Where Is Your Business Passion?

I emailed the Love People + Make Money Community every day for a week with one topic: Passion In Business.  I don’t want to lose track of the ideas I shared, so voila… this blog post ;)

Day One: Where Is Your Passion?

This week, I’m inspired by Gordon Ramsay. After binging three seasons of his ‘Hell & Back’ restaurant rescue series, this question is ringing in my ears: ‘Where is your passion?!’

This legendary Chef asks the question when finding the kitchen (the heart of the restaurant) in complete disarray. Dirty, disorganized, food past it’s safe-to-eat date, mistreated staff… it’s often a terrible mess.

I love the question because it FITS so well.

Gordon knows the kitchen isn’t a mess for lack of knowledge. It can’t even be blamed on poor systems.

It’s lack of passion.

At some point, the person in charge has just stopped giving a damn. They stopped trying. They’re just showing up, moving around aimlessly, waiting for it all to end.

HOLY SUGAR BOMBS… does this describe you?

Is your business a hot mess? Unkempt, disorganized… passionless?

Well, I’m not Gordon Ramsay riding into town with a giant team and huge budget to redesign everything – but I am a damned good coach with a passion to help, so here’s my plan…

This week, I’m going to send you something every day to stoke your passion.

Day Two: I Respect Those Who Show Up (Some Don’t)

You might think, when I tell you who I’m inspired by today, that I like to cook or something. I don’t really. I just love watching passionate people and great chefs are always PASSIONATE about what they do.

Today my thoughts are sparked by my reading of Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. A favorite TV chef I’ve watched for years – and miss terribly since his death – Anthony is another tough critic who often says plainly to another chef: ‘You’ve lost your passion…why are you still doing this if you don’t give a shit?’

Whether it’s Gordon Ramsay or Anthony Bourdain asking the question, you know it has to be painful for the person getting the feedback. But is it ever really a surprise? I don’t think so. Again and again, I see the ‘knowing’ in their eyes.

They know they’ve lost their mojo. They know they’re not as excited as they once were. They know that they’ve phoned in their effort.

BUT – here’s what I always respect. At least they’re still showing up.

I mean, how many thousands of others have already quit – or would never consider showing up for feedback from someone they admire?

I think the same is true for the Gordon’s and Anthony’s of the world. They respect that someone has at least tried – and it’s why they give them the gift of honest feedback and delivery of that painful question: ‘Where is your passion?!’

In Kitchen Confidential, Anthony is telling his early story. It is full of trials and triumph, mistakes and learning – and honest sharing of moments of complete burnout, when he thought he’d never EVER want to be a chef again.

Are you three steps past not feeling passionate about your business? Have you reached what feels like burnout? Do you, like Anthony did at times, just want to go get a job and let someone else take the big risks?

A. Don’t give up.
B. Take the rest you need.
C. Let’s talk sometime.

Day Three: What Fascinates You?

Passion. For our purposes, this is a noun indicating STRONG INTEREST.

Other words that fit: Craving, enthusiasm, fascination…

• Do you crave more and more experience of the work you do?
• Do you have enthusiasm for what you’re doing?
• Do you feel fascinated by possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead?

Maybe not?

Hey, it’s normal for a person to lose interest in something that once held them in thrall.

Looking back over 19 years of business, there are things I once loved that I lost passion for and dropped. I used to build websites and design graphics for people. It got to the point where I could charge really well for my time and had a waiting list of great clients – but I wasn’t excited to do the work anymore. So I let it go.

Letting go gives me space to pick something new up.

I have an idea, follow my curiosity and often a vision starts to form. When I can see a project clearly, I get excited and want to start moving towards it.

As I chase my creativity and experience what I envisioned, sometimes I don’t love it. So I let it go.

Other times I DO love it, and I hold on.

Sometimes I’m not sure! I like some of it, I don’t like some of it. So I tinker. Change something. Wiggle. Shimmy. Play. Try something a little different.

My business today is the result of iteration. Try this. Now try that. Ooh, that was fun, let’s do that again – but add a twist.

Because I let myself do this – I still EFFING LOVE my business.

I’m still mad passionate about what I do because what I do today is a little different than what I did last year and the year before that.

My business is alive, growing, changing AS I AM AS A PERSON.

Have you given yourself permission to grow and change as an entrepreneur – or are you stuck in a rut with a business you’ve lost all passion for?

Day Four: What Would Passion Look Like?

What would be happening in your business if you were as full of passion as you want to be?

We are Content Marketers, so let’s tighten up this question…

What would be happening in your Content Marketing if you were as full of passion as you want to be?

• What would your blog look like?
• What would your email marketing look like?
• Would you have a podcast?
• Would you have courses put out?
• Would you be running a membership site?

What else comes to mind? If you were brimming over with passion for your topics and community, what would it all look and feel like?

Who would you be cooperating with? Who would be reaching out to you to be a guest on their podcast? Who would be soaking up your content and taking action on our offers?

Passion goes a long way in EVERYTHING and when it’s there, beautiful things happen.

When it’s not there… well… pfft. Things fizzle.

When you lack passion, you spend a lot of time watching OTHER PEOPLE do what you once thought you’d be doing.

Are you ready for something different? Would you like to reignite your passion?

Day Five: Time To Get Curious

Where do our passions come from?

Our passions are as unique as we are. Some have been with us since early childhood. Others have surprised us along the way.

Some have told me they don’t feel passionate about anything, let alone their business. For a few, I can call bullshit and point out obvious passions everyone can see in them. They’ll usually say ‘Oh sure, yeah, I’m passionate about THAT’ like it’s no big deal – and they can’t see how it can be brought into their business. I adore these conversations because I believe there’s always a way to do that.

If I don’t know the person well, I have favorite questions to ask and fun scenarios to play with to unearth what they care about.

A few questions for you:

• What bothers you & what would you like to change?
• What do you want to create more of in the world?
• For who? Who will be impacted by what you do?
• What happens if you don’t show up? What’s left undone? Unchanged?

Oh, and the famous: What would you do with your time if money were no object?

If you tackle these questions and come up empty – don’t fall into frustration or feel like there’s got to be something wrong with you.

Instead, get curious. Open yourself up to wild possibilities.

Your most life-altering and business-blasting passions may be just around the corner – waiting to be discovered.

If you’d told me 20 years ago that I’d be spending a chunk of my time having fascinating conversations with amazeballs people and getting paid well for it – I would not believe you. I couldn’t see the possibility or acknowledge the potential in me.

Thankfully though, I kept leaning into my interests. I got braver with creative ideas. I spent time with passionate people too! This it turns out is one of the best ways to break out of self-imposed ruts ;)

Day Six: Try Something Different

This week, after I ran out of ‘Hell and Back’ episodes to binge, I turned to Masterchef Junior. FYI… There are TONS of seasons to watch on Hulu ❤

Gordon Ramsay has created so many different television series around cooking. From demonstrating his own skill, to rescuing restaurants, to running Hells Kitchen, to judging season after season of home chefs who want to prove their the best – to this Masterchef Junior where the budding chefs are as young as EIGHT years old.

I am amazed at how far his passion takes him. Does the man never get bored with it? If he ever has, it doesn’t show in any of the programs I’ve enjoyed. He always brings the best energy

Gordon proves its possible to maintain a high level of passion for something for decades and I bet we can learn something exploring his career.

He hasn’t just done one thing year after year. Every new program he gets involved in brings a twist. I imagine that he is always asking…

• What can I do to make this different?

• How can I try something new and completely unexpected?
• What do I want to keep doing just like so because it works and I still enjoy it?

What’s surprising and oh so fun about Masterchef Junior is that they expect the same kinds of food and have the challenging timelines as they do for the adults. This stretches my viewpoint… aren’t kids too little for these challenges? (Turns out, NOPE!) Kids with a passion for food are showing up amazingly.

They do introduce a lot of FUN for the kids – putting the adult judges up for messy consequences during competitions. Pushing a button to pour syrup all over Gordon Ramsay makes all the kids laugh and lets off a lot of steam.

Oh how we can learn from these kids by the way. If a ten year old kid can fall in love with cooking and produce something delicious for tough judges… what can WE do when we lean into what we love?

What would you like to try differently with your business?

Ask these questions of yourself….

• What can I do to make this different?
• What would be completely unexpected?
• What do I love and want to keep as is?

If your ideas scare you – that can be a wonderful sign!

Day Seven: Passion Flows & Dull Slows

Time is a slippery thing.

Time spent doing something I’m passionate about flows. I’m amazed at what I can accomplish in an afternoon when I love the project. I often look back at a day and think ‘Wow!’

Time spent doing something dull slows. I procrastinate and trudge through accounting and tax tasks. I’d rather be doing anything else and it shows.

I can’t avoid all dull tasks and do my best to manage my attitude. Adulting matters, amen?

I CAN avoid some things I don’t enjoy. I outsource and automate what I can and let go of some things that I’ve decided just don’t matter.

Leaning into my passions, following my creativity, noticing what I’m doing when time flies, it has allowed me to create a business that I truly, actually, I mean it – seriously – LOVE.

My time is more valuable with every passing year. If I’m going take my attention off of my friends, family and life goals to work – it’s going to have to be something I’m passionate about.

I don’t make all my decisions based on money anymore, but wouldn’t you know as I prioritize PASSION, money shows up more?

It’s beautiful, mysterious and full of joyful potential.

I want this for you. Do you want it for yourself?

If you do – you really really do – I invite you to reach out to me to have a passion-sparking two hour coaching conversation.