Entrepreneur
After spending years building a training business to help students pass their LSAT exams, I had a realization: it wasn’t my true passion. Turns out I was more interested in helping entrepreneurs scale their businesses, as I had done.
My second company allowed me to help infinitely more people achieve their goals. But as this company expanded, my job inevitably changed. I went from helping customers build courses, communities and training businesses, to hiring, delegating and automating these tasks, and eventually overseeing directors I brought in to help run the company. Remarkably, there’s not a single job I did in those early years that I still do today — yet I’ve kept my passion for my work alive. And not because I’m one of the lucky ones — I’ve worked hard to do so.
Turning a hobby or passion into a viable business is a natural progression for many entrepreneurs. But what happens if the pressure of creating a revenue generator means that passion starts to wane? And it likely will: when your passion becomes work, it often comes with downsides.
Finding ways to reignite your spark and keep the joy alive is essential to staying engaged as a business leader. Studies have shown that if you don’t love at least part of what you do, you simply won’t be as creative, innovative or resilient. For me, it’s been critical to growing a multi-million dollar company. In the spirit of helping other business leaders succeed, I’m sharing four happiness hacks I’ve honed over a lifetime of entrepreneurship.
Related: 20 Secrets to Living a Happier Life and Having a Positive Mindset
1. Attune yourself to your passion – but don’t be afraid to pivot
What I originally thought was a passion for law turned out to be more about helping others succeed in business. It took me years to figure this out, but when I did, changing course became a no-brainer.
But even in my second business, I had to rejig things early on to fuel my passion. The telltale flag was repetition: how many times could I teach the same course, or offer one-on-one consultations, before getting bored? Custom work can be fun, but it’s also tedious, and I knew the only way to scale would be another gear shift.
There are lots of tools to help you explore what makes you tick, but sometimes it just comes down to seeing what sticks. With the understanding that you can pivot anytime, it becomes easier to ditch the tasks that drag you down and double down on what builds you up.
2. Delegate your dislikes
So many entrepreneurs start by wearing all the hats in their business. But that’s not only a straight path to burnout (and slower growth), it’s also a fast-track to sucking the joy out of every day.
While it can be tough to let go of the reins, part of the beauty in growing a business is the opportunity to hire a team of people who support your vision. I look to Brian Scudamore, CEO of O2E Brands, as a role model in both passion-stoking and delegation. By carving out his ideal job and hiring for everything else, he’s maintained his love for his work for over 35 years, thanks to a strong team that believes in his vision and complements his skill set.
Delegation is one of the most valuable tools in an entrepreneur’s arsenal. Of course, not all business leaders are interested in building a team, but you can also delegate through automation, a virtual assistant or partnerships with other businesses. Building an engaged community of customers is another way to take some of the load off, as they will lean on each other, and new leaders will arise, helping in ways you hadn’t thought of.
Related: This Simple Habit Will Make You A Great Leader
3. Build a positive story you can tell yourself – and believe it
Realistically, no job is 100 percent sunshine and rainbows, and most of us can’t delegate every task we dislike. In those cases, I believe it’s best to lick your ‘toads’ first – the tasks you dread doing.
But if those duties are truly draining your passion, here’s another strategy to boost it: craft an uplifting personal story you can get behind. In my early years of entrepreneurship, when I was working long hours, my story was about how much I loved dedicating time to my work and family. It didn’t mention the fact that I missed my friends and hobbies. My story focused on the positive, and I truly believed it because I knew it was the only path to success.
I’ve used different versions of this story anytime I’ve been faced with overwhelming challenges. By channeling gratitude into productivity, I’ve been able to turn lemons into lemonade. Some people might consider it toxic positivity, but I prefer to think of it as crafting your own reality. And it really can work, especially if you find at least one task you love doing every day.
Related: Embracing Positivity: A Guide to Resilience
4. Cultivate a deeper sense of self-awareness
Actively boosting your joy requires self-awareness of how you’re really feeling. But if your emotional outlook isn’t clear, consider keeping a journal that tracks your mental state (these prompts offer a useful starting point). If it clearly indicates you’re not happy, it’s time to formulate a plan. But remember that what you write in your journal can become your reality, and you can choose to make it a positive one.
Some founders opt to pursue a new passion through hobbies or side hustles while continuing to run their businesses. For me, though, success requires a singular focus, so I prefer less disruptive strategies like storytelling, short breaks, or productivity hacks to cultivate a focused flow state. I also found a way to bring back the joy of working directly with customers, and now I talk to at least one every week.
The bottom line is that life is short, and you deserve to love what you do. While there’s no official blueprint for keeping your passion alive, there is ample opportunity to reimagine your reality whenever you need to.
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