By Kurt James Long
Businesses are Built by the Obsessed – Passion is not Enough
According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, an obsession is “a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling”.
Ideally, your vision and value proposition to create positive and unique value in the life of your customer will be hard to achieve and will push the boundaries of what you think is possible. If it wasn’t hard then someone else can trivially come behind you and replicate what you have done. To create a differentiated market fit offering, it will ideally require your obsession. In the various Merriam-Webster definitions of passion, there is no mention of striving to achieve the “unreasonable”.
Everyone single person I speak to regarding their career has said they are “passionate” about what they do and very often have undistinguished careers. Too often, passion means we like the fun part of doing something but avoid challenges which push the boundaries of our comfort zone”. The passionate love the taste of foods, the thrill of listening to live music, the enjoyment of helping others but entrepreneurship and great businesses are built by the obsessed. The obsessed delve deep into life and go to uncomfortable places very few are willing or able. It is an amazing way to live, and my absolute favorite part of my occupation. Uncomfortable in this sense means take the risk of tackling problems that are difficult for you, that expand your skills and certainly test your resolve. By constructively pushing through your comfort zone you continually redefine what is considered “comfortable” and increase your power zone.
Obsession means you will pour your time, finances, energy and soul unendingly toward a vision, a goal or a solution to an important, hard problem. You will wake up at night with the idea that you can’t get out of your head until you write them down, and you will accept this as part of the job. For Elon Musk, it means obsessing over launching space ships at price points ten times less than anyone has ever done. His highs and lows are well documented but he is living an amazing life. There is only one Elon Musk and I continue to encourage you to know your strengths and limitations and what makes you happy. If you value your marriage and spending considerable time with your children then launching rocket ships ten times less expensively than has ever been done is probably going to be tough on you.
Pick an obsession that gets you excited and committed but is of a scale that allows you to pursue it in a way that fits within your own personality and values. I place the highest life priority on nurturing the most important relationships in my life, not always perfectly, but Teresa and I have a 38-year marriage and a lifetime of friends that still hug us as hard as they can when we see each other.
Obsession and entrepreneurship is a very different way of living and means the lows will be very low and the highs very high because you are“allin”. Entrepreneurs like athletes,adventurers and artists lose themselves into their craft and are willing to put themselves at risk. In the case of the entrepreneur, financial investments, time investments and relationships may be pushed to the brink along with personal limits and stress that normal people would never want to fathom. When things break the wrong way the rear naturally lows. When things go your way, the high is euphoric and the respect you gain for your team and yourself is immense. Over time, it is my experience that the persistence pays off in every way – spiritually, in your relationships if cared to, friendships, financially and in your community but it is hard and will take time.
Some entrepreneurs have gifts that allow them to regulate these ups and downs within their natural personality. Others learn to grow their ability to regulate themselves, to smooth out the ups and downs and even to frame their trials and tribulations within a bigger picture that includes family, personal enjoyment, contribution and health.
I am not looking for people who describe themselves as passionate and reasonable to begin our next business. I am looking for people who will go as far as a reasonable person, then much, much, much further in finding a solution to the problem, achieving a goal and fulfilling a vision. I am looking for the obsessed and better yet, the obsessed who have themselves together enough to consistently lead others.
