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Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs out there are really passionate?

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Re: Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs out there are really passionate?

#21
post #4

In my experience, business use of the word "passion" is nearly always code for something better said in other ways (if one is to be plain spoken). Some examples: 1) Entrepreneur Joe might have a good idea for a business but "Joe lacks passion" is code for an intuitive hunch that Joe is going to flake out and get distracted. 2) Alice might need something (investment, a business deal, etc.) and "Alice is passionate abo…

The context in which I find the ambiguity most apparent is when it's related to someone's motivation for being involved in a project. While it's clear that some people are motivated by the subject of their work - I think they are few and lucky.

Re: Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs out there are really passionate?

#22
post #17

It's tough to know what you're really passionate about, though. One way to think about it, that I've found useful, is to say that you're passionate about something if you love coming in to work and doing things, and time goes by so fast that you have no idea how it's late at night already. If you can pull that off consistently, then you're somewhat on the right track.

I get that - the "flow" idea. But I can get "flow" in a pretty mundane task - filing in the office, grinding in a game, etc. And I wouldn't describe myself as passionate about any of those things...

Re: Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs out there are really passionate?

#23
post #2

I'm passionate about making money. That said, once you identify a sector in which to make money, you need to master it. With mastery almost alway comes at least an appreciation or affection for a subject.

Yes. Funny how people tiptoe around that one. Almost as if among entrepreneurs it isn't legitimate.

Re: Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs out there are really passionate?

#24
post #14
post #11

Zuckerberg wasn't particularly passionate about Facebook in the early days. Now he seems to be on a possibly life-long mission. There's no substitute for discipline and hard work, not even passion (though it may make it less painful).

True that he probably wasn't passionate at the beginning. But he must have developed it along the way. You don't continuously work 16-hour days unless you're passionate.

I wonder if the difference is when you look at "one and done" guys vs. serial entrepreneurs. But even then - many seem to change domains in subsequent startups.

Re: Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs out there are really passionate?

#25
post #10

Here is a fundamental thing I've learnt about startups that is hugely important and massively over looked: You need to be passionate about building a company, not an idea. Because you will change the idea, and if your passion isn't in running a company you're dead. The groupon guy doesn't care about group buying, he cares about building a company with x culture etc.

I was making that argument, somewhat unsuccessfully, with a VC friend last night. His counter was "I have to see that THIS idea is the one, among all the others you could be pursuing..."

Re: Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs out there are really passionate?

#26
post #2

I'm passionate about making money. That said, once you identify a sector in which to make money, you need to master it. With mastery almost alway comes at least an appreciation or affection for a subject.

Really? That's strikes me in a weird way.

To me, (at least subconsciously) passion means a drive to do something out of love, regardless of whether or not you can make money out of it.

Being "passionate about making money" almost doesn't make any sense.

Better said as "I'm very driven to make money".

Re: Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs out there are really passionate?

#28
post #2

I'm passionate about making money. That said, once you identify a sector in which to make money, you need to master it. With mastery almost alway comes at least an appreciation or affection for a subject.

To me this separates the "business" people from the "product" people. I'm one of the latter.

I also feel strongly that the point of view you choose here drastically affects your day to day performance. Being "passionate" about your work you are more likely to get it done right. I think it's always better to start a business with a community (demand) rather than a business model (supply).

Re: Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs out there are really passionate?

#29
Hugh MacLeod's legendary "How To Be Creative" article had a great point which is meant mainly for artists, but I think applies to entrepreneurs as well, at least when you talk about passion.

Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.

See no.24 - http://changethis.com/manifesto/6.HowToBeCreative/pdf/6.HowT...

Sorry the blog post seems to have disappeared, all I could find was the PDF.

It is so good, I must quote all of it:

Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.

Inspiration precedes the desire to create, not the other way around.

One of the reasons I got into drawing cartoons on the back of business cards was I could carry them around with me. Living downtown, you spend a lot of time walking around the place. I wanted an art form that was perfect for that.

So if I was walking down the street and I suddenly got hit with the itch to draw something, I could just nip over to the nearest park bench or coffee shop, pull out a blank card from my bag and get busy doing my thing. Seamless. Effortless. No fuss. I like it.

Before, when I was doing larger works, every time I got an idea while walking down the street Iʼd have to quit what I was doing and schlep back to my studio while the inspiration was still buzzing around in my head. Nine times out of ten the inspired moment would have passed by the time I got back, rendering the whole exercise futile. Sure, Iʼd get drawing anyway, but it always seemed I was drawing a memory, not something happening at that very moment.

If youʼre arranging your life in such a way that you need to make a lot of fuss between feeling the itch and getting to work, youʼre putting the cart before the horse. Youʼre probably creating a lot of counterproductive “Me, The Artist, I must create, I must leave something to posterity” melodrama. Not interesting for you or for anyone else.

You have to find a way of working that makes it dead easy to take full advantage of your inspired moments. They never hit at a convenient time, nor do they last long.

Conversely, neither should you fret too much about “writerʼs block,” “artistʼs block,” or whatever. If youʼre looking at a blank piece of paper and nothing comes to you, then go do something else. Writerʼs block is just a symptom of feeling like you have nothing to say, combined with the rather weird idea that you SHOULD feel the need to say something.

Why? If you have something to say, then say it. If not, enjoy the silence while it lasts. The noise will return soon enough. In the meantime, youʼre better off going out into the big, wide world, having some adventures, and refilling your well. Trying to create when you donʼt feel like it is like making conversation for the sake of making conversation. Itʼs not really connecting, itʼs just droning on like an old, drunken barfly.

Re: Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs out there are really passionate?

#30
I forget where, but i heard someone say somewhere that the best entrepreneurs are ones that solve problems, not the ones that are just trying to make money. Maybe it's just me, but it's much easier to be passionate about a problem because I'm not satisfied until it's fixed. It's a finite conclusion that you can finally reach.

Might try asking yourself - what's one problem that makes you upset/annoyed/frustrated? What can you do to fix it?

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