Uncover Your Passions and Skills to Build a Business You Love

The first step in starting a business you love is to uncover what your core passions and strongest skills are. One way to do this is to embrace your inner child. Here's how:

Do you remember what you dreamed about when you were just a kid? What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was five, I wanted to be an anthropologist. I went through many sciences - archeologist, planetologist, paleontologist, astronomer, everything-ologist - before I finally settled on science writer when I was in college. Write down your list here:

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Now, remember the games you used to play when you were young. What did you do when it was just you and you had to entertain yourself? When I was about 7 years old, I had a bad bicycle accident and scraped the side of my face really bad. The doctor said I needed to stay indoors and rest for a few days. So what did I do? I created a board game based on One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss. In my teens, I used to play teacher and give my sister homework - which she never did, I might add. What did you do with your time? Write down your list here:

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Now take a look at these two lists. Do you see any patterns? If not, have someone whose opinion you trust take a look at them and see if they notice any patterns. From these two lists, you should see a recurring pattern of activities emerge. This pattern is an indication of what attracts you (your passions) and the skills that you exercise naturally. These will most likely be related to your core passions and interests.

Why are you doing all this, you may ask? Because a business you love HAS to be built around your core passions and strengths. Also, a business that is built around your core interests and skills has a much better chance of attaining longevity and being successful. You are less likely to burn out.