What Is Your Passion – does it show?

Written by Angie Seaman | posted in Local Business Value | 0 Comments

I’m not a “self-helpy” person, and it’s always seemed a little self-indulgent to spend time thinking about things like my core values.  But honestly over the years, if I had I would have started my own business much sooner.

My way or the highway?

I’ve honestly wasted a lot of years deferring to others’ judgement.  They must know better, they’re the boss.  That works for me at first.  I’ve gotten a lot of experience and ideas working for others in jobs that I’ve truly loved.  But inevitably in every situation, things change.  I learn more, I get more confident in what I’m doing and I figure out “my” way to do what I do.  If that conflicts with the “way it’s done,” I can’t really be happy bending to a way that isn’t “right” to me.

The people who’ve taught and inspired me are still smart and inspirational but as I grow, my perspective changes, or the business changes in ways that don’t fit me anymore.  Eventually I move on to something else that I hope will suit me better.

What I’ve been doing all along is try to create my own thing inside the walls of something else.  That makes no sense.  If I had stopped along the way to really look at what is important to me, I would have realized much sooner that the only thing that will suit me “right” is building my own.  So now I’m officially an entrepreneur following my passion.

What’s Your Passion?

Before you start thinking about how to get your business in front of your customers, it’s important to know who you are and what you want your business to be.  If you don’t know yourself and your business, customers will never get a clear picture of what you stand for.  And you can’t connect with them.  No amount of marketing can deliver a message that even you aren’t clear on.

What you do every day should serve your ideals – what you’re passionate about.  What makes you get out of bed every day ready to go.  If it doesn’t, it will show.  And it’s tough to succeed long term against the odds of disinterest and apathy.  It’s also really no fun.

Here are my core values.  What are yours?

Core Values

1. No Value = No Business. Come to your business with integrity, honesty, and a commitment to value. No amount of marketing will sell bad intentions in the long term. If you don’t provide value, see #3.
2. Own It. Own your actions and expect others to own theirs. Don’t force your ideas, beliefs, or values on anyone who isn’t genuinely open to them. If someone wants help and is open to accept it, give unconditionally. At the end of the day you can help people but you cannot save them from themselves.
3. Karma Can Be a Bitch. Treat people not even the way you would want to be treated, but the way you know they want to be treated. Unless they want to take advantage of you. If they do and you let them, the consequences will visit you both. Sometimes it’s slow, but it’s inevitable. People and businesses do eventually get what they deserve. So deserve the best – always put your best out there.
4. No Jerks Allowed. Life it too short to work with or for people who don’t genuinely appreciate you, the service you provide and the opportunity at hand. Work hard not only for clients and coworkers, but yourself. Everyone, including you, deserves your genuine best. Do you have to like everyone all the time? No. Do you have to have respect for people who work with and for you? Yes. This goes for clients too. No jerkitude of any kind, from coworkers or clients (no matter how big or small) will be tolerated.
5. Expect the Best, Prepare for the Worst. Generally you do get what you truly expect – if you expect the best from a situation or a person and you’ve done everything you should have done to prepare, you will get what you expect. If you only say you expect the best but you secretly think the worst will happen, you will also get what you truly expect. If you are unprepared, how can you even know what to expect?
6. There is Funny in Everything. Even when things seem the most bleak, there’s always something to laugh at. And in laughter comes perspective, which is an essential element for everything. There’s no point in doing something if you can’t have some fun.
7. Be Courageous, not Fearless. Courage is knowing the danger in doing the right thing and doing it anyway.
8. Listen for the Whisper, Don’t Wait for the Brick. Take opportunities and warnings the first time around. First you hear a whisper; act on it. If you don’t, you’ll get a tap on the shoulder. If you still don’t listen you get a brick to the head.
9. Don’t Be Afraid to Fail. Things rarely turn out the way you expect – look for the opportunities in “failures.” Get up, learn from your mistakes and move forward in a better direction.

Do I live every value every moment of every day?  I sure try.  When I do, it’s an awesome day.  When I don’t…well there’s only me to blame!  But then I follow trusty number 9 – learn from it, and keep going.

Know your strengths, hire your weaknesses and your business will thrive.  Take the time to really think about what gets you charged up to do what you do, and only serve those values.  If you truly do that, how can you lose?

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