistic individual, does just about anything and everything to become the leader and controller of Athens (during the Pelopenesian Wars). But, when he ultimately ascends to leadership of his beloved city, he learns that he does not control Athens. It is Athens that controls him.

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