Addicted to Your Business? Never Satisfied? It's Not a Bad Thing. Transform your single-minded dedication into meaningful work that demonstrates your commitment to success.
By Vernon Lindsay Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Are you an addict? Those four simple words make many people feel uncomfortable. The human tendency is to automatically assume the question refers to consuming illegal narcotics or engaging in high-risk behaviors with potentially life-threatening consequences. In many instances, the word "addiction" has negative connotations. But along the business spectrum, being addicted to the thrill that comes from building success upon success can unlock doors to nearly endless possibilities.
Entrepreneurship encourages -- even rewards -- addictive personalities. This single-mindedness can lead down pathways that reveal new strategies, services, products and lucrative financial opportunities. The progress at companies such as Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Tesla derives from company cultures that thrive when people are addicted to improvement and innovation. Grant Cardone and other leaders champion the notion that an obsessive approach to business can create financial wealth and other indicators of business achievement.
Related: The Crazy Numbers Behind Netflix's 20 Years of Success
Opening your arms and mind to embrace the relentless pursuit of entrepreneurial success can produce positive results. Be forewarned, though: Acquiring positive addiction won't be any easier than creating a sustainable enterprise. Along the way, you'll face challenges such as securing startup capital, finding reliable employees and fostering the familial support necessary to develop a viable business. But with discipline, you can attain your goals. Expect the best and realize the worst could happen before any new venture is successful.
Here are three steps you can take with confidence that you're moving in the right direction.
Step 1: Work on practical methods to blend passion(s) with business.
It's possible to have more than one area of intense interest in your life. However, if your intention is to create an addiction to business success, it's critical to focus on one passion at a time. This is how you can build bridges from products to services and generate profits.
You can identify your passion by examining the activities you enjoy or seeking counsel from people you trust. If you wouldn't miss watching the NCAA tournament with your friends, think about how you could develop a new model of televisions or another product to enhance that experience. And if you're stumped by how to connect your passion with a business idea, ask others what they believe to be your best skills or abilities. Their answers might surprise you.
It's important to note that passion alone will not create business success. But it often is the starting point to design a well-structured business plan. After all, incorporating your deepest interests with your products or services is a pretty solid way to make sure you remain personally invested in your business.
Related: 5 Ways You Can Develop a Positive Addiction to Success
Step 2: Ask yourself a similar series of questions every single day.
This simple task is essential to converting problems into profitable solutions. Pinpoint the questions that overlap your business and personal life and integrate them as a mantra to start every morning.
Questions that probe your market's strengths and weaknesses can be excellent tools to apply to your business life. For personal matters, questions should be more focused on individual improvement -- the right answers help you become a more mindful partner, friend or parent. Answering closely related questions over a series of time creates a consistent routine. It can reveal strategies that apply to entrepreneurial as well as personal achievements.
Related: Great Entrepreneurs Are Addicts
Step 3. Listen to your market.
Observe human behaviors and create specific goals you wish to align with a market. Take a moment and slow down. Listen to the needs and wants of your customers, family members and friends with the intention of understanding them more fully. The gateway to all success begins with getting clarity on a problem, creating a plan and taking action toward what you perceive is the best solution. Listening to the market can trigger the necessary connections between dreaming about success and growing addicted to work that has the potential to produce results.
Related: The Easiest Way to Do Real-Time Market Research and Give Customers What They Want
