Choose a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.
— Confucius
You’ve probably seen that quote before. It’s a staple of motivational speakers and career counselors the world over. And for good reason: It’s pretty sage advice. I’ve embraced that motto during my entire career in the fitness industry.
However, those words should come with a disclaimer. Loving something doesn’t necessarily make it a viable career option. I, for instance, love golf, but I’m not going to make my living at it.
So how do you turn your passions, the things you love dearly, into a viable career or business? And, more importantly, how do you keep that passion going both now and in the future?
Here are four tips that I’ve learned in my 32 years in business.
1. Evaluate what matters to you.
For me it is personal health and wellness.
I’ve spent my entire life being active—starting with a career in competitive racquetball—and continuing with my daily workouts today. I am passionate about personal health and love the chance to share that passion with others.
Ask yourself what matters to you. What are the things in the core of your being that you simply can’t do without? It might be cooking; it might be working with your hands. Whatever it is, identify those elements that matter most to you.
These are the things that, as Confucius said, make work not feel like work. That’s step one. And that’s the easy part.
2. Figure out how to make it work.
Remember how I said the Confucius quote, while wise, needed a disclaimer?
If life were just about finding what you’re passionate about and turning that into your job, I would be on the PGA tour.
I might not be a professional golfer, but I did find a way to merge my love of physical activity into a viable career by opening fitness centers.
I spend each and every day of my life doing what I love, and sharing that love with others. All it took was finding the right opportunity and building a business plan around that.
The fitness industry 15 years ago was drastically different. The gyms were colossal structures filled with all manner of things—much of it largely unrelated to personal wellness.
But what do people really need to be fit? It’s not smoothie bars or pro shops. They needed good, reliable equipment in a facility that is convenient and easy to access with flexible hours.
The successful gyms today feature smaller footprints and more scalable economic models. They are close to their members, stocked with the most current equipment, and open 24 hours a day to ensure easy access.
These gyms specialize in comfortable, welcoming services that foster health and wellness.
Another example of this expansion is the food truck boom many cities are experiencing today. Some smart people took their passion (food), seized an opportunity (a lack of high quality, easily accessible food options), and turned it into a profitable and rewarding business opportunity.
Once you’ve identified your passion, think about how you can improve what is currently available. Ask yourself, how can I break from the norm and provide a better, more complete service?
Finding the area where your passion and opportunity intersect is the key to any business.
3. Make sure you’re all in.
Passion and business opportunity are important—but they’re not the only things you need.
You still need to commit yourself 100 percent. Doing something you love may not feel like work—but it is still work. And a lot of it.
I often speak at events and meet other people who are interested in starting a business. These people are, almost universally, kind, gracious and intelligent. But many of them aren’t cut out to open their own business.
That’s not meant to be callous. It is a simple reality. I read recently that only 1 percent of the population is prepared to be an entrepreneur. For the other 99 percent, it isn’t that they don’t have a strong idea or they aren’t smart people—it’s that they can’t go all in.
When you open a business you need to eat, sleep, and breathe that business. It needs to be who you are.
Consumers today have so many options. They need to see you really care about them and that shows in how you work. If you fake it, they will sense it and never come back.
Demonstrate your passion, and you will inspire people—your customers, your employees, and yourself.
One easy way to put this practice in action is to promote from within your company. Internal promotion of quality employees prompts others to buy in.
They don’t need to wonder if their hard work and passion will be rewarded. They can look around at their coworkers and see many examples where that happened around them.
4. Choose significance over success.
Ever hear people say money can’t buy you happiness?
In my experience, only people with money say that. Having a financially successful career is nice, but that sort of success ends when you die.
The older we get, the more important it is to focus on a different element: significance. Leave your legacy; allow the work you do to be a foundation for a better life. This is a natural extension of working in the wellness space.
Everyday you get to help people get fit, reach their goals, and improve their lives. But finding your own significance, what your business offers outside the bottom line, is vital to the success of any business in any industry.
Always strive to add intrinsic value to your customers, family and friends, and community.
That’s significance that lives on long after you’re gone.
