Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Nick,
As a philosopher, I must warn you that your initial belief in a passion of helping other people sends up red flags all over the place. I`d strongly encourage you to read Ayn Rand`s, "The Virtue of Selfishness." Not the version with Nathaniel Brandon, but the version written alone, by Rand.

Understand that there`s nothing intrinsically wrong with desiring to help other people, being charitable. However, at your age, you`ve been put through the modern educational system and its brainwashing toward altrusim.

The difference between altruism and charity or helping others for gain, is that in altruism, you sacrifice high values for lower values. In other words, you`re going to have to make a living in this world, one way or another, and if you choose to give away all your labor, skills, ideas, and work for no money, how long before you starve to death?

On the other hand, you can certainly build a business and earn a lot of money while at the same time helping people. A great example is in customer service, where you go strongly toward helping people with product education, business assistance, and so forth, yet still make a profit. Not "profiteering," but a rational, reasonable profit.

To make a passion of helping others is to shut down your own personality, and the results of that will be A Very Bad Thing. :-) There are countless companies that, if they didn`t exist, would leave a tremendous void in life. Think about the automobile industry, or the airline industry. Then think about the pharmaceutical or medical research and technology companies. All of these have helped humanity to live in much better conditions than ever before. Yet they`ve done it because it was profitable.

Then think of the government, which speaks of helping people for no gain. They have the largest budget in all of history, with the most amount of waste. At the same time, the unbelievable failures an "slipped through the cracks" examples are everywhere. As people from another generation used to say, "As soon as you hear someone say `I`m from the government, and I`m here to help you,` run away as fast as you can!" :-)

****Maybe not if `they stand out in some way` but if `they stand in the way`. History tells us that too.

Well, that`s a long post to make the argument that nobody`s going to amount to much of anything on their own. :-D I suppose if that`s your chosen way to go through life, then that`s fine, and you`ll likely never get anywhere.

On the other hand, for those of us who hold that individual choice and self-determination are the driving force behind success, your arguments are reactionary.

Good article, Stan :-)
The problem is that there`s a lot of stuff out there about how having a passion makes for success, perseverance, and getting through the obstacles. However, there also are lots of people who would love to agree, but who can`t seem to find out what`s their own passion.

Funny thing I was just thinking: For a long time, women IN GENERAL seemed less likely to have orgasms, and so many women tended to think sex was just a ho-hum event. Then, maybe a couple of decades ago, women started writing about this, and the whole concept started getting a lot of public discussion.

I`d think that not having a passion would be like being outside, looking in? You read about or hear about all these terrific results and consequences of having a passion, but it`s all just theoretical words. It has me thinking about exercises and ways to go about finding that elusive passion if someone doesn`t think they have such a thing. :-)

CraigL -

I`ve just perused this thread hoping to find some answers to the question you posed, does anyone have any methods for finding one`s passion?  I didn`t really find anything except what I think everyone already knows, passion helps out a lot...

I could certainly use some help right now finding mine. 

I have another interesting question to pose, how old were you when you finally felt like you`d grown up?

R-


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Quaerite Primum Regnum

"There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."
~ Oscar Levant ~

Twitter: @rossb

Ross,
You`re right that there have been several VERY long topics on passion, finding it, and whether or not it helps. Of course it helps, but I was wondering if we could consolidate all that into some concrete steps.

I`ll disagree with you that there are no answers here in this topic. I think there have been quite a number. But because passion is an emotion, the methods and exercises are particularly psychological. That means they`re internal, often subjective, and pretty much impossible to classify as always right or always wrong, always useful, never useful.

Finding a passion isn`t a science; it speaks to the principles of motivation. Interestingly enough, motivation has been mostly removed from western philosophic dialog for the past 300 years---since the so-called Age of Enlightment, or the Age of Reason.

One thing`s for sure: Logic and intellect likely won`t go far toward finding a passion.

To the other question, I don`t think I felt grown up until two events. The first was when my daughter reached about 6 years old, and I "saw" myself as my father. At that time I thought about how we begin to feel grown up when we reach the age our parents were at the time that we can first remember our own life.

So if I can remember a lot of my life starting at around 4 years old, and my father was 34 at that time, then when I reached 34 I would suddenly feel like a grown up.

The other event was when my father died and I realized I was the oldest "child" in the family now. I still don`t feel particularly grown up, but I at least have a sense that I`m not 25 anymore. :-D