People create Internet businesses for all sorts of reasons. Some of them are looking to give up their J.O.B.s. Some dream of being of being their own boss. And others can't wait to make tons of cash, retire to their private island and leave the work of traffic generation, content production and ad monitoring to their staff.
That's all fine. I don't have a problem with any of those reasons. Provided they're all accompanied by another one...
... that they're doing it because they enjoy it.
I'm not just saying that because life's too short to do work you hate, although that's a good enough reason by itself. And I'm not saying it just because I want you to be happy, although I do.
I'm saying it because if you don't enjoy building an Internet business, you'll never be any good at it.
If you aren't passionate about the content you produce, your readers won't be either. Passion is a necessary part of leadership and every Internet publisher is a leader of a community of readers. No one is going to follow someone who doesn't think their topic is worth getting excited about.
If you don't get a thrill every time you see your page views increase, then you're not going to care enough to continue taking the measures that bring in more people. It takes effort and thought to identify what your readers want - even when they don't know what they want. Your stats need to make you smile.
And if you don't get a real buzz when you see the check from Google, from Chitika, from Kontera and from your affiliates, then you won't be receiving too many more of them in the future.
Internet publishing is work. It takes effort and time, and not everything you have to do to build a successful website is going to be fun. I can't say that I've ever enjoyed search engine optimization, and figuring out which keywords to target can be tedious.
But on the whole, I love it. I love creating the products. I love managing my sites. I love the people I've met and continue to meet at conferences and workshops. And I love the fact that I can make a living doing something I love.
If you want to be successful, you need to love it too.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
July 23, 2009 08:37 AM
I agree 1000%, Joel!
Without passion for what you do, it will amount to a big, fat zilch.
I get a rush every morning I get up. I know the day is my own, I have no boss looking over my shoulder, my business is exactly what I make it, and I have the only person that really matters patting me on the back for a job well done.
All of that alone is worth a zillion dollars to me! ;)
July 23, 2009 08:38 AM
Hi Joel,
In my opinion you couldn't sing this song often enough for it to take hold, most people are doing work they hate out of fear mostly I think. I have found you can love something and still suck at it but if you stick with it long enough your sucking gets better :)
I haven't arrived by any stretch of the imagination but I do love working from home and sharing what I think is common sense approaches to I.I. & Social Media. I never claim EXPERT status because I'm not sure what that really means.
Having said that, Do what your passion is and you will eventually win, I didn't say you would get rich, but you will be doing something more meaningful than you may be doing right now. So keep singing this song Joel, more people need to hear it.
No I need to get a coffee and write some more, thanks for the post.
Owen
July 23, 2009 09:11 AM
Dear joel ,
Its true that one should love what he is doing
There are lot of hurdels , but teachers like you are always there to guide thru
I have writen about you on my small blog ,
Please read this .
If any sugestion please coment ,
Regards.
Vaishali
July 23, 2009 09:59 AM
Well-said Joel.
I meet lots of people that are just "going through the motions" because they have no passion for what they do to create income. Without a passion for their career, most people are average at best.
I've also noticed that people (myself included) without that passion lose focus and continually follow "the next big thing".
I've found my passion and I'm excited to pursue it every day.
Steve
July 23, 2009 11:49 AM
I agree Joel. Loving what you do is the best way to be productive. It is a great feeling to know that you are exactly where you want to be.
July 23, 2009 12:43 PM
Amen Joel you and others have taught me enough to make me want more. I can't remember when I have had a thirst for learning like I do now. I want to buy my freedom back and I know I can do that on line. Not only do I have a burning passion for my self,I want to help others break away from the 9 to 5. Thanks Joel you were my 1st lol, Keep the passion and keep posting.
Thanks,
Tad
July 23, 2009 12:52 PM
waaaaoooowwww.....is a nice and greats articles joel
July 25, 2009 03:45 PM
Heck yea..good advice.
You have to like what you are doing and have a passion for it!
July 25, 2009 10:17 PM
Joel I couldn't agree more! So much so, I even wrote about it last month on my blog, http://socialnetworkinglifestyle.com/blog/what-are-you-passionate-about
Like you said, if you don't enjoy what you're doing, you're not going to be any good at it...in the long term. There has to be a fire inside you day after day that makes you EXCITED to leap into your office chair and are passionately sharing about what you're doing and engaging other people who are drawn to you! If that "joy" for what you do isn't there...you're not going to make it up the tumultuous climb to the top of success. And truly enjoy it! Most likely you'll quit...and that's probably a good thing! Find what does fire you up.
It's not worth it if you don't love it!
@TimothyCarter
July 28, 2009 05:22 AM
Nice article Joel & whilst passion is important to be successful online, so is commitment & effort which are both directly proportional to output...
August 2, 2009 08:52 PM
It amazes me how many people out there are doing (working at) what they often don't like because 1. it makes money or 2. they studied the course in school and didn't want to waste their degree (or worse, they studied what they didn't like in the first place). Loving what you do is probably the first step towards having an easier time at work. And most of us are probably good at the things we love.
August 4, 2009 05:44 PM
When I first got into internet marketing it was to find an easy way to make money. I of course soon discovered that it would take a lot of effort before I realized that picture of myself sitting on the beach, sipping a margarita, and having the money falling out of my laptop.
But I did discover something. I love learning about internet marketing, it has become a passion just learning all of this stuff. Also, I really like the people that are attracted to this game.
August 16, 2009 02:34 PM
Hey Joel,
As someone who has spent many years in J.O.B's that I hate I am loving building my internet business. Just to see an increase in visitors day on day, or receive a bunch of nice comments on my blog, or adding followers on twitter. It all helps to improve your sense of self-worth. And this builds passion which builds enthusiasm which builds motivation which builds action which..you get the idea.
And hopefully each day is a step closer to doing this every day and enjoying life a bit more.
Regards
Andy Michaels
August 24, 2009 07:36 AM
Hi Joel,
I so agree, the life is too short not to do what inspires us and do what we love doing. I see the Web as a place filled with endless opportunity for anyone that wants to share their talents. If you're a writer, a techie or a graphich designer, just to name a very few, then there's a place for you online.
We can all start small, and share our special skills and abililties and love every minutes of it. And who knows, in time, it may even turn into a viable source of income someday.
- Karen
August 25, 2009 09:10 PM
Passion and determination is the best :)
August 25, 2009 11:30 PM
Thanks a lot for this fast and easy way of getting info especially for a starter like me. Great help Joel!!! www.sabetsu.com
September 10, 2009 10:12 AM
I created our new blog to help small businesses with their marketing and to help them rank higher in the Search Engine results.
I live in a town that is a "common name". We'll call it 'XYZ'.
If you do an online search for "XYZ pizza, dentist, or insurance (pretty common searches)", you won't find a single listing in the top page of Google for any of those searches.
Why?
Because there is a larger town in the U.K. with the same name.
Our blog was created for those small businesses that either need to create a web presence, or improve their existing one.
As the son of a barber, I know what it's like to run your own, small, mom-n-pop operation. Heck, we are the lifeblood of our economy.
But back to Joel's point...
Yes, you need to love what you do so you can continue to do it. That passion is what wakes us up at night and sometimes even keeps us from going to bed (due to our excitement).
Best,
-Kevin
http://www.twitter.com/kevinpuls
September 19, 2009 08:35 AM
Great article Joel! The internet opens up a whole new world of opportunity.
Jerome
October 13, 2009 03:33 AM
This is really very inspiring article for me. As you said "PASSSION". I agree with you that we have to be passion to do our work.
With my last one year blogging experience I am working every day with new excitement and Passion. I love and enjoying what I am doing.