There has been in recent times a debate over the necessity for someone to be passionate about what they are doing in order to be successful. And as coincidence would have it this piece came to mind courtesy of two things I saw with only a slight gap between them. The first is the video below which details the entrepreneurial journey of Abhi Ramesh the founder of US based Misfits Markets a seller of what you would call ugly fruit and vegetables.
The thing that struck me about the video was that for Ramesh the vehicle didn’t matter – as you saw he had a number of ventures before hitting upon Misfits Markets ranging from reselling school books whilst at school to a tutoring service to a stint at a real job to get experience. He had no passion for any of those outside the entrepreneurial experience they offered him. I am quite certain if he had struck upon selling donuts as a scalable enterprise then he would have done that instead. The vehicle is of no consequence as I don’t think he has a passion for ugly fruit and veg. He has a passion for the creation of a scalable business which is very different from having a passion for a job that is not self-directed.
Contrast this with a headline that popped up in todays Age which I have snipped below.
The article is the usual sort of self-help motivational thing of finding something that you enjoy love doing without limits and then see if someone will pay you to do that. Unfortunately, if you are waiting to turn your weekend woodworking hobby into a job where people will pay you lots of money for the pleasure of owning one of your lop-sided coffee tables I think most people will be waiting a long time. You will be waiting a long time because you are waiting on someone else and you have no process for converting your hobby/dream into a paying concern. If no one is paying you for it then you have a hobby and nothing more.
My opinion has always been that purpose trumps passion – it would be nice if they went hand in hand but being self-directed and methodical is in my opinion more important than being passionate about something which may only be of interest to you.
