Beware of passion projects
“Lasting success is a balance of confidence, skill and applied wisdom. A passion project is the undoing of that.”
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Beware of passion projects
The art of business is harnessing the 3-way power of self-confidence, skill and applied wisdom to deliver business concepts that succeed. But what can we do if our power gets out of balance?
When we first meet entrepreneurs entering our accelerators, we ask them to share their goals and ambitions. The two extremes we see are, on the one end, those who struggle to see abundance and growth, and on the other end, those who are wildly over-confident, sometimes even to the point of delusion. In between are the leaders who harness the essential enthusiasm for business.
One of the risks we may face is over-investment. Not just from a financial perspective, but from a personal, energetic one too.
Over-investing financially is fairly obvious – if we bet too much on a risky project and it fails, we lose money.
Personal over-investment is similar. It’s putting too much of one’s personal energy, ego and ‘self’ into a project and going overboard with passion for it. When our sense of self-worth is connected to the result – when we are so passionate about something that we lose our sense of balance and perspective.
Being over-invested is like having a ‘crush’ or a lover. We are so blinded by our emotions that our mind doesn’t function as it should. Our intelligence and wisdom is diminished and we fail to see, or to acknowledge the dangers.
The wise leader’s lesson is to recognise the difference between healthy enthusiasm, and an unbalanced ‘passion project’. And moderate our behaviour to avoid these traps.
Speaking from experience, the 4 reminders that I use are:
- Gather information and learn when you are over-excited by something. Recognise the feelings of extreme emotion, perhaps tinged with grandeur or extreme connection with a sense of personal success or failure.
- Work with a team of people who are strong enough to correct you when things are off balance.
- Take action to moderate extreme emotional highs by exercising and avoiding stimulants such as coffee, especially when adrenaline is kicking in.
- Ask yourself – if this project failed, would you proceed or not, then act accordingly.
Powerful leadership comes from self-awareness, and the ongoing quest to keep yourself on track! Let me know if this resonates with you, share with a friend and invite them to sign up to get insights like this every Monday.
