How Important is Passion in Business Success?

I was reading a great article earlier called “Why Following Your Passion is Bad Advice”

The article was perfectly written and made a ton of sense. But still, I couldn’t help but feel something more deep inside. This was the comment I left:

I’m one of those that believe it starts with passion. But I also see it the other way as well, it’s a tough call.

• Basically, you need motivation one way or another. Motivation keeps you going through the tough times and gets you past all the challenges and obstacles. It doesn’t matter how logical or how easy your business fits together because nothing stays easy and simple over the years. Competitors show up, markets change, people change, times change, everything goes…and if you don’t have the motivation, your business won’t make it.

If you’re the kind of person that’s only motivated by money and can’t dream of anything else other than how rich you’re going to be and how nice your big house and car will look, well then yes, money motivation is all you need.

On the other hand, if you’re motivated by your passion, that can be all you need. It’s true that you might not make as much money as a dollar-oriented person, but you certainly can make a big difference in the world and leave your imprint on your passion. You can change things forever and give yourself something to do for years to come. Or you can be a serial entrepreneur and keep jumping ship from one start-up to another.

At the end of the day, you can decide for yourself if you want to make a ton of money, or actually make a difference in the world, or even both. But it’s silly to think you can live a fulfilled life without passion in what you do.