What Drives You? What Starts Your Motor?

Posted by Jeff Carter
on May 9th, 2012

Why do you get out of bed in the morning? What’s the first thought that goes through your head? Are you excited for the day?

If money is the only thing that drives you, you will lose that excitement. Money by itself isn’t a good enough motivator. You must have passion. You must have an internal fire that burns for whatever it is you want to do.

Two of my friends have incredible passion for working out. Each has created a business out of it in different ways. Neither are scalable, but are great lifestyle businesses. As I have said previously, just because a business isn’t scalable doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.

Michelle Spadafora and I met in college. She was my wife’s sorority sister. She launched a business a few years ago integrating her passion for Christian faith with her passion for working out. It’s called, Faithful Workouts. Michelle expanded it with a television show, a video series, books and loves what she is doing.

Leslie Grosshauser and I met in high school. She married a guy that grew up around the corner from me. He and I have known each other since we were five and six. Leslie won a US bodybuilding championship. She became a fitness instructor, and now travels all over the country teaching a new fitness technique called Piloxing. “PILOXING is the brainchild of Swedish dancer and celebrity trainer Viveca Jensen and the culmination of her mission to physically and mentally empower women through fitness. At the core of PILOXING is the principle that feminine is powerful and it aims for women to attain a sleek, sexy and powerful self-image.”

Both of them get out of bed in the morning and look forward to the day. They constantly think about how to do it better. It’s not about the money, but about how they can create value for people. They are passionate. There is a big difference between passion and emotion. Passion is about desire. It’s an inner fire that burns. Emotion changes with the wind. One day you are sad, the other happy. Passion allows you to ride through the rough seas that await you. Emotion will take you off course.

An older story about an entrepreneur is the Lands’ End company. Gary Comer started the company. He had a passion for sailing, and won a medal at the Olympics. Not only did he have a passion for sailing that lead to the development of a company, if you read through their history he had a passion for place which is why they set up shop in Dodgeville, Wisconsin! Lands’ End was acquired by Sears for a lot of money, but I guarantee you, the company wasn’t run to chase the almighty dollar. Passion created their success.

As soon as you start thinking about the money, you are dead. Money is emotional. That concept carries through to everything. In trading, as soon as I though solely about the money, emotions began to rule. Once you are emotional as a trader, you are dead. But, if you are passionate, you can be successful.

The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.