Be true to yourself

November 7, 2009

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about DNA. Behind successful people in every niche are many years of growing and developing, personally motivating themselves to develop into the type of person that CAN be successful. Only gaining the success (and often, in turn, the money) up to the point that they have developed themselves. Millionaires are millionaires, they say, not because they’ve found a way to earn a million dollars, but because they’ve developed themselves into the type of person that’s worth a million.dna_logo

However, even with all of the personal evolution behind every major success, they have a hard-coded, unique DNA. The rules, so to speak, that foundationally drive who they are as a person, their interests and their passions. You can’t ignore your DNA, and it’s this that I think is so important NOT to forget.

I think so many people get energized and excited about business idea after business idea, starting this one, switching to that one, trying this fad, that hot topic. And you know what? No matter how much they learn, no matter how many books they read or keynotes they watch or successful entrepreneurs they interview, they will never find their elusive success if they ignore who they truly are when chosing their niche. NO MATTER WHAT. Because there could be the biggest business opportunity around right-handed jibjabs, but if you don’t care about those jibjabs, if they wouldn’t be what you’d say when you answer the age old “if money and time were no object, what would you do with your time?” question, if your passion isn’t there, it won’t work. It’s not worth your effort, and it’s definitely not worth your valuable time.

If you love crochet, if you spend ten hours a day thinking about The Simpsons, if you just can’t get enough peanut brittle (woo!), be true to that! Step up, tell the world of your love, and be honest with yourself. Be honest with your DNA. Build your business around THAT passion. Not only will it lead you, when coupled with continual learning, closer to your picture of success, but you will be a thousand times happier while on the journey.

What’re your thoughts about DNA and it’s impact on entrepreneurs? Are you currently building a business around your passion? Do you think it’s more difficult to be successful when you don’t love what you’re doing? Or do you think it’s all the same?

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  • http://brycepRealEstate.com Bryce Perschau

    Although I didn’t discover my work passion until my late 40′s (!!), it was definitely a case of better late than never. I wake up every morning looking forward to my job and anxious to get going. It actually doesn’t seem like a job, it’s just what I do! Great post, I totally agree.

  • http://www.anniesorensen.com ANNIE

    Yup, that’s the key…if you’re NOT waking up excited every morning, there’s a problem. We’ll never have the motivation nor desire to put our absolute best efforts forward if we don’t love what we’re doing!

  • http://cherylscasualcontemplations.blogspot.com Cheryl

    I think so many folks are so out of touch with their dreams that workin’ for the man, waking up in the morning dragging, well, that’s become their normal. Sometimes it takes a serious wake up call to jolt them out of their blase existence, and realize that life is just way too short to live like that.

    I’ve been thinking about all this a lot lately too. Yeah, DNA is undeniabley key to success, so why do so many work so hard to just be like everyone else?

  • http://www.anniesorensen.com ANNIE

    They work so hard just to be like everyone else because they were never inspired to consider the possibility of having dreams of their own. Of even using their specific DNA to find the passion that drives them the strongest. Since they’re not dreaming on their own, they adopt the dreams of the rest of society…and society tells them that they should “work hard” and “get a secure job” and “keep up with the Joneses.” I could add the beloved, “well, that’s just what everyone does” to that list, too.

    So we can’t inspire people to stay true to their passion, Cheryl, until we first open their eyes to the possibility of even HAVING a passion outside of the norm. Hmm, our next task!

  • http://cherylscasualcontemplations.blogspot.com Cheryl

    True, and people who follow their dreams don’t have a certain gene that non-dreamers are missing either. We are all born with it! I grew up in a good home but dreaming was considered foolish, irresponsible, a waste of time. Once I started owning my own life and broke free from the status quo, the dreaming was revived. But, you know, I have to work it every day, it doesn’t come natural…perhaps some of it is cultural also, not just my formative years.

    Was dreaming and setting goals always a part of your life, even as a kid?

  • http://www.anniesorensen.com ANNIE

    Dreaming and goal-setting were part of my life as a kid…kind of. My parents are very responsible fiscally, and routinely stated little tidbits here and there about handling money, being responsible, etc. So, I had those ideas in my head. I also have always stated “funny” things like, “In my Colorado mountain home someday…” or “Dad, when you’re living in my poolhouse someday…” or “When I work for myself someday…” I remember saying those types of things even when I was really little. My parents were fantastic, but not entrepreneurial in the least. I don’t know if they ever had the desire to be, but if they did they have never acted upon it. I had to find that piece on my own.

    I was introduced/realized the power of personal development while in college, and that’s where everything started for me. At least from the standpoint of finally taking action on all the goals streaming through my head.

    So, really long answer to say that I didn’t have an unsupportive childhood regarding goals & dreaming, yet I definitely wasn’t in a specifically entrepreneurial, self-motivating, goal-oriented setting. It was my own doing, once reaching adulthood, that took the dreams I naturally had had in my head for years, and actually start turning them into reality by getting into action.

    I think you touched upon it perfectly, Cheryl, in that it takes effort, every, single day, to make progress towards our goals, towards our dreams. Dreams might flow through our head pretty easily because of DNA or our upbringing, but what separates the few successful from the unsuccessful masses is the ability to motivate yourself to WORK to make your dreams happen. The ability to decide to make them come true, instead of waiting for them to fall into your lap.

  • http://www.tkhamilton.com todd hamilton

    This is a really interesting topic and discussion, saw garyv twice in the last week and he touched on it both times, so I feel like it’s happening everywhere right now.

    When you say DNA I hear that you are talking about what we all have: that thing, that passion, that inherent skill deep inside. Something I heard once that I love: everyone has something they are better at then everyone else. Take an idiot savant, he or she may not be able to brush their own teeth, but then they may be able to calculate pi to like 100 decimal places.

    Personally I think the difference between those that LIVE their passion or DNA, is whether or not they ever had an opportunity to develop it. Einstein was supposedly a difficult child and his father never thought he could do anything. Dad was forcing his son into living life in a certain way that was “right” to him. When Einstein was freed from that influence he became productive. But, his work habits were very strange from the point of view of the average 9-5er. He needed to do things HIS way for the theory or relativity to emerge. There are many examples of this: musicians, artists, business folks, people who require something a little different for their genius to emerge. So I think that is one aspect, there are certain societal expectations as to how we should act, but sometimes the genius inside, the passion, needs to express itself outside of societal norms. This can be tough, having the courage to do it YOUR way.

    The other thing is learning to find your truth inside, your passion and your natural DNA. We are programmed as children with many many messages, which tend to guide and shape our thinking as we grow. This could be: “you need to work hard”, “if you don’t go to college you’ll never get a good job”, “you have to suffer to succeed”, “you don’t get to be happy because life is hard”. These kind of messages make the concept of joyous work seem like a remote fantasy, cause come on, your not supposed to be happy, it’s supposed to be hard, and it’s gonna suck.

    Imagine you were raised with these messages: “whatever you do, do it because it makes you feel wonderful inside”, “doing what you love is the most important thing”, “you can be successful easily, by doing what makes you the most happy”.

    WOW, now those are some nice messages! They allow you to explore yourself, and discover the truth inside, rather then create fear and struggle. Also, they give you the freedom to try things your way, to do what feels right to you, whether it makes sense to others or not.

    For me to understand my dna, I had to forget a lot of what my parents programmed into me, embrace my passion, and have the courage to do it my way. It’s been scary, wonderful and has made me realize the more I do what I love, not only do I get better as a man, but that I can help those around me be better as well.

    I like your blog Annie, keep up the good stuff.

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