The Thrill Will Go, The Passion Shouldn't

The definition of a thrill is temporary excitement, usually experienced for the first time.

It's thrilling to ride a roller coaster. The fifth time you have to ride it, though, it's more than a chore, it's torture.

The definition of the thrill is that it's going to be gone soon.

You might have been thrilled to go to your first job the first day. Or thrilled to see the first comment on your blog or thrilled the first time one of your books was translated into another language.

But after that? How can repeating it be thrilling?

The work of a professional isn't to recreate thrills. It's to show up and do the work. To continue the journey you set out on a while ago. To make the change you seek to make in the universe.

Thrilling is fine. Mattering is more important.

(taken from http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/02/the-thrill-is-gone.html) 

Saala Khadoos

Just saw the movie today. It’s about an ex-boxer (R.Madhavan) finding a young girl (Ritika Singh) who used to sell fishes to earn a living. He saw boxing talent in her and trained and backed her, eventually resulting in her winning the World Championship in Boxing. Some may think that this sounds next to impossible. However looking at the plot of the movie, I feel that her winning the championship was an inevitable outcome.

Clear & inherent skill set: Ritika was shown as a fish seller who had a short temper and used to often get into fights. In one such fight, she was seen by Madhavan, who immediately realized how skilled she was and had immense potential if trained well.

Combination of passion & hardwork: Once Madhavan was able to convince Ritika about making a career in boxing, Ritika showed immense passion in pursuing the same. She was extremely energetic and could train under her coach for long periods.

Amazing mentor: Madhavan was shown to have the requisite skill (as he had nearly won the championship himself some years back) and the passion to drive Ritika. He held her hand through all her ups and downs and followed his belief that she could become a great boxer.

Distancing emotions from work: When Ritika was shown to fall in love with Madhavan which deviated her from her career, Madhavan kept pushing her towards her boxing. She faced a lot of problems at this time. Eventually when she realized the value of her career, she was able to put in immense hard work which led her to winning the championship.

I really liked the movie, though I felt that a little more about the hard work put in by Ritika and how she won her matches could be shown. It’s an inspiring movie which teaches us the importance of passion, hard work and grit to succeed in life.

“You have to act and act now.” – Larry Ellison, CEO, Oracle

Larry Ellison was born in New York City to an unwed Jewish mother. His father was an Italian American US Air Force pilot. According to Wikipedia, Ellison contracted pneumonia when he was  nine months old and his mother gave him to her aunt and uncle for adoption. His adoptive mother was warm and loving, while his adoptive father was unsupportive and distant.

He was a bright but inattentive student. He left the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after his second year without taking his final exams because his adoptive mother had just died. Later, he attended the University of Chicago for one term, where he first encountered computer design. In 1966, aged 22, he moved to northern California.

In 1977, he founded Software Development Laboratories (SDL) with two partners and an investment of $2,000. In 1982, the company became Oracle Systems Corporation after its flagship product, the Oracle database. Currently, Ellison owns stakes in Salesforce.com, NetSuite, Quark Biotechnology Inc. and Astex Pharmaceuticals. In September 2011, Ellison was listed on the Forbes List of Billionaires as the fifth richest man in the world. Ellison is still the third richest American, with a net worth of about $36.5 billion.

(taken from yourstory.com)

An entrepreneur is a 'problem-solver'!

An entrepreneur is one who constantly solves problems and is passionate about solving them.

The first and most important problem is the one which leads to the venture in the first place. This is when the entrepreneur identifies a problem/gap and commits himself/herself to solve it, thereby resulting in the birth of the idea. Post starting up, during the journey, the entrepreneur faces obstacles in the way and he/she must know how to overcome these obstacles by finding solutions for them or pivoting some part of the business.

'Passion - the Genesis of Genius'

I want to top the Maths exam, it's my favourite subject!
I want to make my girl friend feel really special this Valentines!
I want to make my mother proud!
I want to be the best husband and an amazing father!
I want to create the next Facebook!

The common ingredient is all of these is PASSION. If I 'want' something, then I have to be passionate about it. The same argument goes for your startup as well. If you really want to create a sustainable business, you have to be passionate about it and it is this passion you have which will ensure that you keep persevering.