When it Matters to You....

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One of the first things we teach aspiring entrepreneurs is the necessity of assessing the market demand for a product or service prior to making financial, time or emotional investments in it. A worthwhile business opportunity exists, we say, when an innovative idea is backed by potential customers' willingness to pay. In this scenario, your personal love affair with your business idea is of little importance, at least in the short run. If you are interested in hitting the ground running, making quick money and exiting the stage, it comes down simply to the target market's response. Here it's all about satisfying the desires of the client. That's the long and short of it.

If, however, your desire is to build lasting success - whether in business, career, personal affairs or relationships - this is where it must matter to YOU. It's not about satisfying clients or pleasing onlookers. It has to have personal meaning and significance. At this point the influence of friends, relatives - and especially naysayers should not bear as heavily on your decision to continue as should your own interest, your own passion, your own need to be driven by your dream.

When it matters enough to you, you will be strong enough to close your ears to discouragement and open your eyes to possibilities. When an activity has meaning to you....when the cause has its own appeal, when it ignites a passion, failure is always an option. In fact, failure becomes a necessary rung in the ladder of success. When your efforts are not rewarded with accolades and cheers, the only thing that will take you to the finish line is that the cause or activity you are pursuing means the world to you. When it matters to you, you'll be able to visualize tomorrow's success today, and it is that vision of your tomorrows that will take you through the sham and drudgery of today's realities. The truth is..when it doesn't matter to you, getting out of bed in the mornings is far less appealing than pulling the sheets up over your head at the sound of the alarm; your job is a task, and your boss a harsh, exacting creditor. When it doesn't matter to you the cause has no charisma and the likelihood of your making a difference in your world is as remote as a snowball surviving the onset of spring.

What's important too, is that you are unlikely to successfully force a match. Something either matters or it doesn't. As I think about it now, I guess it's a lot like love.....you either do or you don't. And who's to say who or what we love?  What holds meaning for you might appear foolish or simplistic to someone else looking on. What matters to you now, may not matter to you a few years down the road. After all, who guarantees a life-long love affair? And who is to say there can't be more than one thing/cause/activity that holds deep meaning to you? When it comes to finding meaning, monogamous relationships are over-rated.  So go ahead, allow your own deep-rooted desires to lead you to a place of meaning...to something that matters..They say, "we lose ourselves in the things we love".....but more importantly, "we find ourselves there too."