Passion Doesn’t Cut it Anymore
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of attending one of Brad Feld’s talks in Boulder. Brad is one of the most successful venture capitalists in the world, has had a huge hand in building startup communities globally, and is an all around great guy.
It was at this event that he shared his stance on passion.
“It’s super easy to fake passion.
Now — obsession — that’s not so easy to fake.”
A few weeks ago, Brad sat down on camera to share his lessons on entrepreneurship for his Startup Vault course (see video above for a preview).
As a startup CEO and an active member of the Boulder startup community, I often use an example from my own world to further the importance of Brad’s perspective:
I am passionate about mountain biking. It is one of my favorite hobbies. In addition to it being a fantastic workout, I love the adrenaline rush, the ability to connect with nature, and the mental therapy that it provides me.
However, when it is 33 degrees outside and a rainy Sunday afternoon, you will not find me mountain biking. Yes, I am still passionate about the sport, but not obsessed.
When it comes to starting a business, there are a lot of “rainy Sundays”.
If you don’t throw on your rain coat and a pair of gloves and hit the trails anyway, you will lose. End of story.
Now, if I were obsessed with mountain biking, you know damn well that I’m out on those trails every single day, for 12 hours straight, regardless of the weather.
Ask yourself: are you truly willing to toss on your rain coat and gloves to shred through the rainy Sundays in your business?
